[Phod]

Hey, I posted this in the other forum but sort of misunderstood the lingo.

Anyhow, in my ever ongoing quest to try and play as much quality stuff as possible, I was hoping to see some suggestions on the best freeware adventure games. I know freeware adventures aren't up to the "graphical" standard of released games but that doesn't bother me. The most important aspect is character and story as well as quality presentation and polish.

Can you guys share some of the best freeware adventures? Or link a compilation and list of the best? Just go with the notion that I know nothing about these games so even if it's obvious, please share

Thanks very much for any help!

[Fantasysci5]

I would heartily suggest "Mental Repairs, Inc". It's a story of a 'machine psychiatrist' who deals with the emotions of machines, like a coffee machine with low self esteem, a bi-polar elevator, etc. The level of detail and characterization is amazing.

[Phod]

Will look it up.

More responses? There's got to be an expert here on freeware adventures Anyone? Anyone?? At least point me the way!

[Dea ex Machina]

I particularly liked the AGD remakes of King's Quest I and King's Quest II, KQ2 especially, which branched out from and expanded on the original considerably. It was big and bright and epic and made me fall in love with King Graham (whom I had previously thought of as "Alexander's Dad.")

As far as original games go, A Tale of Two Kingdoms is freaking awesome. It's huge, and really pretty. It felt like a classic old school Sierra title I had somehow never heard of. Bloody hard, though. Find the walkthrough, and keep it close.

Spooks is cute. I found some of the puzzle solutions a tad unsatisfying. Plus it's short. But there's some nice worldbuilding, and it has style and originality.

I dimly remember Two of a Kind being really funny and enjoyable, but it's been such a long while since I played it. I liked the characters quite a bit. The relationship between the sibling lead characters made me 'aw' at least once, I think.

I quite liked Out of Order, which I think was the first freeware game I ever played. Doesn't get reviewed well, for some reason, but I laughed, darn it.

90s professional game Beneath a Steel Sky is freeware now, and well worth a download. (scroll down a bit,they also have Lure of the Temptress and Flight of the Amazon Queen, but I haven't played those yet.)

Good places to look for freeware adventures are Abandonia Reloaded (which has mirror downloads for most of the games I've mentioned, by the way) and the Adventure Game Studio website (for the latter, start with the award winners and picks of the month.)

This page has links to Jayisgames' nominees for best flash based browser adventures of 2008. I've barely played any of them yet, but some of them sure look neat (I did play the first two chapters of Something Amiss, which was pretty darn good. Still working on chapter 3.)

Phew. Hope all that helps!

[Find Therma]

It was inevitable that I was going to reply to this thread - it was just a matter of when!

My recommendations would include;

- Nanobots
- Ben Jordan series (although make sure you don't write it off after the first game - that's more of an intro and the following episodes are a lot better)
- The White Chamber
- Quest for Glory 2 VGA Remake
- Anna

And wait for it....here it is, the shameless suggestion that you visit my blog! There's about 12 reviews up at the moment but am adding to it on a weekly basis so you might find something useful there.

[Lerus]

Hi, I have finished recently some interesting freeware titles. So here goes my recommendations:

The white chamber - medium length, very horror, great graphic art, thrilling story, more endings according your decisions;
Plot: Sci-fi, you wake up in the coffin, you know nothing, something evil had to happened here and you are somehow involved in that

What makes you tick? - short, beautiful graphic style, touching story, superb music
Plot: University sent you to warn a professor that he is in a danger. That's all you know.

5 days a stranger - medium, simply graphic, minimalistic music but great spooky story
Plot: Imprisoned in spooky mansion on your routine thief job, you will face cruel history of the mansion and even your life would be at stake.

Reactor 09 - short, fantastic graphic, good story
Plot: As a prisoner, you will strive to save many people from dying if you don't shut nuclear reactor

The Vacuum - medium length, simple graphic, exciting and believable story, every decision in game counts
Plot: You are on the way back to home by tourist space shuttle. Suddenly engine shuts, nobody knows why and a corpse was found. Who is behind that? Who you can trust?

Actually, freeware adventure games portfolio is very wide and often will give you more enjoyment than commercial games. There is only one flaw. The length is usually about 2-3 hours.
Enjoy it.

[Ascovel]

My favorite freeware so far is Nelly Cootalot. At first it seems like just another tribute to Monkey Island, but it is such a great game on its own.

In general, AGS rules when it comes to great freeware adventure games.

