"Just a To the Moon Series Beach Episode", my Adventure Game Hotspot review!

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Excerpt: "A series’ “beach episode” is generally just a whimsical aside where familiar and favorite fictional characters leave their comfort zones to engage in far different activities than their everyday routines, literally by going swimming, surfing and playing tourist. Just a To the Moon Series Beach Episode might start off like that, but it soon adds other elements to keep you on your toes: there is more going on here, but the question is, will you find out exactly what? In my view, this elevates the game above a simple yet fun diversion. It is still fun, as the mini-games and some free choices ensure, but the overarching storyline for these characters takes a huge turn as well, making it an important addition to the series. We don’t yet know where this particular story will end, since there is still one more episode to come, but for series fans this is a wonderful day out with the SigCorp team and dramatically sets the stage for what lies ahead."

"Arsene Lupin - Once a Thief", my Adventure Game Hotspot review

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Excerpt: "Although I expected to play only as Arsène Lupin himself, the playful way in which the narrative’s chronology is broken up between Lupin carrying out his heists and Ganimard trying to figure out how he does them is very fun. Some of the puzzles are fairly straightforward and overly forgiving, with unlimited tries and no repercussions when you do something wrong, but the more traditional investigative puzzling is rewarding to solve, and whenever I succeeded in linking evidence correctly, I felt as if I was donning a black cloak and top hat of my own in plotting my latest heist. The music is great, the isometric scenes fun to rotate and explore, and the supporting cast just begs to be fooled by Lupin. Since I’ve read some of the Leblanc books, I recognized some plot elements here and there, like how Lupin escapes his unavoidable arrest, but it’s certainly not necessary to know anything about the character going in. Just like his more famous British and Belgian contemporaries, Lupin is a character straight out of literary fiction who was long overdue a lead role, and I’m sure he will charm his way into the hearts of those who aren’t already familiar with his antics as well."

"PRIM", my Adventure Game Hotspot review

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Excerpt: "While it does have a few creative tricks up its sleeve, PRIM is very much a traditional adventure game that takes what its classic predecessors did well and updates it for modern audiences. The result is a highly polished, entertaining new coming-of-age story about a wonky father-daughter relationship that will make you laugh and maybe even cry, offering plenty of fun but also connecting on an emotional level. PRIM does a masterful job of combining its serious themes with the right amount of humor, and everything about its production, from the artwork and interface to the music and voice-overs, screams excellence, an eye for detail, and a true love for both adventure gaming and storytelling. That would be impressive for any developer, let alone a small team making their very first game. I most enjoy playing games like this, but rarely are they done as well as it is here. Leave it to a game set in the Realm of the Dead to show that there’s still lots of life left in the point-and-click adventure genre." 

"Murder on Space Station 52", my Adventure Game Hotspot review!

 

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Excerpt: "Sci-fi games usually aren’t my cup of tea, but Murder on Space Station 52 is a mystery game first and science fiction game second, so it doesn’t bombard you with loads of alien lore or technical/scientific stuff. As such, it succeeded in not only holding my interest, but actually making it a lot of fun. Despite its extraterrestrial setting, it’s a pretty straightforward, well-acted detective-style point-and-click investigation combining fetch quests and problem solving and information gathering through examination of hotspots and talking to possible suspects. Most of the puzzles are quite easy, and the logic needed to be applied is pretty much common sense, albeit with a couple of blatant exceptions. It’s too bad there isn’t more actual detective work involved in ultimately pinpointing the murderer in the bunch, but it nevertheless succeeded in making a non-sci-fi gamer like me boldly go where I never really liked to go before."

"Echoes", my Adventure Game Hotspot review!

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Excerpt: "The different graphical styles throughout the game’s five chapters might not fully distract you from the sparing use of music and sound effects, but if you like a good mystery/thriller with a horror edge to it that keeps you second guessing, the characters and their stories here will certainly pull you in. Echoes definitely isn’t for those looking for a typical puzzle-solving adventure game, but if you want to spend a few hours clicking through an interactive graphic novel with some light adventuring sprinkled in, making some conversational choices along the way that subtly impact the outcome of the story, you’ll be solidly entertained the first time through and may even decide it’s worth coming back for more."

 

"Farewell North", my Adventure Game Hotspot review!

