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My 2019, adventurewise

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Total Posts: 7432

Joined 2013-08-26

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I always have a great year, but to my surprise and dismay the bad outweighed the good for me in 2019.

Good:
Return of the Obra Dinn (2018) – I already said plenty about this masterpiece.
Telling Lies -  Mostly very good. Gripping story, great acting. Addictive. I loved searching the database for new clips, and finding the matching clip of the other side of the conversation was fun. But the bad was pretty bad, like the endless rewinding and no option to jump to the start of clips.   
Draugen – Enjoyed this beautiful “walking sim”. The creepy atmosphere really got under my skin. Excellent voiceacting and writing.
Jenny LeClue – I’m glad I decided to give Jenny a second chance. The intro was long and boring, the rest of the game considerably better. Funny Jenny made me laugh out loud several times. It’s a pity she draws all the conclusions herself, I would have liked to play detective too.  Everything is just a bit too long and repetitive (and also a bit too “casual” for my taste), but I’ll buy the sequel the moment it’s released.
FRAMED Collection (2018/14) – Unique puzzle games with a story. Spies and noir settings are my thing and solving the panel puzzles made me feel smart.
Smile for Me – Very weird, very creative, and very good. 

Mediocre:
Pilgrims – As I expected from Amanita, the graphics and Floex’ music were excellent. Wish I could say the same about the rest. The simple puzzles and fetch quests were all too familiar.
The Little Acre (2016) – Okay and forgettable
Detective Di – Okay I guess. Traditional 3rd-person adventure. They could have done soooo much more with the Chinese setting!
Carol Reed: The Fall of April – I’ve played my fill of the Carol Reed games. This was the last one for me.
Photographs – Nobody ever mentioned it in the forums, so I bet I’m the only one here who played it. Not my type of puzzles. Stories should be experienced, not literally told IMO.

Bad:
Kyrandia 1 – I played Kyrandia 2 in 2018 and liked it, but the first one was bland and nondescript, just like protagonist Brandon. Endless backtracking through empty screens.
A Normal Lost Phone – I wish I could post my opinion of this game but that’s impossible without spoilers. So I’ll just say I’m too old for this.
Chook & Sosig Walk the Plank – Don’t understand why I bothered to finish it. Totally unfunny. Ugly graphics. Meta-stuff serves no purpose.
Zed – I had to read the AG review to understand what the devs wanted to get across. So in my case they failed. I actually found it an unpleasant experience.

And then there’s this year’s impressive pile of Unfinished Games. If there’s one thing 2019 has taught me it’s that I’m really through with 3rd-person, inventory-based indie games, unless they have something novel to offer. I don’t mean to bash Irony Curtain and Kelvin and the Infamous Machine, other posters here did enjoy them, but I’ve had it with distracting people, doctoring drinks, finding keys, dealing with carnivorous plants, etcetera. A few games I still want to finish, like the adventure/platformers Pony Island (very funny, excellent game) and Night in the Woods (interesting, unfortunately I suck at platforming).

Biggest disappointment: After seven(!) years there’s still no sign of The Council of Crows, which I backed at Indiegogo. Jonas Kyratzes is a very creative developer, I love his games and I’ll still play it if it ever gets released.

Best news: The Wolf Among Us 2 has not been abandoned.

On my To-Be-Played-Soon list: Still There - Interrogation: You Will Be Deceived - Hypnospace Outlaw - Alt Frequencies - Norwood Suite - One Shot

Looking forward to: The White Door – Simulacra 2 - Creaks – Poisoned Pawn – Kentucky Route Zero part 5 – Firmament – Beyond A Steel Sky – Someday You’ll Return – Technobabylon: Birthright - Observation (already released but I prefer Steam or GOG)

And how was your 2019?

     

See you around, wolf. Nerissa

Total Posts: 310

Joined 2018-12-01

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Cool idea.

I like your structure, hope you don’t mind me pinching it.


Good:
Hypnospace Outlaw: Brilliant game. Unique, challenging and full of twists and turns. Everything an adventure game should be.
Smile For Me: Funny and charming, I loved the characters and writing.
Eastshade: I really loved this. A high quality beautiful open world game with no action at all. I can’t think of a more fully realized and immersive adventure game world complete with unique characters, puzzles and crafting system. A winner.
Jenny LeClue: Highly entertaining. Not particularly challenging but the witty writing and zaniness makes up for it.
Sumatra: Fate of Yandi: Nothing exceptional or new on any level, but the rainforest setting (which I loved exploring) and the heartfelt story with an important and compassionate message makes it for me.
Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy! HD: I played this after the sequel, and the updates made it well worthwhile. Charming little game.

