Ratings by Kelop

This is a competent adventure game without any actual flaws but with some space for improvement. The playing experience is actually pleasant, even for an inexperienced player as the puzzles are quite easy most of the time and, on the good side, most often make sense.

The story has a large traveling adventure thread and is reminiscent of the adventures of Indiana Jones in the way that it takes place before the Second World War and involves stopping the German Nazis form obtaining some super weapons. While well constructed, the story lacks some larger ambition that would make it deeper and more memorable. It serves it’s purpose while playing the game without providing anything beyond that. Just think of it as watching an Indiana Jones movie. The story is interesting, moves from one place in the world to another, has some plot twists but it’s all has been seen before. And there is nothing that would move the audience or incline them to really think about any aspects presented in the game.

The graphics are made in the old 2D style and look very well, possibly a bit simple, but simplicity is often better that unwarranted complexity. The music is good in the way that it’s unnoticeable and doesn’t hinder the gaming experience. At the same time it’s nothing memorable either.

Generally this game has a little of a casual type feel or a feel of a game for a beginner if you like. Combination of the easy and competent puzzles and the interesting but somewhat shallow story create that impression.

For those who like: action focused story, Indiana Jones movies
Not for those who like: deep story, challenging puzzles

Story: 3/5
Puzzles/mechanics: 3/5
Setting/climate: 4/5
Aesthetics: 4/5

PS. As a side note, some people have said that they think that a score of 3.5 is too low for this game while according to some, this game deserves a lower rating. How each person rates this game is a matter of opinion but I would like to point out that 3.5 is not a low score. According to this site’s scoring system it actually corresponds to 7 on a 10 grade scale. I would say it means it’s a good game but not very good or excellent. Read the score according to the grading scale.

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Time Played: 10-20 hours
Difficulty: Easy

SETTING
The main strength of this game are the locations where it takes place. The variation of places to explore and their climate and artistic presentation are exceptional and the player doesn’t get bored of the locations before it’s time to travel again.

STORY
The adventure is about the history and mystery of the Templar knights. The story upholds an intriguing tension and drives the player to want to find out what happens next. I feel that, despite being very captivating, the story could have a little more depth.

PUZZLES
The puzzles are not too difficult (maybe accept for a few of them, like the infamous goat) and seem to get a bit more challenging as the game progresses. The mechanics is a simple point-and-click without any variation of actions present in some other games like drawing or choosing that exactly to do with an object. The puzzles make sense and are often inductive but there is room for some more variation in terms of their mechanics. It would be nice if aside from inventory based puzzles, there also was some decoding to do or if the player had to use something in a special, maybe unusual way. Basically, while the sense and content of the puzzles are good, their mechanics are monotonous.

AESTHETICS
The graphics are very pretty, probably the apex of 2D adventures with high enough resolution for everything to be clear and look beautifully drawn. Of course the resolution could be higher but I think that it would remove some of the games artistic soul. The graphics are simply great! The music is good. It fits well into the game but it’s nothing memorable.

SUMMARY
If you haven’t played this game and you like adventure games then you should definitely try it. It’s a well balanced classic game that should be on the list of any, even half-time devoted, adventurist.

COMPARISON
“Broken Sword Shadow of Templars” (BS) is often compared to another 2D adventure from the same decade although released three years earlier, “Gabriel Knight the Sins of Fathers” (GK). People sometimes compare these two games on forums in debates aimed to elect the best adventure game. My opinion is that these two games, despite having some similarities like the in-game system of traveling between locations on the map and a historically inspired fictional story, they excel at different things. The more multi-threaded and divided into separate days story of GK has caught me a little bit closer to the screen than the still very captivating intrigue of BS. The story and character of GK are darker and more serious than that of BS. GK feels more like a thrilling criminal investigation while BS feels like an adventure with a mystery that also involves murder. I hope that this subjective comparison makes sense. And while puzzle mechanics, due to it’s versatility, is also better in GK, the fact that the game is three years older means that the graphics of GK is far worse than of BS. Three years in 1990s means a lot of evolution time of the graphics in games. Also BS is set in better locations.

Story: 4.5/5
Puzzles/Mechanics: 4/5
Setting/Climate: 5/5
Aesthetics: 4.5/5

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Time Played: 10-20 hours
Difficulty: Just Right

It’s a very good game that still upholds its quality. This opinion is free of any sentiment or nostalgic influence since now, over 20 years after the game has been released I’ve played it for the first time.

My initial thought: very pixelated and dated graphics; immediately followed by my second thought: strange old fashioned user interface with different buttons for different actions such as pick up, use, inspect, open or push instead of an universal action click like in most point and click adventures.

PUZZLES
Very soon I realized that from the perspective of using an inductive way of solving puzzles the UI with different actions is actually superior to the universal click system. It requires more logic to decide precisely what you want to do with an object. And it works like in the real life. For example I can either want to push a closet along the wall or open it, or pick something up from it, or maybe use it (hide in it). Usage of this type of UI is more satisfactory to the gamer and gives more options to the game designers by creating a wider variety for the mechanics of the puzzles.

I haven’t played all the adventure games out there but from the ones that I have played, I think that this one has some of the best puzzles that I have experienced. There are code puzzles, picture clued puzzles, verbal clued puzzles and even sound puzzles. So the puzzle variety here is wide and they are mostly logical. In terms of difficulty it starts at a medium level and sometimes, especially in the later stages, can get to be rather difficult. Some puzzles are also easy so I guess the average would be in the upper middle of the difficulty spectrum.

