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Broken Age Act 2 Discussion
I reviewed the game for AG. I didn’t have have a problem with revisiting old locations—in fact, in my first draft I didn’t even think to mention it, it just wasn’t an issue for me. I think that’s the kind of thing where if it bothers you, your opinion of the entire game is going to be totally different than if it doesn’t.
In evaluating it and coming up with a score I tried not to let the long wait impact my assessment of the game in general. Years from now, when we look back at this game (like we do Grim Fandango now), the fact that it was released in two parts with a wait in between will be irrelevant. Of course that is going to color some people’s opinions of the game, but again I think whether the reviewer makes that part of the criteria for judging it is going to have a pretty big impact on their review overall.
Personally, I enjoyed Broken Age more than I did Full Throttle or Grim Fandango. I’m interested to hear what AG’s community thinks of the gameplay.
I’ve been digging it. The writing is pretty strong and I’ve laughed more on this one than the first part. The puzzles are also a bit more demanding this time.
I replayed act 1 first (it’s just a few hours if you know what you’re doing) and I’ve now played a little bit of act 2. I really, really recommend that people do that; the two acts seem very strongly connected (contrary to, say, Broken Sword 5—and even there I was glad I had replayed part 1 before moving on to part 2), and I’m glad I don’t have to spend half the time racking my brain trying to remember who that person was or what that place was all about.
Installing now, really looking forward to this! I’m definitely gonna replay it from the beginning.
Duckman: Can you believe it? Five hundred bucks for a parking ticket?
Cornfed Pig: You parked in a handicapped zone.
Duckman: Who cares? Nobody parks there anyway, except for the people who are supposed to park there and, hell, I can outrun them anytime.
And it’s difficult! I thought I would have managed to complete it all in one day but I keep getting stuck there’s definitely a lot of puzzles where you think you’ve found the solution and then… you haven’t, and there’s another step to the puzzle.
Overall thoughts are pretty good. My only gripe… why did act two take a year and a half to complete? The majority of the game is old locations? lol
I didn’t have have a problem with revisiting old locations—in fact, in my first draft I didn’t even think to mention it, it just wasn’t an issue for me. I think that’s the kind of thing where if it bothers you, your opinion of the entire game is going to be totally different than if it doesn’t.
You’ve got a point. I also think it makes a difference whether you start with Shay or Vella. I didn’t like those empty hallways on the spaceship in the first episode and one of the first puzzles in part two has you travel them again and again. I found that boring, in spite of the new additions. For me the game got better when I switched to Shay. Same locations too, but there’s a lot of dialogue and the entire game world from part one is open from the start.
[...]I was glad I had replayed part 1 before moving on to part 2), and I’m glad I don’t have to spend half the time racking my brain trying to remember who that person was or what that place was all about.
I’m glad other people are enjoying the game.
And it’s difficult! I thought I would have managed to complete it all in one day but I keep getting stuck there’s definitely a lot of puzzles where you think you’ve found the solution and then… you haven’t, and there’s another step to the puzzle.
Yeah, the puzzles are better and much more difficult. So far, I’ve been able to solve them on my own, but it took a lot of time.
Butter my buns and call me a biscuit! - Agent A
Seriously I had seen better reviews, something struck me as strange that one. Sorry Fov but the whole review seemed rather like a posted gamer experience through one AG more than a real review.
I also think it makes a difference whether you start with Shay or Vella. I didn’t like those empty hallways on the spaceship in the first episode and one of the first puzzles in part two has you travel them again and again. I found that boring, in spite of the new additions. For me the game got better when I switched to Shay. Same locations too, but there’s a lot of dialogue and the entire game world from part one is open from the start.
I agree. I started as Shay, but remembering how I accidentally played his whole section in one sitting for Act 1, I made a point of switching between them a lot. I can see how starting with Vella would feel a lot quieter. I did like though that because the characters are in new surroundings, you have a reason to reacquaint yourself with those areas.
And it’s difficult! I thought I would have managed to complete it all in one day but I keep getting stuck there’s definitely a lot of puzzles where you think you’ve found the solution and then… you haven’t, and there’s another step to the puzzle.
I really liked this. Made me feel smart when I finally got to the end of a puzzle.
Seriously I had seen better reviews, something struck me as strange that one. Sorry Fov but the whole review seemed rather like a posted gamer experience through one AG more than a real review.
I’m not sure what you mean, but let’s not derail the thread by getting into a discussion about it here. Comments about the review specifically can go in the comments section there.
So, spoiler free, is this a yay or a nay?
Recently completed: Game of Thrones (decent), Tales from the borderlands (great!), Life is Strange (great!), Stasis (good), Annas Quest (great!); Broken Age (poor)
Big yay from me. I’d say it did end up as the best KS funded adventure game and one of the best I’ve played in years.
Its a mixed bag for me. The problem i have it could have been so much more… I loved the art style so i really hate the fact locations are being reused, there’s no excitement to see new locations, because everything is available from the start.
While the story is ok (not great if you ask me), the way its presented and how its paced is way off. It was fine in Act 1, but here they feed you a lot of information, usually by dialogue in a very small time frame and it all comes off as a bit inconsequential. There’s this fleshed out world the game is supposed to take place in and a decent story going on around you, yet you don’t experience it, because you’re stuck in a rather confined space and you’re getting told what you’re doing is important. You don’t feel it, because there’s just too much story crammed into a rather short game, which makes it hard to sympathize with the rather charming characters. The story itself is rather bleak to be honest, not helped by the very abrupt and short ending.
Act 2 is short. Too short if you ask me. Because you’re stuck in the same locations it feels even more painfully short, getting its length from puzzle difficulty (which has been ramped up from Act 1, thankfully), but some of them had a logic behind them i couldn’t understand.
All in all i liked the game, because it has a certain charm its really hard to describe. It has a great mix of style, humor and wonder that makes it impossible for me to really dislike the game, but its painfully obvious the game needed another Act to make the story work and to break up the sometimes monotonous surroundings (especially Shay’s ship). Maybe because its Tim i expected a larger adventure game, but compared to BS5, which had tons of locations on a smaller budget, it makes it feel a bit weird.
All in all the playtime was about in the same ballpark with Broken Sword 5 to me. Sure, BS5 wins in the amount of locations, but overall I’d say I liked the design (puzzles and everything else) better on Broken Age.
I would have liked if the Plague wall had been more fleshed out though. From the little we see it, it does looks like an interesting location.
I hope this hasn’t been asked already, but I just got to the point where Shay meets the wolf in the spaceship’s basement. Is this character named after Adventure Gamers very own Marek?
Life is too short to drink bad wine…
Heh. With Act 1 I quite enjoyed the spaceship part, but hated the island. With Act 2 I’m having fun re-exploring the island, but the spaceship part seems forced and tedious. Nothing to do with protagonists - both kids are still infantile and undeveloped. But when the classic gameplay steps in, you forget about that. The island part in Act 2 is even more successful at it - I’m getting stuck!
Overall it’s more like Sam & Max and Tales of Monkey Island series rather than Broken Sword 5 (which is still my favourite kickstarter): some episodes shine with smart design decisions, others fail miserably.
PC means personal computer
The thumbnail on the home page may have spoiled the game for me. Valla and Frodo are actually from the same time, yeah? His space ship lands on her turf and she gets lured by the paternal computer?
Either way, I’m enjoying the game and look forward to its conclusion. I like how Shay’s story is a not-too-subtle commentary on gaming itself.
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