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2012 Aggie Awards

Written by AG Staff
It will take you about 40 minutes to read this feature.


Article updated Friday, February 22nd. Already read about Day One and Day Two? Skip straight ahead to the final day's presentation!
 


Many adventure fans long for a return to the genre's Golden Age of the early- to mid-1990s, when LucasArts and Sierra ruled the gaming world. But the real golden age returns each and every February, when Adventure Gamers hands out our shiny Aggie Awards!

Yes, it's once again time to recognize the genre's best and brightest adventures of the past year. As always, there was fierce competition among the whopping 75 eligible games and series. The first elimination round was painful enough as we arrived at our nominee finalists, but the last cut was the deepest in narrowing each list to only one.

But you know that already if you voted in our reader poll. Along with our staff winners, we are pleased to hand out the hardware to the top audience favourites as well. Whether our choices agree or disagree, one thing is certain: there are lots of great games in this beloved genre of ours.

While there is only one winner (per category), there are no snubs or losers here, only notable runners-up. It may be a contest, but it's primarily a celebration. So enjoy yourselves, applaud a job well done all around, and we'll meet up again this time next year for more.

The awards presentation will run daily from Wednesday through Friday, so check back in each day to find out which games took home the coveted golden statuettes.  And now, let the Aggies begin!
 


Table of Contents


Day One

Page 1: You are here
Page 2: Best Story
Page 3: Best Writing - Comedy
Page 4: Best Writing - Drama
Page 5: Best Character
Page 6: Best Gameplay
Page 7: Best Concept

Day Two

Page 8: Best Setting
Page 9: Best Graphic Design
Page 10: Best Animation
Page 11: Best Music
Page 12: Best Voice Acting
Page 13: Best Sound Effects

Day Three

Page 14: Honorary Aggies
Page 15: Best Independent Adventure (Commercial)
Page 16: Best Console/Handheld Adventure (Exclusive)
Page 17: Best Non-Traditional Adventure
Page 18: Best Traditional Adventure
Page 19: Best Adventure of 2012
Page 20: Final Notes
 


First up: Best Story... the envelope, please!


Best Story: The Cat Lady


You think you know her story, but you don’t. In a haunting tale that will grab you from the minute you start playing and plunge you mercilessly into the depths of one woman’s tortured psyche, Harvester Games’ The Cat Lady horrifically but successfully melds story and atmosphere in a unique way that has you wandering through the goriest of journeys to find any belief at all that there is a reason to go on living after suffering the worst of tragedies. We often play games to escape from our own reality, but we should be careful what we wish for, because Susan Ashworth's reality is grisly and unflinching in its brutality. In indie developer Rem Michalski's hands, it's a journey that drags players kicking and screaming (but utterly enthralled) through a range of raw human emotions, from abject terror and revulsion to introspection, friendship and courage – and somehow through it all, even to hope.

You begin this surreal journey after a failed suicide attempt. Before Susan comes back to her stultifying life, she crosses through a terrifying in-between world where an old woman gives her a choice: She can help dispose of five human parasites, or she can try to find her way back to life on her own. Regardless of your choice, and other similar decisions throughout the game, The Cat Lady is ultimately the story of one woman who wants nothing more than to give up on life, but as she helps others through their own tragedies, she realizes that she is not alone. Through a variety of hallucinatory set pieces filled with torturers, rapists, and lost souls, players travel with Susan as she attempts to claw her way back to life in the midst of death. As you share in this experience, you'll deal with painful emotional issues that most games would never dare to explore. In offering such a searing glimpse into one woman’s struggle with depression, The Cat Lady achieves one other reason to live – our Best Story Aggie Award for 2012.

Runners-Up: The Walking Dead, Resonance, Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward, The Testament of Sherlock Holmes
 


Readers’ Choice: The Walking Dead


Who'da thunk a game about the undead based on a comic book would prove to be the most compelling story of the year? But The Walking Dead is really about people and their struggle for survival in the midst of horrifying circumstances. For taking us through this emotional, often tragic journey in such compelling fashion, Telltale's "zombie game" delivered one of the most memorable stories in genre history.

Runners-Up: Resonance, Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller - Episode One: The Hangman, Deponia (series), The Testament of Sherlock Holmes
 


Next up: Best Writing – Comedy... the envelope, please!


Best Writing – Comedy: Deponia/Chaos on Deponia


Comedy is a very hard thing to get right, especially when it's originally written in a foreign language, as it's very easy for nuances to be lost in translation. Fortunately, in the case of Daedalic's Deponia series, the laughs survived the transition largely intact. Much of humour comes from the main character Rufus, a sarcastic guy who is never short of a snide remark and can't wait to ditch his companions on the trash-littered planet surface for the restricted skybound utopia above. Rufus is a town agitator, a lousy friend, an even worse lover, and a bit of a chauvinist pig. In short: not the most likeable sort. But that's what makes him such a suitable foil. He speaks to others with disdain, but they give as good as they get, often getting the better of him in barbed banter that's funny without ever really feeling hostile. 

Gags come not only from Rufus's conversations (whether your laughing with him or at him), but also from how he acts, like when his face glazes over with a grin when asked why he wants to meet the beautiful new girl that fell from the sky. The secondary characters are equally amusing in their eccentricity; from the receptionist whose female voice keeps slipping into masculine territory, to the post office robot who is obsessed with bubble wrap, the series is full of characters that never cease to make you giggle with their quirks. Now two games into a planned trilogy of Deponia games, the jokes so far have been delivered thick and fast, and credit goes to Daedalic for ensuring that most of them hit their mark. Writer Jan Müller‑Michaelis (also competing against himself this year for Harvey's New Eyes) certainly has a flair for the absurd, and while Deponia's oddball sensibilities may be something of an acquired taste, its snappy repartee, silly characters and wacky situations earn the series our Aggie for Best Comedy Writing this year.

Runners-Up: The Journey Down: Chapter One, The Ballads of Reemus: When the Bed Bites, Edna & Harvey: Harvey's New Eyes, The Book of Unwritten Tales: The Critter Chronicles
 


Readers’ Choice: Deponia (series)


So it's official: We're all a bunch of degenerates. Or at least, we like to laugh at an ill-tempered, self-absorbed, and utterly un-politically correct protagonist just looking out for himself, at the expense of everyone around him. Especially when his antics usually result in hilarious comeuppance. Deponia's Rufus may not be very likeable, but Daedalic sure did make it easy to laugh at his madcap attempts to flee his junk-filled planet – with typically disastrous results.

