"Sanya", my Adventure Game Hotspot review!

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Excerpt: "While there’s a fair bit to do in Sanya, I waltzed through it all so easily that it never felt like enough. Most gameplay elements are fun, but they’re over so quickly I wanted even more of them, like additional logic puzzles or giving Pumpkin new commands. Others, however, could’ve used some fine-tuning or even full redesigns, like the river platforming sequence. Failing any optional mini-games won’t impede progress, but still might tempt me into a second playthrough. I want to win that bike race! Artistically this a very beautiful game, and though the narrative is quite simple, with such a short story it does what it sets out to do: telling a small, personal tale of a boy and his dog, wanting to be accepted by the neighborhood kids. Perhaps this is a game best suited to younger players, and yet if you don’t mind breezing through its very simple tasks, even adults can revel in the nostalgia of a carefree time when they still played outside and weren’t glued to their smartphones."

 

"Afterdream", my Adventure Game Hotspot review!

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Excerpt: Afterdream definitely has some eerie-looking imagery and sounds, but before long it becomes obvious that this game isn’t simply a scary story but also one of grief, loss, saying goodbye, getting closure and accepting the finality of death. Even though the puzzles are on the easy side, there’s enough diversity of gameplay to keep you entertained on an interactive level. But it’s the heart-tugging story of Jennifer trying so hard to make contact with her deceased father, and her encounters with the other ghosts stuck in their own purgatory, that make this quite the emotional journey as well. It may only take three hours to finish, but it really is a dream to play through.

"The Legend of Skye", my Adventure Game Hotspot review!

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Excerpt: Lovers of nostalgia will adore both the lovely pixel art graphics and (at least for a while) verb-based user interface of The Legend of Skye’s fantasy journey, but some puzzle designs seem to stem from the 80s and 90s as well. You’ll often have to think long and hard about how to use your huge collection of inventory items, and you’ll find yourself searching everywhere and talking to everyone more than once before the penny drops – if you don’t stumble upon the solution accidentally through trial and error first. While I enjoyed the humor and had lots of fun throughout, especially during the second half, by which point the game’s expectations had started to become a bit more intuitive to me, it also came with its share of frustrations. This too will be very familiar to all those who tried to solve adventure game puzzles in the era before the internet, which appears to be the point. At least this time you don’t need to call a hotline to pay for your hints, with a walkthrough always close at hand. I wish I didn’t need to use it as often as I did, but I gladly accept some old-school gameplay frustrations for the chance to feel transported back in time with a funny, entertaining adventure experience like I remember from my childhood.

Classic time: "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" playthrough

Proudly displaying my Indy-gear...

I've replayed Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and finished it in just under 2 hours! That's probably fast, but I've owned this game for thirty years or so, and I've played it countless times, so I know most of the (inventory) puzzle solutions by heart.

I've been a long time Indiana Jones fan. I watched Raiders of the Lost Ark on the BBC, so without Dutch subtitles, and together with the Lucasfilm/Arts Games adventures, that was a great help to learn the English language. I got really hooked by playing The Fate of Atlantis; I bought that game before I got my hands on a secondhand copy of Last Crusade, actually, and it was great fun being able to play as Indy.

I wish you could see the old librarian's face here as well...

The adventure game follows the movie, omits several scenes but also expands on others. It's too bad there's no young Indy section, and all the major action sequences are cut out too, like the motorboat chase and the tank in the desert. We do get to explore the Venetian catacombs and Castle Brunwald more thoroughly. Venice has several cool puzzles for which you need to check the in-game diary, but most of my playing time went into exploring the castle. I was caught several times, lost several fights, because I couldn't remember how to fool all guards.

Let's check out their tapestries, Lord McDonald...

I really like how there are different ways to play it. You can fight, talk or bribe your way past enemies, you can take the zeppelin or fly a biplane out of Berlin, but what's most important is that you need to find two descriptions of the Grail, one found in the catacombs and the other in the castle, together with the physical copy of the diary that came with the game, in order to properly finish it, and it's quite easy to miss those and get stuck in the end.

Dad? What? Dad?! What?! Dad! What!