STORY
The story involves a suspenseful investigation of voodoo murders and it’s captivating as well as educational. I have learned a lot about voodoo when playing this game. The game takes place in New Orleans, Louisiana throughout most of it’s duration and there is also a minor traveling motive. The setting creates a good immersion and is also quite unique although some locations could be improved a bit, especially the city square as well as the final location.

AESTHETICS
The aesthetic side of the game is… well, dated. However I’ve gotten quickly used to the graphics so the pixelation didn’t disturb me throughout the game anymore maybe except for once when I missed a salt bottle laying on the floor. It was the size of around eight pixels and I couldn’t see what it was until Gabriel (the protagonist) investigated it and said that it’s a salt bottle. Aside form the pixelation issue the locations and environments are well done from the artistic point of view. The music as well as the voices are good too. I’ve read some opinions about a silly southern accent but I had no problems with it maybe because I’m neither American or a native English speaker.

This is a serious game with little humor but instead with lot of suspense, thrill and even some drama. Try it if you are looking for a strong detective story or just a very good classic adventure game. Do not try it if you are looking for a comedic game.

Story: 5/5
Puzzles/Mechanics: 5/5
Setting/Climate: 4/5
Aesthetics: 2.5/5 (The anniversary edition should fix what was damaged by the tooth of time.)

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Time Played: Over 20 hours
Difficulty: Hard

I have first played this game when I was around fifteen years old. My brother played it too. We recommended it to our cousin and he liked it a lot too. It actually prompted him to read the Faust influenced “The Master and Margarita”.

This game has it all. There is a great story, an intriguing mystery, sometimes thrilling suspense, challenging puzzles (sometimes too challenging) interesting characters and a depth that is rarely seen in a computer game. The depth pertains to both moral questions presented therein and the story with complex motives of the characters which are unraveled in layers as if they were embodied by an onion.
I have played this game again about ten years later and I discovered some new things within the story that escaped my attention before!

The story as well as the whole game is divided into seven chapters which are interconnected through interpersonal relations between the main characters of each one of the chapters.
The mechanics and puzzles of the game are not always on a point and click basis but can often require to hold and drag which is a nice addition in terms of the player environment interaction.
The game is beautifully set in an old theme park and the graphics are well done and pretty although the human characters move a bit unnaturally.
The music is outstanding! It consists of some old jazz and blues songs that fit very well with the game’s theme and are great to listen to on their own.

Despite it’s all strengths, this game has some minor flaws. The first one is that the puzzles can be sometimes very difficult but considering that this game is for rather mature audience (or at least mature-ish teenagers) the sometimes higher difficulty doesn’t seem to be a deal breaker here.
The other flaw is actually mainly there just because of the way the game was marketed and it could be easily avoided. The game was marketed as non-linear and with multiple endings. Well.. it’s mostly linear because the split occurs just before the end and that’s how the multiple endings are achieved. So as long as you don’t expect a truly non-linear game than there will be no disappointment.

I think that this is an undervalued gem that deserves a try from any adventure enthusiast or anyone interested in the moral, mature, religious, and slightly supernatural topics.

This game is for: serious and meaningful story enthusiasts, amateur detectives, fans of themes in Goethe’s literature, patient people
This game is not for: action driven story seekers, comedy seekers

Story: 5/5
Puzzles/Mechanics: 4.5/5
Setting/Climate: 5/5
Aesthetics: 5/5

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Time Played: Over 20 hours
Difficulty: Hard

I have first finally played through this game when I was 28 years old. I wrote finally, because I remember this game from computer game magazines around the time when I entered the world of computer gaming at age of thirteen and somehow I never got around to playing this game before. The reason why I am saying this is because this game has a somewhat sentimental value to me on one side and it may be aimed to a different age group than me on the other side.

Generally, my impressions of this game are positive. High production value (as can be expected from Lucas Arts) and the puzzles are just right, not too challenging and not too easy. The nature of the puzzles is usually inductive and makes sense even if in a bit crazy and funny way. On the other hand, the interaction mechanics are unvaried offering mostly, if not only, the puristic point and click approach. The graphics are very pretty, sort of an apex for 2D adventure games which was reached around that time in late 90s and the music is nice. Nothing more or less than that. What I like about this game especially is the climate and setting during the first part of it which takes place in the pirate port city. What I liked less are the following locations. It’s been a year since I’ve played it and I can’t remember those locations too well. That means that they weren’t memorable enough too me.

Another characteristic worth mentioning here is the relaxed fun humor that has it’s good and bad sides. It’s good if you are looking for a fun, light spirited game and it’s bad if you are looking for a deep immersion as the are some funny fourth wall breakers present in the game. Overall this game was pleasant to play but failed to leave any lasting impression. It’s aimed toward any age group with a mild indication at the younger audience maybe due to the simple story and the type of humor.

Try it if you are looking for a comedic pirate game.
Skip it if you want a serious and/or deep story.

Story: 2.5/5
Puzzles: 4/5
Setting/Climate: 4/5
Aesthetics: 4/5

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Time Played: Over 20 hours
Difficulty: Just Right