Mediocre:
Detective Di: The Silk Rose MurdersNot bad, but forgettable. Beyond the unique setting nothing really stands out, and unlike Sumatra: Fate of Yandi I had no connection with the characters or events which were happening.
Whispers of a Machine: I liked playing this, and thought it was an improvement on Kathy Rain, even if most of the plot was lost on me.
Rainswept: Nice little quirky mystery game.
Heavy Rain: This was one of the few non-2019 games I decided to play. The most I could say for it is that it was exciting, in parts. The story was a run-of-the-mill thriller and the gameplay little more than tapping the button you see on the screen.
Frog Detective 1 and 2: Just silly fun. Not even really a game, but fun anyway.

Bad:
Myha: Return to the Lost Island: A poor game advertised as a homage to Myst, but with none of the charm, intrigue or beauty. What’s more the developers seem to delight in frustrating and hiding things from the players, which the Myst series never did.
Yet Another Hero Story: This one was just plain bad.
Moon Castle: Terrible real-time Myst clone. Avoid at all costs.
Gold Rush 2: I gave this a go against my better judgement given that I disliked the Gold Rush remake, but it was so bad I got a refund within an hour of playtime.

Biggest disappointment: That in 2019 no one knows how to make a Myst style game any more.

On my To-Be-Played-Soon list:
Observation
Telling Lies
The Outer Wilds
Arise: A Simple Story
Discolored

 

     
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Total Posts: 505

Joined 2005-07-07

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Can’t remember all games I played this year, but generally I’ve been in a replaying mood. I replayed the Myst series (including URU) and Obduction. I replayed all the Animation Arts games (Secret Files and Lost Horizon, playing Lost Horizon 2 for the first time).

I’m currently reaching the end of Frogwares’ Sherlock series, playing Crimes & Punishments and The Devil’s Daughter for the first time. Not shure I will actually finish The Devil’s Daughter though. The actions sequences and quick time events really kill this one, much more so imo than the review here at AG reflects. If Frogwares have achieved anything by adding those incredibly bad action elements it is losing me as a potential customer for The Sinking City.

I played What Remains of Edith Finch for the first time in 2019 and liked it a lot. The Return of Obra Dinn was excellent too. Both at least four star games.

The only games released in 2019 that I’ve played so far:

Blacksad: I enjoyed it, but the game mechanics and a lack of polish kept it from being a truly great game. 3,5 stars out of 5.

Fall of April: Nothing new here, but that’s ok. 3/5.

Whispers of a Machine: Pretty good. 3,5/5.

Gibbous: A Cthulhu Adventure: Didn’t enjoy this one much. 2,5/5.

The Five Cores Remastered: For a one man created Myst clone it was ok. 3/5.

     
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Total Posts: 131

Joined 2006-10-02

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State of Mind, PS4
Very good. Interesting story, interesting characters. It’s seldom adventuregames gets the money necessary to create production value that is at least comparable to the big consol games, but this game got it. Reminds a lot of Ganteföhrs classic pointandclick The Moment of Silence.

Tacoma, PS4
Good game. Well written, good looking. Some tedious political correctness to be found, but nothing too disturbing.

Whispers of a machine, iPad
No, sorry. Too stiff, too let’s make a pointandclick the way they used to.

The vanishing of Ethan Carter, PS4
Bad. Arranging events in the right order isn’t fun. The production values make for some beautiful scenery, but it didn’t help. Walking the woods was dull.

     
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Total Posts: 4249

Joined 2005-04-14

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I’ve played only 3 (yes, three!) adventure games this year - The Birdwatcher, Return of the Obra Dinn and Cube Escape: Arles - but I enjoyed all of them.

     

Everybody wants to be Cary Grant.
Even Me.

-Cary Grant

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Total Posts: 6584

Joined 2007-07-22

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Thanx for organizing the games in such a neat way, Karlok! Great read! Too bad you didn’t like Legend of Kyrandia 1, I’ve also played the second and liked it, the first one was on my radar.