Runners-Up: Edna & Harvey: Harvey's New Eyes, The Book of Unwritten Tales: The Critter Chronicles, The Journey Down: Chapter One, Primordia
 


Next up: Best Writing – Drama... the envelope, please!


Best Writing – Drama: The Walking Dead


The Walking Dead is not a game about zombies. It’s about a small group of strangers desperate to survive in a world that became unimaginably dangerous and terrifying overnight. Robert Kirkman, creator of the original comics, gets the credit for establishing the zombie apocalypse premise and for setting the survivalist tone. But Telltale takes home our award for Best Dramatic Writing for their gripping portrayal of an ever-shrinking group of survivors on a daunting pilgrimage with droves of "walkers" nipping at their heels. Controlling Lee Everett, a convicted murderer with a heavy conscience, the player grapples with impossible choices that run the gamut from who gets to eat to who gets to live, and these weighty decisions account for much of the game’s dramatic tension. Even more wrenching are the inevitable tragedies that befall a group divided from within and far outnumbered by the hungry undead that crave their flesh. But almost as often as it makes you cry or cringe, The Walking Dead makes you smile at the tender relationship between Lee and Clementine, the orphaned child he befriends and eventually becomes a substitute father to.

From the graphic death and dismemberment of family and friends, to the torment suffered by the people left behind, to the sweet friendship forged between Lee and his young charge, The Walking Dead is much more than a “sad” story or a “scary” one; against the backdrop of unbearable tragedy and carnage it explores the spectrum of human emotions that carry us through daily life. Its standout writing is obvious in its dialogue exchanges, where nuanced options allow you to choose the tone and tenor of Lee’s responses, often with long-ranging consequences. But this Aggie is not awarded for words alone. The designers’ storytelling choices also play a major role in the unfolding drama: the unrelenting pendulum swing between frantic zombie encounters and quiet moments shared by survivors, the startling situations that make us question human nature, and the gradual, gut-wrenching realization that this tale will not have a happy ending for all. It’s a rare game that truly puts you in the shoes and the skin of the character you’re playing – but here Lee’s choices are yours, his quest for survival is your own, and the losses you experience together are devastating. And it all works thanks to the incredible writing. Without that, The Walking Dead would have been just another game about zombies.

Runners-Up: Resonance, The Cat Lady, The Testament of Sherlock Holmes, Primordia
 


Readers’ Choice: The Walking Dead


While its zombie apocalypse story provided an engrossing basis for a heartfelt (and often heart-pounding) survival experience, the real genius of The Walking Dead was its ability to make us connect with its characters emotionally through realistic dialogue (not an easy task in such nightmarish circumstances) and intensely personal player choices. Telltale wrote the words, but they were so believable in context that every decision felt like yours, along with all the agonizing consequences that followed.

Runners-Up: Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller - Episode One: The Hangman, Resonance, The Cat Lady, The Testament of Sherlock Holmes
 


Next up: Best Character... the envelope, please!


Best Character: Clementine and Lee, The Walking Dead


For the second year in row, we simply couldn't bring ourselves to pick a single best character of the year. It's not a matter of indecisiveness, but the fact that this year's co-winners are inextricably linked. You simply can't imagine one without the other. In fact, The Walking Dead is chock full of unique and memorable characters, but the two who will remain forever etched in our minds are Lee Everett and Clementine: the convicted felon and the young girl he befriends throughout the course of the game. Both are complex and engaging on their own, but what really cemented them as our favourites and became the driving force of the game is the deep bond that forms between them. Their unlikely guardian-child relationship is the one touching constant in a story full of conflict and insanity. We see Clem look up to Lee and grow attached to him in the wake of her parents’ disappearance, and we witness Lee’s softer side as he gets to know Clem and teaches her to survive. The two of them grow both individually and as a team, making it easy to root for them right up until the dramatic ending.

Lee Everett's turbulent past may haunt him from time to time, but he never lets it define him. His strength and wisdom make him a worthy protagonist and natural leader for other characters to look up to, though not without some resentful hostility. But while certainly one of the more rational characters in this small, fractious group of zombie apocalypse survivors, Lee is far from perfect and is pushed to his emotional limit on more than one occasion. Then there’s young Clementine. One of the hardest characters to write in any medium is a child, but Telltale managed to portray Clem perfectly. She’s innocent, but not naive. She’s naturally frightened of the horror all around her, but tries to be brave and acts more mature than most of the adult characters. She’s resourceful and intelligent, but she's also clearly just a kid who is still dependent on adults for both love and safety. You can’t help but feel protective of her, as does Lee, as she is forced to grow up all too fast. Together, the two form a whole that's greater than the sum of its parts: Lee just isn't Lee without Clementine, and Clem wouldn't have lasted long without Lee, so it's only fitting that they share this year's Best Character(s) Aggie.

Runners-Up: Tree creatures (Botanicula), Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriary (The Testament of Sherlock Holmes), Bwana (The Journey Down: Chapter One), Mobot (J.U.L.I.A.)
 


Readers’ Choice: Clementine, The Walking Dead


See what we mean? It was impossible not to fall in love with eight-year-old Clementine, separated from her parents and forced to face the end of the world with a group of disparate strangers. And just like us, you were equally impressed with her friend and protector, Lee Everett, who fell short of Clem by one – count it, ONE – vote. (Apparently someone out there hasn't played the final episode yet!) But they're a powerful duo, and clearly left a deep impression on all of us.

Runners-Up: Lee Everett (The Walking Dead), Erica Reed (Cognition), Rufus (Deponia series), Crispin (Primordia)
 


Next up: Best Gameplay... the envelope, please!