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Excerpt: "As I started playing Farewell North, I didn’t find it very adventurey. Sure, it was cool running around as a dog chasing a little blue light around, but the otherwise colorless setting didn’t warm my heart. Then I faced the first obstacles and things got more interesting, and even a little tricky here and there. And when I succeeded in returning color to the first island I visited, it was as if the entire game came to life for me, and the shared magical journey of Chesley and Cailey touched a chord inside me. It’s a very serious game, uncovering deep emotions, but it includes just enough comic relief, like Chesley’s interactions with the wildlife. What at first seemed little more than a cozy exploration game became something resembling a real-life adventure through a jaw-droppingly beautiful land I’d love to visit personally. The narrative builds up to a bittersweet finale through a variety of fun gameplay styles as you feel ever more invested in the deep love between woman and dog, making it ideal for animal lovers, nature fans, or anyone who could use a little more color in their own lives."

"Devil's Hideout", my Adventure Game Hotspot review!

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Excerpt: Although Devil’s Hideout is a short game, this developer definitely knows how to keep his audience glued to the screen. There’s never a dull moment, always with some puzzle or other to solve, alternating with some thankfully non-frustrating mini-games and gorgeously horrific locations to explore, filled with creepy characters that seem to have walked straight out of a horror movie. Lauren is a great heroine, a strong woman who will do anything to save her sister, though she still gets scared and freaked out by the crazy stuff she encounters. The “fan service” jump scares never stopped getting to me, which did get a bit annoying in the end if I’m totally honest. While at first I was baffled by the sudden ending, it hit me not long after that the writer wanted to subtly hint at a possible hidden truth without outright stating it as fact, keeping the player guessing, which I can appreciate. It might leave you yearning for a firmer resolution, but in its own way it nicely wraps up a well-written horror tale where the devil can be hiding around every corner.

"Closer the Distance", my Adventure Game Hotspot review!

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Excerpt: Despite its heavy-sounding subject matter, I was completely charmed by this narrative-focused drama. The idea of a main character influencing the people left behind after her death really speaks to the imagination. Humankind has pondered the mysteries of death for ages; we can fear it or we can embrace it, and this game isn’t afraid to explore grief, loss, and depression without becoming too bleak or overly religious in the process. It’s hard to say a game dealing with these emotions is “fun,” but in some ways it truly is, confronting you with your own helplessness when dealing with others, because you can’t suddenly force people to behave differently simply because you want them to. As a simulation of life, Closer the Distance very much succeeds. Certainly it plays on the feels, becoming a bit dramatic now and again with its artistic cutscenes, trying very hard to make you cry. But overall, this is a narrative that fits in with novels like Reservoir 13, Everything I Never Told You and The Lovely Bones – all dramas about a community dealing with grief and picking up the pieces after a traumatic event. If people still don’t believe video games can be art, they really should play this one!

"Bent Oak Island", my Adventure Game Hotspot review!

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Excerpt: Bent Oak Island is very rough, and not just around the edges. Limited animation and sound effects, a glitchy user interface, and loads of spelling mistakes prevent you from being completely absorbed by the story and its puzzles. And yet there is certainly some fun to be had, especially in the writing. The sibling chemistry is hilarious, and the multitude of silly NPCs are good for many laughs as well. And while the 80s-style graphics are not exactly to my personal tastes, I’m sure there are many old-school gamers who will appreciate its nostalgic charm. The story starts out all in innocent good fun, but eventually the stakes are dramatically raised, with lots more hanging in the balance, concluding with a somewhat fulfilling ending to five hours of breezy adventuring. A little more depth and some additional polish would have gone a long way, but even with its limitations, it’s made me start to miss having a sibling by my side, “enriching” my life by commenting on everything we see and do. Perhaps I’ll give my sister a call, and hope she’s not still mad about the shoe. 

"Thalassa: Edge of the Abyss", my Adventure Game Hotspot review

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Excerpt: "Thalassa: Edge of the Abyss tells many stories from beyond a watery grave. Walking around exploring the titular sunken vessel is an amazing experience. Finding all the clues to the ship’s tragedy satisfies that guilty pleasure of snooping through other people’s belongings, even if that feels a bit morbid knowing what happened to them. And uncovering the truth by means of the deduction board is very rewarding, if not particularly challenging. The wonky camera when closing in on hotspots, and the fickle volume of the voices are only minor holes in the hull. It won’t tempt me to put on a wetsuit myself, but with its high-quality production values bringing it to life, so to speak, this game offers a deep pool of emotions just waiting for gamers to dive in."