[bbX1138]

Originally Posted by Find Therma

My recommendations would include;

- Nanobots
- Ben Jordan series (although make sure you don't write it off after the first game - that's more of an intro and the following episodes are a lot better)
- The White Chamber
- Quest for Glory 2 VGA Remake
- Anna

Hey! What about "one of the best AGS games you've played"?!

[Find Therma]

Sorry.

In my defence the comment does read 'My recommendations would include'. It wasn't a definitive list by any means.

But yes, I would add to it Ben There, Dan That! (happy now ) and also Jessica Plunkenstein which I'm ashamed to have missed off first time round. Nelly Cootalot too.

There are plenty of others as well. It just depends on what genre of adventure game interests you most.

[Atlantis]

Unfortunately they're still in development but keep a close eye on:

Nearly Departed - A comic cartoonstyled PnC whereby you wake up as a zombie.. Lovely art and gameplay with witty dialogue.
And
Kaptain Brawe - A sci-fi that pays homage to classics such as monkey island, with more comical genius and a lovely art style as well.

Both have playable demo's so I suggest you check them out- when they get completed they're going to be immense.

[Elena]

Hmm..The Chzo Mythos is the series of 5 Days a stranger,7 Days a skeptic,Trilby's Notes and 6 Days a Sacrifice.
I recommend that you play the games in this order because the story makes much more sense this way.

[heribertovalle]

Well, under a steel sky is now free. I urge you to play it if you still had not the chance to.

[bbX1138]

That's 'Beneath A Steel Sky', and I second the recommendation - amazing game.

[Fantasysci5]

I've just finished a charming game, that I must call my favorite freeware game, called "Nanobots". The characterization and personalities of the robots are just amazing. I found myself loving all of the characters, at least the bots, which is actually a rare thing for me, since I tend to find a 'favorite' character, and just like him/her. No, I loved all of the bots, and the little arguments they had and discussions made it feel realistic.

[heribertovalle]

Originally Posted by bbX1138

That's 'Beneath A Steel Sky', and I second the recommendation - amazing game.

Oops. Sorry about the synonymous typo.

You should go and get a PC gamer issue that just came out that has a rather comprehensive list of 365 free Games. It's quite worth it.

You can also visit the www.tigsource.com for some good indy. There's a lot of other links for that sort of thing, but the most relevant to get free or indy games are in that blog/webpage too.

Hey may I recommend Stargate adventure? get it the Big Blue Cup Page. Which also has a list of games made with that engine, some of them being very good.

Tried the Infinity String by the way?

Search for Dirty split too. Good game, Great style.

[nonax]

I would also recommend Ben There, Dan that. A funny adventure old-school style.

Next to the AGS there is also the Wintermute engine with some good free titles made with it. There are a few already mentioned, like the very enjoyable Mental Repairs Inc. I can also recommend Dirty Split - a lovely detective story in cartoon style.
Take a look at dead-code.org for a list of other free titles.

[Fantasysci5]

"Emily Enough" was a fun game for me, if you don't mind dark humor.

[Toops144]

Originally Posted by Ascovel

My favorite freeware so far is Nelly Cootalot. At first it seems like just another tribute to Monkey Island, but it is such a great game on its own.

In general, AGS rules when it comes to great freeware adventure games.

Indeed AGS does and I also loved Nelly Cootalot, was especially touching also when I found out that he had made it for his girlfriend. So sweet :p

[Terramax]

Nick Bounty: Goat in the Grey Fedora is the only freeware adventure I've ever enjoyed enough to play all the way to the very end.

Writing at its very best. I even contributed £5 to the company (yeah, that's not much, but its more than what I'd pay for some commercial adventures) as a thank you gesture. I would love for there to a be a third episode in the future.

Or even better, they make a full length, commercial Nick Bounty.

[Ascovel]

Originally Posted by Terramax

Nick Bounty: Goat in the Grey Fedora is the only freeware adventure I've ever enjoyed enough to play all the way to the very end.

Writing at its very best. I even contributed £5 to the company (yeah, that's not much, but its more than what I'd pay for some commercial adventures) as a thank you gesture. I would love for there to a be a third episode in the future.

Or even better, they make a full length, commercial Nick Bounty.

Yeah, Nick Bounty: Goat and the prequel Nick Bounty: Case of Crabs are incredibly funny and well written. Btw the creator of these games - Mark Darin - is one of the writers/designers of Tales of Monkey Island.