Best Gameplay: Resonance

At a glance, Resonance looks like countless games you’ve seen before, what with its low-res art style and point-and-click controls. But you only need to spend a few minutes with this indie gem from Vince Twelve to realize that even though it includes all of the typical hallmarks of adventure gameplay – storytelling, character interaction, puzzle-solving, exploration, and use of inventory – it doesn’t play quite like any other game. For much of the time, you’re able to switch between four main characters, deciding who will work together and when, providing an unusual amount of freedom for a relatively linear storyline. Then there’s the role that memories, both short-term and long-term, play in the puzzles. In Resonance, you can collect memories just like you’d collect inventory items, and then use these to elicit new observations from your playable character, to move forward in a puzzle, or as prompts in conversations with others. As opposed to the virtual bulging pockets of most inventory-heavy adventures, these memory systems provide a vast and believable combination of interactive possibilities.

And of course there are the puzzles themselves, well designed and relevant to the story, with solutions appropriate to the protagonists’ personalities and motivations. With a map of Aventine City at your fingertips and control over four people who take different approaches to problem-solving, Resonance offers up one clever puzzle after another with steps that can often be tackled in the order you choose and, in several cases, with alternate solutions. This flexibility gives an incentive to replay, as do the multiple endings – and that’s a good thing, since some late story revelations will give you an entirely new perspective on the earlier parts the second time through. It’s very much a traditional point-and-clicker, but rather than resting comfortably on genre traditions, Resonance puts a new spin on the mechanics we’re used to, making it a shoo-in for this year’s Aggie for Best Gameplay.

Runners-Up: Botanicula, The Testament of Sherlock Holmes, Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask, J.U.L.I.A.
 


Readers’ Choice: Resonance


Whew! If The Walking Dead won this one, there might have been rioting in the adventure community streets. But Vince Twelve's innovative take on classic adventure staples won our readers over as well. Resonance's unique memory inventory increased player interaction significantly, and with four playable protagonists often needed in tandem to solve clever cooperative puzzles, there was no shortage of compelling gameplay to support its similarly riveting story.

Runners-Up: Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller - Episode One: The Hangman, The Testament of Sherlock Holmes, Botanicula, Deponia (series)
 


Next up: Best Concept... the envelope, please!


Best Concept: Papo & Yo


This was a year of exciting new ideas for adventures, and the competition for Best Concept was fierce. Our most vaguely-defined award is intended to recognize any innovative ideas that are new, audacious, or just plain interesting. While there were certainly better games released in 2012 than Minority’s Papo & Yo, nothing struck our fancy quite like this game’s utterly unique relationship between narrative and gameplay. Its tale about child abuse and alcoholism tackles issues rarely touched upon in gaming, but lead designer Vander Caballero set out to construct a game that stood as an allegory for the suffering he endured as a child at the hands of his alcoholic father. The result isn't merely a platforming adventure with occasional bits of dialogue about addiction, but an experience that constantly reinforces the themes of its story through the gameplay itself.

The protagonist, Quico, escapes the horror of his real childhood by fleeing into a fantasy world modeled after the Brazilian favela where he lives. There he meets Monster, an amicable, narcoleptic creature who follows Quico and helps to solve the environmental puzzles they encounter. Quico, and in turn the player, come to find Monster both endearing and necessary – that is, until he gets his hands on frogs. When Monster eats a frog, he transforms into a flaming, nightmarish beast who rampages blindly, viciously attacking anything he gets his hands on… including Quico. This love-hate relationship is the core of a bravely personal exploration of the confusing, painful experience of growing up in an abusive household. Papo & Yo may have its faults, but a lack of thematic ambition is not one of them. For that reason, Caballero and his team earn the Aggie honour for bringing us one of the most unique and affecting game narratives in some time.

Runners-Up: Resonance, BlindSide, Reperfection: Volume 1, Miasmata
 


Readers’ Choice: The Walking Dead


Since not everyone specified their concept of choice, it's possible that there are some Quick Time Event fanatics out there, but we'll go out on a limb (though limbs are pretty vulnerable where this game is concerned) and guess that it's the tremendous player choice afforded by The Walking Dead that won most of you over. Sure, your decisions may not have mattered much in the long run, but they mattered at the time, because they were challenging choices of conscience to grapple with and ultimately make your own, consequences be damned.

Runners-Up: Botanicula, Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller - Episode One: The Hangman, Miasmata, Journey
 


Next up: Best Setting... the envelope, please!


Best Setting: Primordia


From the very first screenshot, it was clear that Primordia was going to be a truly distinctive game, and the final game didn't disappoint. The debut effort from indie developer Wormwood Studios turned out to be quite good overall, but by far the biggest standout was its locale. Set not in Earth's own future, but rather on an alternate world with a fabled history of machine replacing man, the game uses a limited colour palette restricted almost exclusively to shades of brown and gold, but this post-apocalyptic sci-fi adventure combines a familiar retro aesthetic with wide-ranging artistic influences to create some absolutely unforgettable scenery and characters. It's more than just a simple backdrop; its dreary desolation is an essential component of a tale that couldn't be told anywhere else, and for that Primordia narrowly earns our Best Setting award over stiff competition.

The once-proud city of Metropol and the radioactive desert wasteland around it are the very definition of beauty in decay. The struggle for survival of robots Horatio Nullbuilt (v5) and his floating sidekick Crispin in this harsh mechanical landscape is WALL-E by way of Alien and Dune, and it works exactly as well as that sounds. Ravaged by now-ancient nuclear war, the world that Primordia’s robots inhabit was once impressive in its grandeur but is now full of dilapidated buildings and dead robots half-buried in the sand. Even the vaunted “City of Light” is essentially a bunch of shanties stapled together into a raggedy analogue of Blade Runner’s endless cityscape. It’s a haunted world, one that oozes history far more detailed than the events laid out by the game’s exposition, and one that stuck with us long after we left it behind.

Runners-Up: Deponia (series), Botanicula, Journey, The Unfinished Swan
 


Readers’ Choice: Botanicula


In another tight race, it seems you were also tempted to choose the harsh post-apocalyptic environs of Primordia. But instead of the dreary browns of radiocative desert dunes, you went with the insanely cheery, surreal tree world of Amanita's Botanicula for top setting. A few giddy hours spent exploring with Feather, Poppyhead, Lantern, Twig, and Mrs. Mushroom proved a delightfully imaginative experience that made even fighting off invading parasites a joy to experience.

Runners-Up: Primordia, Deponia (series), The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav, The Walking Dead
 


Next up: Best Graphic Design... the envelope, please!