     

Recently finished: Four Last Things 4/5, Edna & Harvey: The Breakout 5/5, Chains of Satinav 3,95/5, A Vampyre Story 88, Sam Peters 3/5, Broken Sword 1 4,5/5, Broken Sword 2 4,3/5, Broken Sword 3 85, Broken Sword 5 81, Gray Matter 4/5\nCurrently playing: Broken Sword 4, Keepsake (Let\‘s Play), Callahan\‘s Crosstime Saloon (post-Community Playthrough)\nLooking forward to: A Playwright’s Tale

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Total Posts: 2060

Joined 2013-08-25

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This was a long year. I kept looking for something to cheer me up, but most games just failed to entertain even if they were advertised as comedies. I can name several games by different devs from different countries that felt like they were designed using one template. It’s a common problem, of course, - the level of writing dropped dramatically during the past 10 years, most modern books and movies also feel lame and repetitive. I hope that the new decade will become a cultural renaissance.

Good:
Hypnospace Outlaw - this one is an exception. The game is so original, so well-written and well-designed that I wasn’t even put off by the last chapter which was a bit frustrating and depressing. But this game is full of extremely fun content, I will definitely replay it and wait for more games from Jay Tholen.
Blade Runner - well, it’s not the first time I played BR, but revisiting it 20 years after felt like it was. Awesome adventure full of bold ideas; some of them are only half-backed, but this doesn’t harm the game. And the way they imitated the movie while moving their own direction is something to be admired.

Mediocre:
Sumatra: Fate of Yandi - an enjoyable little environmental game with a strong Sierra feel. A bit too short and easy for my taste, but good nevertheless. Also nice message.
Leisure Suit Larry: Wet Dreams Don’t Dry - I was skeptical about it at first as I strongly believe that a sequel to a game/book/movie/etc. must involve original writers/designers. And the German Larry sure lacked Al Lowe’s touch. Still at the end of the day it was an ok feel-good adventure that wasn’t afraid to make “offensive” jokes.
Edna & Harvey: Harvey’s New Eyes - I’ll put it here, although I didn’t find the second Edna that funny or entertaining, especially compared to the first. I liked the protagonist and some of the puzzles/ideas, but not the game as a whole.

Bad:
Mage’s Initiation - I’ve been waiting for this for many years, but the final result was a disappointment. The game fails as Quest for Glory (both adventure and RPG parts are too primitive), fails to create a new interesting universe or a descent plot, fails at drama and comedy. It does have this old school Sierra feel and great art, and some of the puzzles were fun, but replaying it? No, thank you.
Forgotton Anne - I completely forgot I played it. It’s pretty forgettable despite nice presentation and some original ideas. Thing is, those ideas are original only for an adventure game, but hardly original for a platform game. And even then there’s little to do in this world, puzzles become repetitive very soon while the plot becomes more and more abstract and uninteresting. And there’s no feel of excitement as you can’t fail or die.
Irony Curtain, Guard Duty and Gibbous - I was talking about these three games from Poland, Britain and Romania that felt like they were made using one template. Very similar characters, very similar (BAD) jokes, very similar plot turns (“let’s add drama, confusion and political messages, because nobody wants a simple comedy game today”). Excellent graphics and animation though, all three of them. Works of artists, not writers.
A.D. 2044 - well, it was bad. Not disappointingly bad since I knew what to expect from those numerous reviews, but still pretty bad. It had glimpses of Coktel Vision’s Lost in Time and Ween: The Prophecy, but those Polish devs just weren’t that inspired (or that crazy) as the French.

Special mentions:
Disco Elysium - Adventuregamers chose to ignore this game despite it is as close to adventures as RPGs get. I didn’t finish it because I didn’t have time, and now I will probably have to replay it, but what I’ve seen so far was fun-fun-fun! Seriously funny and original game, brilliant writing and design choices.
The Cat Lady - generally I’m not a fan of such gritty, depressing games. But I feel like I need to play this one, installed it long time ago and played a bit. But you really need to be in the right mood.

     

PC means personal computer

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Total Posts: 487

Joined 2012-10-03

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Vehelon - 30 December 2019 12:38 AM

Biggest disappointment: That in 2019 no one knows how to make a Myst style game any more.

Uh… really? Cry
On the other hand I think players are not investing themselves as much as before in this genre, they take guides or walkthroughs as soon as they can.

@Vehelon It’s a shame you didn’t like Myha but thanks for playing it. No, there was no delight at all in hiding things from players, we didn’t do that, I try to avoid pixel hunting and things like that. I think probably the level design could be the reason? Or issues due to your hardware or a bug, making the graphics messy?
Anyway it would seem we failed to entertain another Myst lover… I feel very discouraged everytime it happens.


