Adventure Gamers - Forums

My favorite by far is Sherlock Holmes Chapter One. I am surprized that there is still no review on the site.
I played ot for 99 hours, and am in the middle of my third playthrough. Until now skipping combat, but maybe I’ll try to get even that right :-)
I think this is the best game I played ever.

For me, it would be entitled to:
Best story (not nominated),
Best writing - Drama (nominated)
Best character (not nominated)
Best setting (not nominated)
Best animation (nominated)
Best music (I love it how street musicians are used) (not nominated)
Best acting (nominated)
Best non-traditional adventure (nominated)
And of course: Best adventure of 2021.

Does anyone know why it is neglected here? Will there be a review, someday?

PlanetX - 06 February 2022 06:19 PM

Longest Journey’s post reminds me I need to play the Famicom Detective Club switch remakes. At least The Missing Heir, since I’ve already played the SNES version of the 2nd game, but I’ve heard a couple times now that the first one is better.

The first one is more of a typical murder mystery which is why I liked it so much, the second one the story just never clicked for me. In terms of visual novels they look absolutely great on the Switch. The production value is really high with nice transitions when visiting new locations and I find the presentation to be a lot nicer than other games in the genre.

Advie - 06 February 2022 06:43 PM

it is funny how people appreciate obscure titles of a genre is much obscure on its own, to each is his opinion i know, but i need to express this reaction

exactly what would a ‘good’ game like Tux and Fanny winning best of the year means, i am not against playing small indies or low pixel games AT ALL, I love it, but i wanna see adventure games presented at least as it was back at the Aughts decade, with fine graphics, voice acting, and all the sauces

i don’t have the privilege of being able to play 15-20 AGs a year, if played 7-10 that would be great, and if I am gonna play less than I used to, I need to have a quality ‘meal’ each time i do…. yeah, i do envy those who can do it differently and play more to the extent of being able to try those obscures of them all

I also agree that it would be nicer to have more high production adventure games released, but unfortunately the economics are a lot different than they were back in the aughts. It just costs a lot more money to make a game that looks as nice as other games by major publishers these days that games need to reach a much bigger audience than they did back then to recoup costs. That comes at the expense of less innovative gameplay and narrative, which is why I gravitate towards indie games so much.

Another thing that I didn’t mention that makes Tux and Fanny so special is the sense when playing it that anything is possible. It was constantly throwing new interesting mechanics at you so you never new what was going to happen after you solved a puzzle. That feeling of novelty happens so rarely in games for me anymore. It’s why the game resonated so strongly with me.

I also understand the concern of how it looks that adventure game players are stuck in the past and just want to play games that look and play exactly like the LucasArts and Sierra classics. Just look at our last few Reader’s Choice picks for Best Adventure: Röki, Whispers of a Machine and Unavowed. While all three do have some modern game design elements, they primarily play (and in the case of WOAM and Unavowed look) like streamlined versions of retro games. Even though Tux and Fanny has a more simplistic art style it is much more innovative in its gameplay.

walas74 - 08 February 2022 03:26 PM

Someone who agrees with me at last! I wouldn’t say is the best adventure game for the year (Strangeland would get my vote) but defintely one of the bests. And the music should have been nominated, in my humble opinion.

I did not play Strangeland. When you are a fellow lover of SH chapter one, I’ll definitely try that one!

About the music: I agree. It is the first game in which I did not turn down the volume of the music. It is perfectly integrated in the game, and adds to the athmosphere.

Vegetable Party - 09 February 2022 04:19 AM

I think the combat you’re referring to might have thrown us off, most of us tend to view action-adventure (perhaps unfairly) as a separate genre.

You can play it entirely without the combat, with one exception (and you can easily shoot the man instead of trying to handcuff him).

I think the game should have been developed without the combat. It does not add anything…

Pyoro-2 - 05 February 2022 07:28 AM

how can LiS not be in the graphics and animations category (yeahyeah, the excuse is that it’s about style, not just technical competence, but still)?

Great looking game, for sure, and definitely got some votes. But better looking/animated than Sherlock? House of Ashes? The realism-based graphic styles tend to compete directly against each other and split the vote, whereas the more uniquely-styled looks tend to stand on their own.

sylv - 07 February 2022 02:29 AM

My favorite by far is Sherlock Holmes Chapter One…
Does anyone know why it is neglected here? Will there be a review, someday?

Not neglected at all. Just far more games than people to write about them. Sherlock review is next in line.

Jackal - 09 February 2022 11:52 AM

Not neglected at all. Just far more games than people to write about them. Sherlock review is next in line.

I look forward to the review!