Best Graphic Design: Journey


Though the beauty of thatgamecompany's Journey is certainly unconventional, it is nevertheless artistically captivating. One look at a screenshot and you instantly pick up the image of a strange traveler, suited in a flowing robe adorned with strange symbols, exploring a vast and hazardous landscape. The pastel colors are rich in their flatness. Light promises salvation and danger in equal measure. The shadows are purposeful, aiming to hide or accent elements to build suspense and surprise at every turn. The creatures you encounter live seamlessly in their environments. The vast desert hills and watery depths and frigid climes all speak to a consistent world that you immediately want to explore.

But what the screenshots don't tell you is how the art really is the foundation of the entire experience. The animation and lighting work in perfect concert with the sound effects and even music to elevate the background visuals to their highest level. The characters glide like iceskaters across apocalyptic sand, in a long fluid trail. The trills and flutters that accompany movement punctuate your dives and spins. Throughout it all, you are directed to the pinpoint of light in the distance. You don't know why you need to get there but you do know you want to, if only to see if it holds something even more gorgeous than what you've already experienced. Everything in Journey seems crafted to fit and its visual elegance shines through the entire experience. The result is a visual masterwork that narrowly earned our 2012 Best Graphic Design award over some other jawdropping contenders.

Runners-Up: The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav, Botanicula, The Journey Down: Chapter One, Lost Chronicles of Zerzura
 


Readers’ Choice: The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav


Until we went in a more abstract direction this year, we were thinking about changing the name of this Aggie to the "Daedalic's Latest Game" award, as the German studio continues to crank out one gorgeous adventure after another. This year was no exception. With Botanicula nipping closely at its heels, the fantastical hand-painted world of The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav displayed the artwork most worth crowing about for our readers.

Runners-Up: Botanicula, The Walking Dead, Deponia (series), Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller - Episode One: The Hangman
 


Next up: Best Animation... the envelope, please!


Best Animation: Botanicula


Animation in adventure games is rarely more than a secondary feature that enhances the visual experience and provides a few cinematic wow moments that punctuate the story. But once in a while are we treated to a game that uses animation as its primary element, brilliantly wielding it to actually tell the story and propel the gameplay; to convey emotions and solve puzzles; to charm and to terrify. Without a traditional user interface or even dialogues, Botanicula uses the movements of its bizarre world – a surreal tree full of living inhabitants – to weave its tale of courage and commitment in the face of near-insurmountable odds. The experiment-driven gameplay involves animation at its very core: unhindered by instructions, you cavort towards the goal of eradicating the tree of sap-sucking aliens by poking and prodding various characters and items to yield intelligently-devised chain reactions of actions and consequences. Even puzzles use animation expertly in both idea and execution, whether you have to carefully nudge lazily-floating orbs into holes, or participate in a beetle derby.

The unique, organic canvas of Amanita Design's latest classic is sketched with elements that are little more than blobs and lines, yet each resident of the vast menagerie of anthropomorphic characters is visually distinct, and enlivened by realistic and captivating animation. The fervent little beings exist in a constant state of motion, whether talking, laughing, fighting, eating, sleeping, or colliding. Besides the main quest, there are distractions aplenty: you can click flowers into blooming, disturb creepy-crawlies ensconced in nooks and crannies, play chase with baby-bugs and watch gory puppet shows. Physical gestures are excellently adapted in movement and expression, and despite the overall cutesy ambience, fear is visceral as you watch invading spidery parasites relentlessly drain the tree of its sap. Playing Botanicula is like being there, and for illustrating that you can engage, challenge and entertain without saying a word if you have the right moves, it flutters off with this year's Best Animation award.

Runners-Up: Journey, The Walking Dead, The Testament of Sherlock Holmes, Deponia (series)
 


Readers’ Choice: The Walking Dead


I think we can safely declare the The Walking Dead not only the readers' choice for Best Animation, but the unanimous winner of the "Best Reanimation" award as well. From convincing human interaction to terrifying zombie attacks to shambling, shambling everywhere(!), this is far and away the most cinematic Telltale adventure to date. The five-episode season often felt more like an interactive movie than traditional adventure game, thanks in no small part to the rich animation that brought the zombified world to... life (so to speak).

Runners-Up: Botanicula, The Testament of Sherlock Holmes, Deponia (series), Journey
 


Next up: Best Music... the envelope, please!


Best Music: Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller – Episode One: The Hangman


The first episode of Phoenix Online’s new episodic paranormal mystery Cognition is soaked with gloomy style. It is a game that has many different emotional gears: On the trail of a serial killer, Erica Reed finds herself performing a normal FBI investigation around the city of Boston, but she’ll also spend time in thoughtful conversations with a grieving family member at the cemetery, as well as experiencing very intense moments of jeopardy with an evil murderer close at hand. These narrative highs and lows would have had much more trouble resonating with players if they were not framed with an appropriately atmospheric soundtrack, but the brilliant score by Austin Haynes consistently hits just the right notes at all times.

Cognition’s music is soft and reflective when it needs to be, moody and ambient when circumstances dictate, and jarringly intense at the game’s darkest and most dramatic moments. During scenes when audio should be less prominent, the mood is kept light and unobtrusive, but the soundtrack is always a benefit to the events playing out on screen, which is a very impressive feat for an indie endeavour. The composer's work on The Silver Lining was notably one of that game’s strengths as well, and Phoenix Online clearly made the right choice by once again putting their music into his hands, as Cognition proved itself a deserving winner of our Best Music Aggie for 2012 over some very tough competition.

Runners-Up: The Walking Dead, Journey, Botanicula, The Journey Down: Chapter One
 


Readers’ Choice: Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller - Episode One: The Hangman


If you've never played The Silver Lining, you may not be familiar with the work of Austin Haynes. But even if you have, it was no sure thing that Haynes could jump from the fantastical adventures in Daventry to a dark, disturbing serial murder thriller. But the self-proclaimed "composer for the imagination" did just that with Cognition, delivering a top-notch score that evoked all the right moods at just the right times. We clearly all hope to hear more from him in future, in more ways than one.

Runners-Up: Botanicula, The Walking Dead, Deponia (series), Journey
 


Next up: Best Voice Acting... the envelope, please!