But that's not all: it's also impossible to find the castle clue if you forgot to pick up an important item at the start of the game! Now, of course, every adventure player worth their salt knows that if it's not nailed down, then take it with you. But still, these kind of dead-ends, and the game-over screens after losing a fistfight as well, are not what Lucasfilm/Arts Games are known for. That's because danger is very important in an Indiana Jones story. You need to have that feeling that you can fail, that you can make mistakes, and that it will cost you dearly. Of course, that makes it a tricky balance to still wind up with a fun game, something you still enjoy playing instead of getting frustrated by it.

It was so simple in the movie. Just throw a guy out the window and go!

The Last Crusade is definitely a game where you will want to save often. During this playthrough, I chose to enter the zeppelin instead of using a manual found in the Venice library to start up a lonely biplane. The biplane would've actually been quicker; I had to reload the zeppelin maze several times, since I was constantly getting knocked out. I used to have the perfect route memorized to avoid all soldiers and get to the exit as fast as possible without a single encounter, but I could no longer do it. The three mazes (catacombs, castle, zeppelin) really prolong the game.

Where's a flock of seagulls when you need them...

Then there's the plane chase. Trying to leave Germany, fighter planes will try to take you down. If you crash, you'll find a car to continue your journey but then you'll have to get past a series of checkpoints. The number of checkpoints that remain depends on how many planes you managed to shoot down. However, you as Indy only control the biplane itself; it's your dad who's holding the gun, and his crosshairs seem to swerve all over the place instead of over the targets. I don't think I've ever been able to take down more than three enemy aircraft.

Hesitate as long as Indy did in the movie and you wont make it...

Sadly, there's no Sallah in this game. And then come the three trials. To be honest, I was kinda expecting more of the trials themselves. The second one is easy, the first one takes a clue from the physical diary and some pixel hunting, and the last one, well, that's just a leap of faith.

What, no sword fight?

This is an older SCUMM game, which I ran through ScummVM (hence the weird looking screenshots). A downside is that these games require a double click to activate the order you give. You're actually compiling a sentence: you pick a hotspot, you pick a verb, then you have to confirm your choices before Indy will do what you want. Also, hovering your mouse over the screen won't reveal anything. Hotspots can only be located by activating the "what is" verb. I'm glad future adventure games simplified that user interface.

I wish I could go back and play a game like this for the first time again. I don't recall how long my original playthrough took. But especially Castle Brunwald is very tricky. I've played the Indy action games as well (Infernal Machine, Emperor's Tomb, Staff of Kings) and I'll probably play The Great Circle too once it comes out, but I really wish they would make a new point 'n click as well.

"Between Horizons", my Adventure Game Hotspot review!

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Excerpt: While the user interface takes some getting used to, and the script could have used a little more polish, the story and investigative gameplay of Between Horizons are highly entertaining. I really enjoyed playing as Stella, molding both her character and the story’s ultimate outcome with my dialogue choices and efficiency as the Zephyr’s chief of security. I loved roaming around the spaceship looking for clues and talking to other characters, each with their own unique personality and background, with not one but ten different mysteries to investigate. And there’s a great amount of detailed worldbuilding, both visually and narratively found in this game. It’s a shame that trying for a different outcome demands another complete playthrough, but I was very satisfied with the ending I got, despite only finding the right solution for eight out of ten cases. Even if you’re like me and generally have no real affinity for science fiction, this intriguing detective/sci-fi story aims for the stars, and as far as I’m concerned it’s mission successful! 

"Reveil", my Adventure Game Hotspot review!

 

Read my full review on Adventure Game Hotspot!

Excerpt: The beautifully realistic graphics pulled me into Reveil, but I stayed and even endured some motion sickness for the emotional quest of the main character to find his missing loved ones, the nightmarish locales and the nifty puzzles, capped off by an exhilarating final chapter that truly succeeds in turning everything upside down. I know jump scares are often a main attraction in horror games, but I’m personally not a fan of them so I’m glad they didn’t go overboard with them here. Although there were just enough to make me instinctively curse out loud on occasion, something I’m usually not known to do! I certainly don’t regret getting a ticket to this crazy circus adventure. It may not be the greatest show on earth with only a four-hour funhouse ride, but it makes for a captivating exploration through its protagonist’s twisted dreams and tortured memories.