Update: finally I am able to make a short 2019 list too, it seems I played a few adventure games that I had forgotten about:

Good:
- The Five Cores Remastered: not totally finished but enjoyed the quality of the world.
- Pilgrims: I had almost forgotten about this good surprise, I liked it even if too short.
- Detroit: I liked it more than the 2 previous games of Quantic Dreams
- Myst III: I had the opportunity to play it again, at last, with the GOG release, and it is still as great. I still prefer Riven however.

Medium:
- Syberia 2: I loved the first one but surprisingly I didn’t like this second one as much.
- Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc: Even though I enjoyed the concept, I couldn’t stand the characters and the fact they talk too much.
- Obra Dinn: the concept and richness of the game impressed me a lot, but I wasn’t enthusiasted by the visual style chosen here.
- Myst IV: I played it after Myst III and couldn’t finish it, I didn’t like the puzzles. The graphics however were impressive.

Looking forward to play: Disco Elysium in French, Creaks, Seclusion full version, Beautiful Desolation, Mutazione. And The Coral Cave (I hope it could release in 2020).

Next on my list: The Dig

     
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Joined 2012-01-02

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Kelvin and the Infamous Machine: A real delight and some lols; the idea of an idiot talking or interacting with well known legendary geniuses Beethoven or Isaac Newton has it moments… pretty short tho.

Earthworms: I am not usually now into playing adventure without voice acting, but this one really got the best of me.
The ending is quite disappointing tho as the game always* suggested that there is sumthing big going on on the mystery level of Angel Heart or Blade Runner, but then you get a happy ending.lol.. maybe it was due to publishers, i would swear its the case, but i really dont know.

Neofeud: Bugs and loads of bugs, couldn’t finish it.

Memoria: My third replay and my feeling never changed about this unappreciated and underrated gem!

Pillars of the Earth: A nice ride for someone like me who had no idea about the game backstory and a lot matters concerning the church or the crusade, but that didn’t stop from finishing it. 

The Abbey directors_cut: Tho there were many gameplaying upgrade from the original, i didnt enjoy that much this time, but i can say it is almost a solid adventure.

Truberbrook: Very disappointing, tho it had a great start, but then the game lacks consistency as if it was made by different designers whom had never met each other during the development, seemed like bits and pieces gathered together from a part to the other, even the graphics strangely were different and did not hold up.

Irony Curtain From Matryoshka with Love: Quite difficult and absurd at many times, but i enjoyed it as i missed this kinda of old classics.

Blade_Runner: Always will remain a master piece.

     
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Total Posts: 1350

Joined 2009-04-28

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I think the thing that surprises me this year is how many games I started but didn’t finish - even where I was really enjoying them. Real life pressures I suppose, but I really need to get back to some of these…

Also, not many of them seem to be ‘traditional’ adventures. Anyway, what i can remember from ‘Adventure games’ played this year:

Good:
Eastshade - I wasn’t expecting a whole lot from this, but I really enjoyed it. The whole Bethesda style RPG without combat thing works really well here. It’s a captivating world to explore and I liked the painting a lot more than I thought I would. I think the game was paced quite well so it felt like there was a coherent story (of exploration) even where the writing was pretty variable. Same with the quests, some were pretty strong, others pretty thin. But overall I really liked it.
Obra Dinn - Started it, thoroughly enjoyed what I played and then for some reason didn’t get back to it. I think I just got distracted with real life and then when I had more gaming time I must have got distracted by something else. Either way, I will definitely return to finish this sometime soon.
Heaven’s Vault - This one goes straight in to my top x of all time list. Played it through 3 or maybe 4 times in full and I am absolutely captivated by it. I completely understand that not everyone’s even going to like this game, but for me it is one of those ‘gaming-career-defining-moment’ games.
The Council - Another one that wasn’t on my radar at all and I had pretty much no expectations for going in. This is one of those games that you can’t get a feel for from descriptions (or at least I certainly didn’t). Light on puzzles for sure - there are one or two pretty challenging ones actually but it’s the exception rather than the rule - but the sense of mystery and merry emotional dance it leads you on are great. It seems to be billed as a ‘choice’ game, but that doesn’t quite fit for me. Sure there are choices to be made and they do affect gameplay (simple alternate paths) but that isn’t the strength, or even the meat of the game for me. The general feeling seems to be that the game trails off in the last episode or two and I wouldn’t entirely disagree with that, but it’s not as bad as ‘The Raven’ for that I would say, and I liked that game.
Whispers of a Machine - I enjoyed it. Unlikely to trouble my top 10 list, but another strong competent game from these developers.