Best Voice Acting: The Walking Dead


You’d be hard pressed to find a weak link in this year's award winner for best voice acting, The Walking Dead. The script and characters are well written and engaging in their own right, but the impressive vocal performances given to the multitude of characters added an extra depth and nuance that made the game so much more memorable. Leading the pack is Lee Everett (Dave Fennoy), who is able to show both a grim and cautious attitude as well as kindness and caring when given a moment to reflect on all that’s happened to him, both before and after the zombie apocalypse. Clementine (Melissa Hutchison) is another one of the game’s standouts. Children are often dreadfully performed in adventure games, but Hutchison does such a convincing job that it’s difficult to tell that it’s an adult voicing the character. Kenny (Gavin Hammon) has a great gruff, redneck attitude that gives way quickly to the love he feels for his family. Lilly (Nikki Rapp) is torn, confused and frustrated as she tries to keep control of the group.

In fact, the entire cast is top notch, giving each character a complex emotional range no matter how small a role they play. Well, except for the undead walkers, who consistently sound mindless and hungry for flesh, never failing to raise the requisite tension when they're nearby. There are no mailed-in performances and better yet, no over-acting, which is surprising given the series' comic book origins and zombie apocalypse setting. It's easy to imagine some B-movie camp sneaking in, but there's none to be found here. And it was crucial to get the voices just right. As a game not about zombies but rather a raw human drama in the face of unspeakable horrors, an emotional connection with the ever-changing cast of survivors was imperative in making players care about their safety – a concern that often met with devastating results. With such believable and memorable performances all around, there was no doubt in our minds that The Walking Dead deserves the Best Voice Acting Aggie this year.

Runners-Up: Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller – Episode One: The Hangman, The Journey Down: Chapter One, Yesterday, Primordia
 


Readers’ Choice: The Walking Dead

Clementine sounds like a little girl! That alone is a huge accomplishment for Telltale, as kids in games often sound like the adults they really are in the recording booth, horribly overacted to compensate. But it's not just Clem that delivers a convincing performance in The Walking Dead. The baritone-voiced Lee sounds exactly like the gruff killer-with-a-heart-of-gold-wrestling-with-his-demons that you'd imagine, and there's no letdown right through the supporting cast.

Runners-Up: Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller - Episode One: The Hangman, Deponia (series), Primordia, Resonance
 


Next up: Best Sound Effects... the envelope, please!


Best Sound Effects: BlindSide


Sound effects have become increasingly more important in adventure games since computers moved past midi. From the cartoonish plops and boinks of Day of the Tentacle to the sounds of running water and machinery of Myst, nothing sets the mood and tone like the aural backdrop in any given environment.  And when the environment can only be perceived through the noises it makes, it becomes infinitely more important to make sure those sounds are up to the task of drawing a clear audio picture. Epicycle's BlindSide is a pitch-black game that would have completely failed without an immersive soundscape to accurately inform us about what was really going on in the world around us. Creating one successfully would mean our Aggie Award for Best Sound Effects in 2012.

Obviously, the game rose to the occasion. Everything from a dripping faucet to a wall clock; from a running fountain to the scraping of furniture as it’s dragged across the floor, is convincing enough to fully "visualize" the surroundings without any visuals at all. Of course, the most important sound effects of all are the creatures chasing you through the game. Creeping blindly through a gymnasium full of sleeping monsters all around you remains one of the most nerve-wracking horror moments of the year, though the only evidence they exist is their heavy breathing and throaty snarling. What we imagine is often scarier than what we see, and the sounds they make are more than enough to terrify. What do the creatures look like? We’ll never know. But based on their horrifying growls alone, we’re sure we never want to know. BlindSide convinced us of that, in no uncertain terms.

Runners-Up: Miasmata, The Cat Lady, The Walking Dead, Yesterday
 


Readers’ Choice: The Walking Dead


There are some sounds in The Walking Dead that you really don't WANT to hear, like the telltale murmuring that alerts you to the presence of undead walkers closing in on your position. And then there are some you do, like the crack of your handgun as you put a bullet between the eyes of yet another oncoming, hideously murmuring zombie. But whether good or bad for your welfare, the audio backdrop is always convincing, never breaking the immersion of a story that kept us all glued to our chairs from gut-eating beginning to gut-wrenching end.

Runners-Up: Botanicula, Deponia (series), The Testament of Sherlock Holmes, The Cat Lady
 

Next up: Honorary Aggies... the envelope, please!


Honorary Aggies

Handing out awards is so much fun, once again we are pleased to acknowledge a few more games that distinguished themselves in notable ways. These honorary accolades may feel like a consolation prize for falling short of the highest goals, but we don't see it that way. Their purpose is to celebrate more ambiguous achievements not recognized by the main categories, each of which contributed to the wonderful genre diversity we enjoyed last year. The statues aren't golden, but silver's not bad!
 

Best of the Rest: The Testament of Sherlock Holmes


Aggie spoiler alert! The Testament of Sherlock Holmes won't be taking home any major awards this year, but not for lack of repeatedly coming close. After ten years of consistently 'good' Sherlock Holmes games, Frogwares finally gave us the mystery we'd been waiting for in 2012. A cross-platform release with multiple control schemes and user-friendly features to streamline any troublesome gameplay, this game appealed not only to its existing devoted fanbase but also to a whole new console audience. But above all, the surprising story of Sherlock's apparent fall from grace was thoroughly engaging right from the start and kept the momentum up through well-crafted characters and plenty of twists and turns. Topped off with stunning visuals and an impressive orchestral soundtrack, this was Frogwares at their finest. Though falling just a little short in individual categories, the game is certainly deserving of special acknowledgement, proving that a decade in the right hands can yield impressive results from a much loved franchise.


Best Game No One Has Played: The Sea Will Claim Everything


At first glance, The Sea Will Claim Everything looks like a children's cartoon, almost gaudy with its bold colours and thick outlines. And when you look closer, you'll find reading – lots and LOTS of reading. The first commercial game from Jonas Kyratzes has "acquired taste" written all over it, but stick with it and you'll find a fantastical world full of weird and wonderful places and people. The beautiful hand-drawn picture book illustrations suit the surreal Lands of Dream perfectly, and the clever writing reveals a wealth of detail to enjoy. Add a melodious soundtrack and a story that casts you as the saviour of the Fortunate Isles from a nefarious villain, and you end up with the genre's best kept secret. If you missed it the first time around (and we know you did), don't make the same mistake twice.