Finished Scott Whiskers: The Search for Mr. Fumbleclaw in 10 hours!

It takes a long time for someone to show up here...

Even though it has its flaws, I did enjoy playing through it. I kinda rolled into it the further I got, it's fun doing all the quests. The art style might not have always been my thing, but there are some good scenes as well. I often stumbled upon what I call chronology errors in the dialogue options; to give an example, it's sometimes possible to ask a character something with dialogue option #4 first, which then contains information Scott only acquires by asking dialogue option #2, so which should be impossible chronologically speaking. But even if that part of the conditional programming could have have used a bit more work, all the different storylines still pulled me in and made me want to complete them. 

Now these are very transparant living arrangements...

The final chapter wasn’t that long but still well designed. I finally met the owner of the back alley business that was always deserted for most of the game, and finally a connection with the first NPC you meet in the game. Turns out I actually found Mr. Fumbleclaw pretty early on at the start of the third and last chapter, but then my objective changed a bit, which led to a couple more good puzzles. What I really enjoyed in this game is that you can take a Polaroid photo of all NPC’s; they’re actually the Steam Achievements! Sadly enough I figured out pretty late how I had to recharge the camera, and by then one of the NPC’s was no longer available, so I didn’t get 100% achievement!

There's something hidden here and it's not what you think...

There was a funny section where you listen to an NPC who is playing through the original Police Quest off-screen, though some people might find it a bit long-winded, but then again I never watch videos or streams of people playing games myself so that might be my reason for thinking so (I tried making playthrough videos once but they weren’t very popular it seems so I stopped doing that, lol!)

Mission accomplished!

Overall, it was a fun game but perhaps a different kind of funny. I didn't think it was as "laugh out loud" funny, it's not that "in your face", it's more "silly" funny. Should I compare it to Lucasarts Games, it's no Sam & Max or Day of the Tentacle, but more Monkey Island and Indiana Jones. A more serious premise but still including humor. I think the dev and I look at puzzle designs in very similar ways. I see the obstacle, I imagine a possible solution, so then when I eventually find what I need I just need to take it back to the obstacle. Even the instance where Scott mentions "moon logic" was pretty obvious for me.

I'm certainly looking forward to see what this developer does next!

"Conrad Stevenson's Paranormal P.I.", my Adventure Game Hotspot review!

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Excerpt: Thankfully, with all the “how to play” research out of the way, I spent hours investigating each new haunt without noticing how much time was flying by. Yet even after knowing how everything worked, the second location took me even two hours longer to finish! That was okay, though, because even in all the quiet, slow-burn moments I had a constant feeling of excitement, jumping at every sound and physical manifestation as I tried to capture evidence of paranormal phenomena. And it was my curiosity about the deceased I was “hunting,” and of course the anticipation of actually seeing the spirits in person, that kept me glued to my screen as if it were my own personal ghost relic. It’s an acquired taste, even with the right expectations, but persevere beyond its daunting start and Conrad Stevenson’s Paranormal P.I. becomes a thoroughly compelling procedural with a very real human element, even if most of those humans are no longer alive.

Reached chapter three of Scott Whiskers: The Search for Mr. Fumbleclaw after eight hours of playing.

It's true I'm not overly critical...

I just finished one huge puzzle, where I had to assist a movie director with some problems on his set. I’m actually not quite sure why I had to do all that, since I’m supposed to be looking for the cat Mr. Fumbleclaw. But Scott keeps telling people he loves solving problems and will gladly put his main objectives aside for that. But yeah, it was actually a pretty fun puzzle that took me quite a bit to figure out all necessary elements.

That is one good looking dog!

Turns out that now, finally, the local veterinarian has opened up his business. That’s the one place I couldn’t really explore yet.

What a maniacal looking mansion...

