Ben “Yahtzee” Croshaw is no stranger to the underground gaming community. His Rob Blanc trilogy and The Trials of Odysseus Kent were well-known for their unique brand of dark and bitter-edged humor. So when I started up his latest opus, 5 Days a Stranger, I thought I had a vague idea of what to expect. I was wrong. As soon as I saw that mysterious, silhouetted figure driving a car down a lonely road in the English countryside – accompanied by soft, haunting music – I knew I was in for something different.
You are Trilby, notorious cat burglar, armed with a set of lockpicks and a grappling hook shaped like an umbrella. Despite his natural inclination to rob any home blind, Trilby is a gentleman. He is polite, well-mannered and impeccably dressed. His on-the-job uniform consists of a neat pinstriped suit with a matching hat (a trilby, naturally). His current mission is to case out the vacant DeFoe mansion, liberate any valuables left behind, and leave. Sounds easy, right? Unfortunately, an unseen sinister presence looms over this house, preventing Trilby and its four other occupants from leaving. To say more will ruin it, but I will say that the game does not disappoint in the storytelling department.
Since the author is more concerned with atmosphere and story than puzzles, you won't have to worry about straining your brain too often. Not to say that you won't get stuck once in a while. There are some moments where you are left wondering what to do next, but a quick look around the house should point you in the right direction. Pixel hunting is kept to a minimum, except in one instance where you need to search a bookcase for the one specific book that you need.
Game information
5 Days a Stranger (2003)
GAME INFO
5 Days a Stranger is an adventure game released in 2003 for PC. It has a Comic cartoon style, presented in 2D or 2.5D and is played in a Third-Person perspective.