Most Promising Debut: Miasmata


This year saw a lot of debuts that fill us with hope for the next generation of adventure designers. While there were many fantastic games released this year by first-time developers, one stood out in terms of sheer audacity. Miasmata is a really weird game, one that refuses to give in to gamers’ expectations of how it should be played: an adventure game without “adventure game” puzzles, a horror game without combat, an open world game without a mini-map. Miasmata is a survival game that tracks your health, thirst, and energy level. It’s a game that requires you to navigate a massive island using landmarks and fill out your map via triangulation. It’s a game that lulls you into a trance with lush scenery and then throws a freaking invincible death tiger at you without warning. It’s also the best game about botany ever made. Keep your eyes peeled for more from the talented Johnson Brothers and their studio IonFX. We know we will.


Most Nostalgic Adventure: CYPHER: Cyberpunk Text Adventure


The first great adventure games involved walls of print that called upon the player's ability to inhabit the fiction and imagine its world and the events playing out solely through text, while solving its many puzzles by responding in kind. While we had several impressive '90s-era retro adventures released this year, the Cabrera Brothers' CYPHER: Cyberpunk Text Adventure took us even farther back to the earliest genre days, but this time the text was displayed within a gorgeous illustrated frame using audio/visual elements to enhance the writing on-screen. Though far from perfect, CYPHER reminded us how intimate and immersive text adventures could be. It may not be enough to bring interactive fiction back to prominence, but it was enough to offer a welcome bit of nostalgia with a slightly modern twist.


Most Progressive Adventure: Alt-Minds


Imagine a game where you and your friends work together to solve the disappearance of a group of students. While one of you tracks down the license plate of a van, another finds the name of their colleague on Facebook and sends a message that's soon answered. Another can search the internet for a car rental agency based on a logo recalled by their apartment landlord, and the proprietor, when contacted in real life, reveals the amount of gas they used and the number of suitcases they carried, allowing you to use Google maps to plot possible target locations such as an airport or a railway station. Sound impossible? Not with Alt-Minds. Building on the already-ambitious premise of MISSING/In Memoriam, Lexis Numérique created a multiplayer, real-time mystery investigation with daily puzzles and tasks to overcome across a variety of platforms and media. Like many innovative projects, this nine-week experiment encountered some unexpected difficulties and international participation was limited, but for its sheer boldness of vision, there were no games more progressive in design than this.


Best "Almost" Adventure: Home, Dear Esther (tie)


Exactly how much gameplay does there need to be to make a game a... game? There's no definitive answer to that question, but we felt that Benjamin Rivers's Home and thechineseroom's Dear Esther were ultimately more interactive stories than adventure games. But that doesn't mean they aren't deserving of your attention. On the surface the two are strikingly different: Home uses a retro pixel-art aesthetic in dimly lit city locations, while Dear Esther was given a graphical overhaul from its freeware origins to depict a stunningly realistic island setting. Look deeper, however, and they are really quite similar. Both gam... uh, both whatevers are brilliant examples of surreal, interpretational narratives driven almost exclusively by exploration. There are no puzzles to solve and no real challenge, but piecing together their fractured, possibly tragic storylines is a puzzle in its own right that most adventure gamers would embrace.
 


Next up: Best Independent Adventure... the envelope, please!


Best Independent Adventure: Resonance


Adventure Gamers uses this category to honour not just the ever-increasing quality of games produced by small teams of designers, but also to recognize the spirit of the indie community. Vince Twelve, lead designer of the xii games team, certainly demonstrated the persistence of that spirit over the course of five years (and one early Kickstarter campaign). Finally, with the late help of Dave Gilbert’s Wadjet Eye Games, Resonance saw the light of day in 2012 – and blew us all away. It's a remarkable game, a brilliant and clever science fiction tale with memorable heroes, a brilliant and innovative new mechanic in the form of short-term and long-term memories, and a new standard for adventures that require control of multiple characters. The puzzles are balanced and uniformly excellent, and the graphical and audio presentation is top-notch.

Independent developers are often satisfied with simply paying homage and reverence to the style of games that they grew up with, and while Resonance does use a retro aesthetic that resembles the early- to mid-'90s point-and-click classics, it is a game that boldly shows how indies can innovate and redefine basic adventure mechanics in new and intriguing ways. It's also a prime example of how even modest productions have immense power to emotionally resonate, telling a complex and clever story just as well as the highest-budget commercial game. Technically speaking, Resonance may not be completely "independent", but for most of its development time it was, and though it had to fend off an extremely competitive field this year, it's a thoroughly deserving winner of our Best Independent Adventure award.

Runners-Up: Botanicula, The Cat Lady, Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller – Episode One: The Hangman, The Journey Down: Chapter One
 


Readers’ Choice: Resonance


This Aggie isn't a "good FOR an indie" selection, but a "good BECAUSE it's an indie" award. With no one looking over their shoulders (or giving them any money), developers are free to make stylistic choices that best suit their vision, experiment with puzzles, controls, and even stories that publishers wouldn't dare touch. In 2012, this resulted in a bumper crop of diverse adventures, capped by Resonance's clever mix of retro aesthetic, multi-protagonist sci-fi storyline, and innovative new gameplay mechanics.

Runners-Up: Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller - Episode One: The Hangman, Botanicula, The Cat Lady, Primordia
 


Next up: Best Console/Handheld Adventure... the envelope, please!


Best Console/Handheld Adventure (Exclusive): Journey


Following up their divisive play-as-meditation games flOw and flower with a highly-stylized game about a robed figure traversing harsh climate seemed an odd choice for developer thatgamecompany, but then again Jenova Chen and associates have never really played by the established rules. In fact, it's hard to qualify Journey as belonging to any one single genre, sharing elements with platforming, puzzlers, and arthouse indies, but ultimately it's closer to an adventure game than anything else. Really, though, it's unlike anything else you have ever played. And it's superb, easily making this PlayStation 3 exclusive our top console award winner of the year.