Mediocre:
Black Mirror – Another did not finish, mostly because although the game isn’t bad (from what I have played) it didn’t do enough to make me want to continue. Maybe one day if I have more time…
Stories Untold - With thanks to Epic Games free game policy! OK I guess, nothing special.
Kholat – This had been on my radar for ages but hadn’t picked it up until comparatively recently. Didn’t finish it but the little I played was fine but not captivating enough unfortunately.
Life is Strange 2: Episode 1 - As anyone who took part in the playthrough of the first one knows I loved the first one to an almost alarming extent. I knew that liking the second one would be a tall order after the impression of the first. I have played episode 1. It was ok, it wasn’t brilliant. I don’t really know why it carries the LiS name, would probably have been easier for me if it didn’t. At some point I will pluck up the courage to try the other episodes, but at present I haven’t even bought them.


Bad:
Zero Escape: The Nonary Games – I picked up these in a sale. They had been on my radar for ages as I have seen people wax lyrical about them on handhelds etc. I tried the first one but unfortunately this sort of game just isn’t for me. I’m perfectly happy with walking sims and other genres that people find boring, but there is just so little interaction and so much clicking through text that I was bored fairly quickly. Want to save and quit? That’s fine if you can find one of those interactive parts where you’re not getting barraged by text. May come in a minute or two, could be nearer 10. No thanks.


List of Shame: - Unfinished games are part of my list of shame this year, but the real stars of the show are those I’ve bought and not even installed. Stupid Steam/Gog/Whatever sale addiction! One of these days I’ll get round to them I tell myself. Add to that the free games handed out by Epic and Gog and I should pretty much ban myself from buying any more games ever. However…

Looking forward to/intending to pick up:
Disco Elysium - I’m intrigued. I don’t really have an isometric RPG background but I’d like to give this a go.
Detroit - Yes, I know, I know, I know. I’ve played Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls on PS3 ages ago and did get them in the recent sale on Epic so will probably go again. When Detroit falls to a low enough price point I’ll give it a go.
Last Silent Dark Crown Fall Night - One day a game will come out, or it won’t. If it does I will buy and play it. If not I guess I won’t.

 

     

3.5 time winner of the “Really Annoying Caption Contest Saboteur” Award!

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Joined 2010-02-05

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Good
Journeyman Project 2 - Buried in Time – Fun game with very muddy graphics. I took me a minute to get into it, but it turned out to be an enjoyable game. (Thanks mbday)
Detective Di – Unlike some of the others here, I really enjoyed this game. It wasn’t particularly hard or pretty but it did have an interesting story.
Jenny LeClue – Detectivu – It wasn’t what I was expecting, and it doesn’t have any voice acting yet. But it was good lite fun.
Tsioque – A pretty simple game that reminds me of the old cartoons from when I was a kid.

Average
Ghost Pirates of Vooju Island – Monkey Island 3 on a budget. While I did enjoy it, it never hit any highs. It was fairly mediocre throughout.
We were here together – I hope you enjoy puzzles, because you don’t play this for the story. The puzzles themselves weren’t all that hard, trying to describe them to your friend is where it gets tough.
Lost Eden – Probably the weirdest game I played this year. Mix adventure with a little strategy, plus all kinds of strange portraits and a weird story,  you end up with Lost Eden. A very unusual game that gets a bit repetitive.
Aporia: Beyond The Valley – Pretty graphics, neat locations, interesting story, but it was still pretty bland.
Trüberbrook - A Nerd Saves the World – I didn’t have high of hopes going into this, and it didn’t disappoint. It was very average, with nice handmade graphics.
Paradigm – I take it back, this is the weirdest game of the year for me. It had a lot of jokes, some of them were even funny.

