Adventure Gamers - Forums

So, that was quite something. A definitive ending, indeed. Maybe a bit deus ex machina, maybe too much added to the mythology in too short a time. I’m not sure. Maybe not. I guess something bugs me a bit, but not by much.
Anyway, this was a great game, and a wonderful conclusion to the series.

This was a fantastic ending to an absolutely great series. The story is tautly paced, the puzzles are logically integrated and make a lot of sense in context, and the characters remain likable and sharp. I don’t know how Wadjet Eye keeps making investigation gameplay this smooth, but that gigantic army of beta testers in the end credits probably had something to do with it. Every aspect of this game speaks of care and effort. The blizzard-choked New York is more than lonely; the coldness just grabs you. All the details - the way Rosa puts on her coat and gloves before heading out, the footprints in the snow, the reluctance to get rid of her coffee - it’s evocative from beginning to end.

(The opening is especially impressive. It yanked me in, it shocked me, and it made me shiver.)

Although the ending was forced and clunky, by the time it came around I liked the characters enough that I was willing to nod and accept it. The game had earned enough goodwill by that point that they’d have to start drowning kittens and insulting my mother to squander it.

A warning to players who are sensitive to this sort of thing: This is a dark, dark game. It USUALLY isn’t too emotionally manipulative, with the exception of one or two scenes, but the dive into despair is unrelenting. On the other hand, I guess happy people don’t leave behind ghosts? So what tends to happen to Bestowers becomes more and more believable in hindsight.

So far, this is one of my top favorites of the year. I’m going to crib a quote from Roger Ebert’s review of the movie Ghost Story now:

If you like ghost stories, you will appreciate that they cannot be told with all sorts of ridiculous skeletons leaping out of closets, as in Abbott and Costello. They must be told largely in terms of fearful and nostalgic memory, since (by definition) a ghost is a ghost because of something that once happened that shouldn’t have happened. “Ghost Story” understands that, and restrains its performers so that the horror of the ghost is hardly more transparent than they are.

The Blackwell Epiphany doesn’t always hold on to that kind of restraint and nuance, but when it does, it’s a great, emotionally wrenching game.

Just finished Epiphany. Definitely one the greatest adventure games I’ve played. It’s so incredibly polished and tells a wonderful story; the drama, humor, and characterization are all so meaty and given so much weight—-far more than I’ve come to expect from a “video game.” [minor spoiler?] True, it ends with a deus ex machina of sorts, but at least it’s the best kind: one that comes at great cost.

Either Dave Gilbert gave this entry far more attention than the others, or his skills have reached some kind of peak. I think it’s both.

DaveGilbert - 30 April 2014 11:13 AM

Not much to add (since I am maybe just sliiiightly biased) but I wanted to pop in to thank everyone for your kind comments. They mean more to me then I can say.

Great Job David, an amazing ending to a great series!

DaveGilbert - 30 April 2014 11:13 AM

Not much to add (since I am maybe just sliiiightly biased) but I wanted to pop in to thank everyone for your kind comments. They mean more to me then I can say.

It’s been a great ride, and I’d say Epiphany is your best work to date.  Thanks for making the games and looking forward to whatever your next project may be.

True, it ends with a deus ex machina of sorts, but at least it’s the best kind: one that comes at great cost.

Kind of spoiled it for me.

The deus ex machina or the great cost?

ozzie - 02 May 2014 12:22 PM

The deus ex machina or the great cost?

probably the “great cost”

i guess that a spoiler tag should be placed in that post.

Sorry about that. I thought what I wrote could be open to interpretation.

Edited my post.

Hello everybody,

I have Blackwell Epiphany Demo downloaded, successfully installed and run. I have a wide screen set to 1920x1080 and a GeForce GT 610.

My question is, in what screen resolution do you play this game? I understand the pixelated graphics are part of it but in a modern monitor and in such high resolution things start getting a bit annoying, no?

ozzie - 02 May 2014 12:22 PM

The deus ex machina or the great cost?

The great cost part. It kind of reaffirms the likely scenario for the ending.