The first thing that grabs you is the striking visual style, full of muted browns, greens and reds alongside stark whites and impenetrable blacks. Then you hear the beautiful music that punctuates and underlines every movement and environment perfectly. Next to impress is the fluid animation, smooth as glass controls, and an atmosphere that completely sucks you in. In addition to all this, Journey includes a feature that almost melts into the background but is so ingenious you can't help but be in awe: An anonymous co-op mode where other players join your game – not to help you take down aliens or solve puzzles, but to experience the joy of making new discoveries together. Without names or exchanging a word, this shared experience connects two souls in a way no other game ever has. People can endlessly debate whether games are art, or even whether this is really a game, but with an offering such as Journey available, we'd rather spend our time playing them than talking about them.

Runners-Up: Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask, Papo & Yo, The Unfinished Swan, Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward
 


Readers’ Choice: Journey


Another title sure to spark plenty of "is it an adventure?" and even "is it a game?" debates, Journey is incredible, and on that we agree. It's a stylishly beautiful, melancholy exploration in which the "journey" is far more important than the destination, and even better when shared with an anonymous multiplayer partner. It's a shame that it's available solely on PS3, but for those with access to Sony's home console and don't mind some gentle platforming elements, it's a must-play experience.

Runners-Up: Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward, Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask, The Unfinished Swan, Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Frozen City
 


Next up: Best Non-Traditional Adventure... the envelope, please!


Best Non-Traditional Adventure: The Walking Dead


For an interactive medium, stories in adventure games are typically experienced in a very passive way. You may enjoy the ride, but you're relegated the back seat. Telltale's The Walking Dead doesn't quite put you behind the wheel, but it does let you ride shotgun, both literally and figuratively. The story of Lee Everett and his ragtag team of zombie apocalypse survivors isn't simply told to us, but partially created by us, particularly during split-second decisions with crucial consequences. Many of the choices are far more cosmetic, providing merely an illusion of control, but the weighty moral issues and painful personal ones you'll wrestle with are what make the game so fully engaging and often deeply moving. What kind of character will you attribute to Lee? What example will you set for young Clementine? Will you forgive offenses to keep the group together, or foster grudges to drive out unwanted elements? There are no right and wrong answers – only your answers.

The game also makes liberal use of Quick Time Events for action-packed moments. It's an unusual gameplay mechanic in adventures that can quickly grow tiresome when overdone, but here they feel entirely appropriate. Where the story and dialogue choices build close relationships with your fellow survivors, the QTEs help develop the requisite sense of immediacy and danger that complements – by endangering – these attachments beautifully. You're only ever a careless misstep away from losing one of the characters you’ve become fond of, and each new zombie encounter or hostile human opposition reinforces this sense of constant tension. Sure, you'll do normal adventurey things in between, but its unconventional emphasis on intense character drama and action set pieces (along with its superb production values and memorable characters already acknowledged) are what make The Walking Dead a non-traditional adventure worthy of this year's Aggie Award.

Runners-Up: Botanicula, Journey, The Cat Lady, Kairo
 


Readers’ Choice: The Walking Dead


The Walking Dead isn't really THAT non-traditional. You still wander around, collect items, talk to people and solve the occasional puzzle, but these elements are understated and even a bit underwhelming. Rather, its heavier-than-normal reliance on QTEs gives the game a more action-oriented bent than classic point-and-click adventures, and most importantly, its prominent focus on player-driven narrative choice and character drama is what really sets it apart, creating a truly memorable experience along the way.

Runners-Up: Botanicula, The Cat Lady, Journey, Miasmata
 


Next up: Best Traditional Adventure... the envelope, please!


Best Traditional Adventure: Resonance


Vince Twelve's Resonance starts with a bang. Or just after one, to be precise, as shaky-cam news coverage reveals that a series of devastating explosions have occurred around the world in a massive and coordinated act of terror. Rewind 60 hours: four ordinary people have just started their days in urban America. They don’t yet know what we know, that worldwide catastrophe is imminent. Guiding them toward this realization and uniting them in a race against time to put a stop to it is your pursuit, and once the clock starts ticking you'll be committed to riding this exciting sci-fi story through to one of its available ends. With its nostalgic pixel art aesthetic and classic point-and-click interface, Resonance could easily be mistaken for a wonderful relic from the likes of Sierra or LucasArts.

But within its entirely traditional framework, this indie adventure offers up both gameplay and storytelling that are anything but familiar. From the ability to switch between four playable characters and make use of their unique skillsets to solve puzzles, to the Long Term and Short Term Memory systems that turn intangible thoughts and observations into useable inventory items, Resonance is as innovative as it is old school. And with its ensemble cast and flashback-driven structure, its narrative is equally creative: each protagonist has their own take on the events, motivations for getting involved, and carefully-guarded secrets that drive the story’s twists and turns. This all adds up to an entertaining, edge-of-your-seat adventure that outshines the rest of 2012’s traditional releases and rivals the best of the “golden age” classics. The game may look two decades old, but everything about Resonance feels exciting and new, and that’s precisely why we’ve named it our Best Traditional Adventure of 2012.

Runners-Up: The Testament of Sherlock Holmes, Deponia (series), Primordia, The Journey Down: Chapter One
 


Readers’ Choice: Resonance


As the saying goes, good things come to those who wait, and that axiom proved itself once again with Resonance. Often a protracted development schedule is a sign of problems, but the five years Vince Twelve spent making his first commercial adventure was time well spent. From the portentous cataclysmic opening moments to the dramatic multiple endings, everything about its story, gameplay, and production values are first-rate, propelling it to the front of a very impressive traditional adventure game field.

Runners-Up: Deponia (series), Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller - Episode One: The Hangman, The Testament of Sherlock Holmes, The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav
 


Next up: The moment you’ve all been waiting for – Best Adventure of 2012... the envelope, please!


Best Adventure of 2012: The Walking Dead


After owning the top Aggie podium for the first two years of its existence, Telltale obviously took the subsequent two-year snub to heart, because this year they've returned with a vengeance. At first glance, The Walking Dead seems like an unlikely candidate for success among adventure gamers. Some will argue that it's barely an adventure game at all. We disagree, but it certainly breaks the mold in many ways. There are puzzles, but they’re often easy and quickly solved. There are lots of Quick Time Events to introduce tense action sequences, which are rarely a fan favourite. And one of the central figures is a little kid, which have historically been poorly written and performed even worse. All this in one of the most overly saturated thematic genres in the media today. How could it possibly be any good?