Bad
Ankh 1 – Trying to solve a puzzle, simple go the farthest away location, the answer should be there. I didn’t find this game to be funny, and it had so much back and forth that I just about gave up on it.
Ankh 2 – This ones puzzles were a little better than part 1, but it’s story was worse. Also still not funny. You know you’ve jumped the shark when your jokes are making fun of the game for reusing assets.
Ankh 3 – They should’ve stopped while they were ahead. The most egregious sin comes in the voice acting. They changed out the voice for Assil (the protagonist). I’m beginning to think this isn’t meant to be a comedic game, because once again, it isn’t funny. This ones puzzles are more on par with Ankh 2. And the story is… Um… ok.
Odysseus Kosmos and his Robot Quest – I found this game to be seriously lacking in motivation. It felt like a chore to slog through this game. I found the protagonist to be unlikable and generally boring. It too is meant to be somewhat comedic.
Subterraneus – This game has a nice interface, when you click on something it brings up the 4 ways to interact, as well as all of you inventory items in a circle around it. When you right click it has a flashlight style hotspot revealer. Other than that it’s pretty boring. The puzzles are mostly fetch quests.
Tardy – Its puzzles get frustrating easily, and it never really drew me into the story.
Nikopol: Secrets of the Immortals – I just didn’t like anything about this game. It didn’t have good puzzles. Timed sequences are always a bad thing. And then my favorite part, it ended.
Bolt Riley Chapter 1 – This game seemed like it could be a good one, if they were to make more than a 30 minute demo.
Lake Ridden – It’s a nice day for a walk in the woods with your friendly neighborhood ghost. It’s just one step above a walking sim. It’s puzzles aren’t hard, or particularly good. It isn’t particularly scary. It’s mostly forgettable.
Tacoma – I don’t even remember why I didn’t like this game. But I gave it a 1.5 so it must not be that good.
Sinbad - In Search of Magic Ginger – It’s surprisingly well animated. The cutscenes are kinda good. Not surprisingly it’s puzzles stink. The problem is they don’t give you any idea what you need to be doing. And the answer usually doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.

     

I Am the Knight of the Order of the Sun!

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Total Posts: 990

Joined 2009-05-08

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I was largely absorbed by the Nintendo Switch this year and missed many adventures I wanted to get through. Here’s my to-do list for glorious venti-venti:

Must-Plays:
Kathy Rain (2016)
Later Alligator (2019)
Hypnospace Outlaw (2019)
Beneath a Steel Sky (2020)

Nice-to-Play:
A Plague Tale: Innocence (2019)
Man of Medan (2019)
Blacksad (2019)
AI: The Somnium Files (2019)
Telling Lies (2019)

Posting this here as a New Year’s resolution of sorts.

     
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Total Posts: 282

Joined 2017-04-14

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Favourites
Return of the Obra Dinn - innovative twist on an inverted whodunnit formula with minimalist yet minute graphics
Detective Di: The Silk Rose Murders - adored the setting, found the story clever and refreshing
Sumatra: Fate of Yandi - proof that short and linear can be excellent nonetheless
The Dream Machine - wonderful game that could replace my last 5 years of pscyhoanalysis, and my personal favourite in a long time

Good
Whispers of a Machine - boils down to a by-the-book twist and treason scenario, but I like it when a game offers several ways to solve its puzzles
What Remains of Edith Finch - idiosyncratic universe, with more-or-less interesting stories, some emotionaly gripping; gameplay was a bore though
Unforeseen Incidents - nice way to end the gaming year, with lovely stylized graphics and fun puzzles, despite a hackneyed plot and strikingly similar female characters (maybe the art department only had funds to draw one face)
Jenny LeClue Detectivù - the right mix of simple puzzles and light platformer, with a gradually enthralling story

Average
Mainlining - lighthearted fun, very short and easy
The Invisible Hours - interesting experience halfway between game and movie. Must have been more enjoyable in VR.
Yesterday Origins - despicable characters and clumsy gameplay, but some good parts and mostly decent puzzles
The Rivers of Alice - cute game, some frustrating puzzles / minigames. Lacked something to tie it all together. I’m hesitating to put it in the red list, but it was a nice effort.

Bad
Orwell: Ignorance is Strength - what a letdown after the first Orwell game! This one was like playing Gossip Girl, but without the cute outfits.
Last Day of June - this one really didn’t click with me, it lacked depth and originality. It angered me more than anything.
Telling Lies - so I did get caught in the voyeuristic trap, but what for? The story of a pathetic guy who doesn’t know who he is anymore and his three lovers? I hated how commonplace it was. Although that was probably intended. And that fairytale motif? Cringeworthy.