The only thing that keeps bothering me a bit, is the many black screens where you’d expect some kind of extra animation. Sometimes it works and it’s even funny, but sometimes there’s an entire conversation happening “off-screen” so to speak. Thankfully there are also some good cut-scenes.

My Steam library of unplayed games...

There was a pretty long section where the developer promotes an earlier game of his, which is probably inspired by Cobb advertising Loom in The Secret of Monkey Island (next to Futurama, obviously) but a lot more elaborate and this particular NPC really has no other reason to be there, though for a moment I thought it would lead to another puzzle, but there was never such an objective added to the in-game journal.

Four hours into Scott Whiskers: The Search for Mr. Fumbleclaw and I’ve reached chapter two!

Meet Ricky, hairdresser of the furs!

After visiting the pet salon where Mr. Fumbleclaw was last seen, I snuck my way into the security room at the police station to check the surveillance tapes. Captain Pauli, guardian of the realm, is easily my favorite character in this game. They really got his graphic design nailed, because he actually looks like some real cops I know, lol! And I even found my own likeness between all of the wanted posters on the bulletin board (a reward I received for testing this game…)

Lies, all lies!

A trip to the post office gave me several leads as to where Mr. Fumbleclaw could’ve ended up. I visited a bunch of new locations, talked to some extra characters, and now I’m trying to figure out where to go and what to do. I have a feeling there’s a clear order in how to go about this next section, so I think I’ve got a lot of running back and forth ahead of me.

You gather quite an array of inventory items in this game...

I must admit though, a couple of exterior background designs of these new locations lack a bit of quality compared to what I’ve seen so far. And there are a couple of cliché characters some players might take offense to; Alfredo, the very much Italian accented pizzeria owner (and the Tarantella Napoletana constantly playing in the background doesn’t really help either), and Ricky, hairdresser of the pets.

Of course I am!

New game: "Scott Whiskers: The Search for Mr. Fumbleclaw" playthrough

New game!

I've started Scott Whiskers: The Search for Mr. Fumbleclaw and I'm 1 hour into it!

I'm the titular Scott Whiskers, volunteer at the local animal shelter who is called in for some work, since his colleague Jack couldn't make it. Once the chores are completed, a missing cat poster calls for my attention. The cat is Mr. Fumbleclaw, and if the title of the game is anything to go by, I'll probably be looking for him for a loooong time...

Now that's one fine looking feline...

It's a cool point-and-click adventure game with 3D characters moving around in what at first glance look like pretty simple environments, but there's something curvy, optical illusiony about them. They're a bit like the realistic backgrounds of the Pendulo Studio games in a King of the Hill style, but combined with some of the geometry of Day of the Tentacle.

That's some crazy architecture...

The puzzles are pretty basic inventory puzzles, at least so far. What I noticed, and luckily very early in the game, is that you can examine hotspots multiple times, and instead of the typically repeated generic responses, Scott will have something different to say two, sometimes three times.

Hello Scott, I'll be controlling your life from now on...

If you're a friend of felines, this game is for you! If you're a canine companion, however, you better brace yourself for some dissing on dogs (not really, I just liked the alliteration :D) Scott once owned a dog he loved very much, but he's mainly concentrating on cats now, so it's all in good nature. Me, I'm a dog lover, but I don't have anything against cats, so it's definitely a fun game to play.

Yowza!

I've visited the Longbottom mansion, former home of Mr. Fumbleclaw. The lord and lady of the house are quite the characters, not to mention their daughter Susie. I finally got a lead on where the cat was last seen, so now I'm going to explore the rest of the city. Let's go on a cat quest!

"Champy the Useless Vampire", my Adventure Game Hotspot review!

Read my full review on Adventure Game Hotspot.

Excerpt: "With so little challenge, Champy the Useless Vampire essentially feels like an interactive 90-minute animated movie you might have watched on a weekend afternoon as an elementary school kid – fun enough at that moment to pass some time, but nothing really mind-blowing or memorable beyond that. It’s an easy, cozy little game to play in between more demanding adventures, or perfectly suited for beginners in the genre or the kids of adult gamers. It’s entertaining enough to quickly breeze through once, with no brain-busters or moon logic to worry about here, but it’s hard not to be left thirsting for more when you reach the end all too soon."