And yet it is good. Very good. The puzzles take a distant back seat to the intense character drama playing out according to your own choices. Your connection to protagonist (and convicted killer) Lee Everett and his increasingly desperate plight is so strong that you'll feel personally responsible for the safety of your... sorry, his fellow group of survivors – an emotional investment that often results in shocking devastation. And that child character? We defy anyone not to fall in love with little Clementine, so vulnerable yet so brave in the face of crises that overwhelm most of the adults around her. Sending Lee through hell to protect her doesn’t just feel like a reasonable idea, it feels like the only choice that makes any sense, and you'll be jamming those QTE keys that pop up like your life – or the life of someone near and dear to you – depends on it. Often it does.

Along with the stellar production values we can always count on from Telltale – wisely adapted here to suit the game's graphic novel origins – The Walking Dead is one of those interactive experiences that has the potential to change the way we relate to games. It's not about figuring out puzzle solutions or even killing zombies; it's about figuring out how to cope in a world that threatens to tear the last vestiges of humanity apart, one way or the other. The fact that there’s only one ending after all the decisions you've made to reach that point doesn't ultimately matter, because it's all about the road you travel to get there. Your choices force you to continually wrestle with your conscience and accept the consequences, however gut-wrenching they may be. It’s one of the most moving experiences in videogame history, and it's sure to stick with you long after you've finished, which makes The Walking Dead an easy Aggie choice for Best Adventure of 2012.

Runners-Up: Resonance, Botanicula, Journey, The Testament of Sherlock Holmes
 


Readers’ Choice: The Walking Dead


Drum roll, please... Okay, you probably guessed that the winner of a staggering eight previous categories (out of the eleven it was actually eligible for) would walk away with top honours overall. And why not? The Walking Dead doesn't do everything well, but what it does do well it does absolutely brilliantly. It thrust us mercilessly into a zombie outbreak and then relentlessly dogged our every move with emotionally exhausting ordeals. It made us choose the lesser of many evils in big ways and small, none of them leading to happily-ever-afters. It's utterly unforgettable, so it comes as no surprise that our readers joined us in selecting it as game of the year.

Runners-Up: Resonance, Deponia (series), Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller - Episode One: The Hangman, The Testament of Sherlock Holmes
 


That concludes the 2012 Aggie Awards! Still to come, a few final notes and a complete eligible game list, the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything (kidding – just making sure you were still paying attention), and other assorted fine print. Think we got our choices right or wrong? Agree or disagree with your fellow gamers? Feedback is always welcome in the comments below! Thanks for reading and voting, and we’ll see you all again twelve months from now to discuss what's shaping up to be one humdinger of a year.


The Adventure Gamers staff would like to offer our sincere congratulations to the developers (and publishers) of all games that won awards, and our thanks to the many readers who participated in our public voting poll.


Final Notes


To be eligible, a game must have been launched through digital distribution, self-published online, or commercially released in either North America or the United Kingdom in the calendar year 2012.

For the sake of administrative simplicity, Deponia and Chaos on Deponia have been listed as a single entity.

Although the first episode debuted late in 2011, the complete season of Law & Order: Legacies was carried over to 2012.


Complete list of eligible games


PC/Mac (includes multi-platform releases)

 

1953: KGB Unleashed
2299: The Game
Aaron Crane: Paintings Come Alive
About to Blow Up
Adam's Venture: Episode 3 - Revelations
Alt-Minds
Amber's Blood
Anastronaut: The Moon Hopper
Anna
Anna's Quest: Vol. 1 - Winfriede's Tower
The Ballads of Reemus: When the Bed Bites
BlindSide
The Book of Unwritten Tales: The Critter Chronicles
Botanicula
Captain Morgane and the Golden Turtle
The Cat Lady
Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller - Episode 1: The Hangman
Corrosion: Cold Winter Waiting
The Cross Formula
CYPHER: Cyberpunk Text Adventure
Da New Guys: Day of the Jackass
Dark Alleys: Penumbra Motel
The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav
Dark Secrets
Deponia (series)
Doc Apocalypse
Edna & Harvey: Harvey's New Eyes
The Five Cores
The Fool and His Money
Gothic Fiction: Dark Saga
Haunted
Haunting at Cliffhouse
Hoodwink
J.U.L.I.A.
James Peris: No Licence Nor Control
The Journey Down: Chapter One
Kairo
Law & Order: Legacies
Louisiana Adventure
Lost Chronicles of Zerzura
Lucius
MacGuffin's Curse
Mark T. Ross: A Private in Paris - Episode 1
Miasmata
Nancy Drew: Tomb of the Lost Queen
Nancy Drew: The Deadly Device
The Odyssey HD
Oz Orwell and the Crawling Chaos
Primordia
Reality Show: Fatal Shot
Red Johnson's Chronicles: One Against All
Reperfection: Volume 1
Resonance
The Sea Will Claim Everything
Secret Files 3
Shadows on the Vatican: Act 1 - Greed
The Shine of a Star
The Testament of Sherlock Holmes
Twilight Phenomena: The Lodgers of House 13
Versailles Mysteries: Oscar and the Athanor
Versailles Mysteries: The Royal Spy
The Walking Dead
Where Angels Cry
Yesterday

 

 

Console/Handheld (exclusives)


Forever Lost: Episode 1 (iOS)
Journey (PS3)
Life in the Dorms (Xbox 360)
Papo & Yo (PS3)
Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask (3DS)
Quiet, Please! (iOS, Xbox 360)
Quiet Christmas (iOS)
Reversion: Chapter 1 - The Escape (iOS)
Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Frozen City (3DS)
The Unfinished Swan (PS3)
Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward (3DS)
 


Contributors to the writing of this article include: Jack Allin, Nathaniel Berens, Astrid Beulink, Jason L Blair, Steve Brown, Evan Dickens, Drummond Doroski, Rob Franklin, Joe Keeley, Merlina McGovern, Emily Morganti, Shuva Raha, Reece Warrender, Manda Whitney

The Aggie Award was designed by Bill Tiller.