Replays
Broken Sword 1
Day of the Tentacle
A couple Nancy Drew games but I can’t remember which (Secret of the Shadow Ranch and Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon, I think - guess I must have been in a cowboy mood)

Unfinished business
The Pillars of the Earth - completely failed to care for that one. I’m not a fan of choice-based games, but here some seemingly important choices hardly seem to matter anyway.
Outer Wilds - amazing game. I’m playing it slowly because moving around in that spaceship and spacesuit requires the type of dexterity I don’t have, and I’m not the best at physics-based puzzles.
Hypnospace Outlaw - so I get the late 90s’ internet nostalgia. I remember those days. How tacky everything was. How unpractical and poorly categorized everything seemed. It’s all there. I get it. I just… I guess I missed something and failed to really get into it? Probably the “search” function in the beggining, which means I had to click relentlessly on every page in every zone to find infringing content? It’s a good game, it’s well made, it’s funny. But I think it must have been infinitely more fun to make than it is to play.

Next on my list
Disco Elysium
Midnight in Salem (eh, Nancy Drew is my guilty pleasure)
Some Distant Memory
Elsinore
Gibbous
Blacksad
Anywith with a talking cat

Eagerly waiting for
The Darkside Detective Season 2

     

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Joined 2010-11-16

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With all the obra dinn mentions I had to remind myself i did in fact play it in 2018 and cannot count it for me. It was not an adventurous year.. the only one i can think of off the top of my head i played: untitled goose game. Which i dont think its been covered as adventure here, but it should be. Its pure exploration/puzzling and its pretty fun. The novelty starts to wear off (youre a goose, you wreck everything, you try to find the best way to wreck everything) but its short.. so really its the right length. Another game i want to mention is astral chain on the switch. This title i can completely understand not being seen as an adventure as its primarily action. However it has sprawling segments of hub exploration with adventure puzzles. Each of the 5 “legions” you obtain serve you in combat and also have problem-solving applications. You might use one to spy on a conversation, or another to use an item to track its scent.. or you might enter a floating one to convince someone you can fly. It highlights how well you can turn a mechanic into adventuring with the right supporting elements.

     
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Joined 2013-08-26

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Hey, zane! Long time no see. Maybe you’d play more adventures if you visited AG more often?  Tongue

I’m going to check out the goose game, never heard of it.

     

See you around, wolf. Nerissa

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Joined 2013-03-14

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So, I’ll just go with stand out games I’ve played this year, not necessarily released this year. I’ll also link to my reviews of them if anyone is interested in seeing my further thoughts.

Very Good
The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes: Case of the Rose Tattoo (1996)is not a new game nor can it be bought from anywhere. Still, it is a very good Holmes game, with mostly logical puzzles and surprisingly good acting considering when it was made. I do think it is better than its predecessor, the case of Serrated Scalpel.
https://playernone.blogspot.com/2019/08/the-lost-files-of-sherlock-holmes-case_20.html

Good
Gibbous: A Cthulhu Adventure(2019). Not quite the home run, but overall a well-made game that puts many bigger budget titles to shame in terms of quality.
https://playernone.blogspot.com/2019/08/gibbous-cthulhu-adventure-2019.html

Firewatch(2016) All in all, a solid exploration game. The story was pretty good too and it didn’t start out its welcome like some of these kinds of games can do.
https://playernone.blogspot.com/2019/12/firewatch-2016.html

Okay
The Case of Serrated Scalpel(1992) Like I said previously, it isn’t as good as the Case of the Rose Tattoo, but a pretty solid adventure all in all. The UI felt clunky and it has a fair share of pixel hunting as well.
https://playernone.blogspot.com/2019/08/the-lost-files-of-sherlock-holmes-case.html


Bad
Eternam(1992) Holy curse word, this game is bad. It is experimental, trying to combine open world person exploration into poorly conceived 3rd person adventuring with a bad interface. Top it off with some of the worst puzzles ever and you’ll get something that is hard to recommend for anyone.
https://playernone.blogspot.com/2019/07/eternam-1992.html

Alone in the Dark 2(1993), I don’t know whose bright idea it was to make a sequel to Alone in the Dark emphasizing the clunkiest thing of the first game and not improve upon it one bit, combat. What adds insult to injury is the fact that the devs were so aware of the clumsiness of the combat, that they placed a relatively easy to find warp point near the beginning of the game that allows you bypass the 1st 3rd of the game.
https://playernone.blogspot.com/2019/06/alone-in-dark-2-1993.html

     

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