Finished "A Twisted Tale" in 7 hours!

Not sure what this book is all about...

Wow, what a ride this was! What a feeling of accomplishment every time I made some headway! There are some nifty puzzles in this game, lots of funny stuff. I was really stumped a couple of times, but never too long to get frustrated.

What a cozy little home!

One piece of frustration was completely intentional in the game, which makes it absolutely hilarious: I lost count of the different versions of the carnivorous plant I offered the antique shop owner. This is a great puzzle you can only solve through perseverance.

The bird looks more surprised by the happy couple than about being caught!

I had to do some crazy things as well, several of those centering around the old lady, Gloria "The Beldame" Black. I kinda wish we could've seen more of her.

Got my name in the credits; several times!

I'm really curious to find out what happens next! It kind of reminds me of that old TV show "Sliders", where our heroes continued to travel between alternative realities. I'm sure Vio will find herself in an even more stranger world in chapter two. I have development goes smoothly and we get to play it soon!

I'm 3 hours into "A Twisted Tale" and this world is even crazier than I thought!

I could eat here...

While there aren't THAT many locations to visit in this chapter (nine screen in all I believe, some of them scroll sideways...) I already must've walked for miles in this game! It's almost like, people don't stay where they are, and other conditions and environments change over time as well, as you progress through the story and puzzles. So I'm constantly exploring, looking for new things, talking to people again and again.

Gnarly grandma!

My favorite must be the restaurant owner, he's so overly melodramatic, worried like a mother hen about his pet cockroach Roachy who is supposed to power the jukebox but it has broken down and Roachy has disappeared. His customer Gloria "The Beldame" Black is still looking to rinse her teeth after her turkey dinner. Then there's Ned the tattoo artist who's actually terrified of needles, a practicing opera singer who keeps throwing (usefull!) stuff at me as I interrupt him. Then there's couple made in heaven Betty and Hermann, whose stuff I want to nick but they won't move until Hermann catches his chicken.

Love the artwork in this game. The free-style tattoos, not so much...

All things I think I need to acccomplish first before I get a chance to win back my cube. Which is being held hostage by the antique shop owner, who at least has said he's willing to part with it in exchange for this rare man-eating plant.

Lots of adventure game fan service here!

I've got lots of inventory items but I'm still not sure how I can use them. I've got scissors but they are blunt, pliers but they are rusty, then I found some exotic stuff but turned out I just had to drop them in a goldfish bowl for ornamentation (I guess there's a hidden achievement here somewhere...)

I think I need to go talk to all NPC's again, see if I can't discover any extra clues...

New game: "A Twisted Tale" playthrough

New game!

I've started chapter one of A Twisted Tale and I'm one hour into it!

Gorgeous place! I wonder how expensive their lattes are, though...

My name's Vio. One day I'm minding my own business, cleaning up the café where I work, when suddenly I find this small Rubic cube left on one of the tables. As soon as I pick it up for a closer inspection, a vortex appears and it sucks me right in, only to spit me back out in some forest with strange looking plants and trees. The cube follows me through the portal and falls to the ground, glowing hot!

The MacGuffin of choice!

While I wait for it to cool down, I walk to the edge of the forest only to find a floating town in the clouds! I explore the town and meet a fisherman trying to catch birds, his wife Betty waiting for him as she constantly paints over her nails, a very enthusiastic turkey loving chef in a restaurant and his old lady customer needing to clean her teeth, a couple of road workers trying to keep the crumbling town together, a tattoo artist, and a very pedantic antique shop owner who just happens to have stolen my magic cube as soon as I'd turned my back!

I don't like the looks of that tentacle...

So far I love this game's style: one-click user interface to either talk, examine or pick up items. An inventory you click open with the other mouse button. A hand-drawn classic-style adventure game that will remind you of The Curse of Monkey Island, Broken Sword, Darkestville Castle, with great voice acting and cool music every step of the way.

No WAY I'd walk there in real life!!!

The first hour of this game flew by with exploration and conversation. I was able to pick up a couple of items, but I'm not really sure where I'll have to use them. I hope things will become very clear soon!

"Chronique des Silencieux": my Adventure Game Hotspot review!

Read my full review on Adventure Game Hotspot. 

Excerpt: You better have a good memory if you don't want to spend hours reading through long blocks of text over and over again in Chronique des Silencieux, searching for that one piece of information that just might connect to or contradict another. The good news is that it's all presented in a beautiful, evocative period setting with interesting characters, providing enough motivation to keep digging into their backgrounds. Sadly, the occasional graphical glitch, faulty translation and overly demanding deduction requirements make the gameplay experience much harder than it should be. Pierre Feuille Studio has the right idea and introduces a great concept for detective games, but they should have tested and polished it up further before releasing. To their credit, during my 14-hour playthrough they released several updates that gradually improved certain issues, making the third part of the game smoother than the first two. It still wasn't perfect, but it's moving in the right direction, so here's hoping it will get there so more people can enjoy the intriguing elements lurking beneath the surface.

I finished “Police Quest 1 (VGA)” in 4,5 hours!

Well, not really… I got tired of the poker games after an hour, so I reloaded and let the game win them for me so I could get my final screenshots for this playthrough post! Then I went back and spent another half hour to finally win the first poker game on my own! Now I still should play and win the SECOND poker game; I’m stubborn like that… I think I got a handle on it now, so I’m sure that will only take me another half hour or so…

Also, this was a replay for me, people! I’m no speedrunner, but it wasn’t a normal playthrough either. I know this game almost inside out – though I did only get 191 out of 225 Sierra points in the end…

I love how the walking cursor changes depending on your outfit

But anyway, how did I end up in these poker games to begin with? Well, after returning to the station, my boss had devised a complete plan where I had to go undercover and team up with my high school sweetheart turned “courtesan”. Of course when you go undercover, you need to make sure people don’t recognize you. So I had to dye my hair blonde (5th time in the locker room? I lost count...) and wear a white leisure suit. But I’m perfectly fine driving the car I’ve done all my previous police errands in to the hotel.

Lytton PD does have some fancy cars...

Once there I booked a room and met up with Marie in the bar. She introduced me to the bartender and we played our part to get me invited to the late night poker game. But first I return with Marie to my hotel room. Basically she wants to jump you, but you have to call her a cab. And this is where I was stuck for years in my childhood, because 411 isn’t common knowledge outside of the USA, people! I restarted the game dozens of times, looking for that phone number for the cab company all over the place. Only years later, when the internet came into existence and brought us online walkthroughs, did I figure out what the idea was.

This phone is the cause of YEARS of being stuck in this room...

So I call the cab, inform my boss about the situation, and return to the poker game. Which I lost. And kept losing. Seriously, if you’re looking for some easy money, invite me for a poker game. I’ll bring the pizza. Anyways, after a successful poker game (at the start you can actually choose to play yourself, not to play and lose, or not to play and win) you’re invited to ANOTHER game later on, with higher stakes. So I head back to my room to inform my boss by phone, and he sends a backup team with extra cash and a transmitter so they can find me. I head back to the bar, of course win that second game, and the big shot at the table takes me up to his penthouse suite and shoots me.

Yep, poker definitely isn't my game... Uno, anyone?

Okay, I got a little time before he does so, but I’m not immediately sure how I can prevent him from shooting me after he’s informed of my true identity with a phone call in the back. Didn’t I have a backup team somewhere? Where are they? Is my transmitter malfunctioning? No, turns out I have to tell them exactly where I am myself, and then the game’s finale plays out. I’m hero of the city, but I don’t really know why. Basically I was just following orders all the time, I don’t really had to solve any puzzles, and all the plans to take down the Death Angel were made by my superiors, I didn’t really have an active part in that, I was just a pawn.

Yay, the big finish!

I'll definitely be playing the other games in this series, but first some other things. "A Twisted Tale" will be released tomorrow, so I'll be posting about my playthrough. Then I'll be leaving Sierra for a bit to "crack my whip" at Lucasfilm Games! for my next classic playthrough!