"It's Grim Up North", my Adventure Game Hotspot review!

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Excerpt: It’s Grim Up North is flawed. There’s no getting around that. Clumsy interface, grammatical errors (and I’m not talking about the blatant slang), the protagonist walking through objects, and characters telling you to do things you’ve already done. But oh, it sure is fun anyway, init? Terry’s ad lib remarks and insults towards the other villagers, inventory puzzles that are put together logically, funny animations like Terry twirling a shotgun, and of course the hilarious combat sequences and the creative alien designs. It all fits together so well, and had me in stitches for a few hours. Those hoping for a complete game will be disappointed by the “to be continued” nature of the (non-)ending here, but as the first chapter of what I hope will become a memorable adventure-RPG hybrid series, it now has the opportunity to fix its technical issues for future episodes (and ideally patch this introductory chapter too). If not, I might start to wonder if the developers are alien imposters as well.

Finished "Chants of Sennaar" in a little over 12 hours!

Pretty grim setting, that Exile...

The finale of Chants of Sennaar totally surprised me. At first I was a bit underwhelmed by the fact that the translations in Exile were going so smoothly. There's a different gameplay elements here where you have to align the symbols of all languages on a dial, and that fills up the gaps in the Exile language.

Then I had to go back to the different levels and open up the doors I had already noticed but never had the key for. There's a lot going on here, but I'm not going the spoil it. Let's just say I didn't expect these developments.

I'm not sure I understand everything that went on in the tower, but Chants of Sennaar definitely makes my list of best games ever. This is a great example of not only a game, but a work of art. It had just the right difficulty level for me. Often you just go through the motions of solving puzzles in adventure games, but here I really got that feeling of accomplishment after figuring out the languages, similar to getting the deaths right in Return of the Obra Dinn. I can totally recommend it for people who are looking for a different challenge than the traditional point 'n clicks.

The end!

"Midnight Margo", my Adventure Game Hotspot review!

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Excerpt: Midnight Margo is a tale about mental health, recovering from depression, turning your life back around and pushing your limits. As grim as that might sound, the opposite is actually true as the game is a joy to play. I laughed, and though I didn’t really cry, I did sympathize not only with Margo herself but the other characters as well. It’s a story that feels like it takes place in the real world, and these people could be your friends or neighbors. The role-playing elements are fun to figure out, and sometimes a bit frustrating to get wrong, but that just proves how engaging the story is. I really wanted to fulfill each and every quest, to help those people and help Margo in turn. Because in this world, it isn’t enough to be on your own, closing yourself off. You have to take control of your life and open yourself up to others, using whatever coping mechanisms work best for you. If that means turning it all into a big game that’s as fun as it is here, everyone should play!

 

One year of reviews!!!

Today marks the one year anniversary of my first review being published on the Adventure Game Hotspot website!

(It was Know by heart... if you're interested...)

I'm so happy that after roughly 30 years of playing adventure games, I was able to sneak my way into this community, first by writing about my playthroughs on social media (thank you for inspiring me, Jeremy Hall!), then by testing games often made by solo devs (thank you for those first opportunities, Dionous Games & Tall Story Games!), then by officially reviewing them (thanks for the push in the back, Tom Hardwidge! And of course thank you both, Jack Allin and Joshua Cleveland for opening your door for me!)

I've met loads of great people these past couple of years, learned lots about game development as well, and my editor is still trying to teach me what a good review should encompass. The hardest part of the job is to put down in writing what it is about a game that makes you like or dislike it, because usually that's such a gut feeling. Like falling in love; sometimes it just doesn't make sense...

I'm currently working on my 30th review for AGH, with 28 already published on their site and linked to my very own author page!

In case you missed them, here's the list of games I played and reviewed these past twelve months (in alphabetical order):

Afterdream

Between Horizons

Blue Wednesday

Cats And The Other Lives

Champy The Useless Vampire

Chronique Des Silencieux 

Conrad Stevenson's Paranormal P.I.

Dordogne

Dreams In The Witch House

Enypnion ReDreamed

Incubus: A Ghost-hunter's Tale 

INDIKA 

Killer Frequency

Know By Heart...

The Legend Of Skye

The Mildew Children

Murder On The Orient Express 

Mythargia

The Night Is Grey

Reveil 

The Safe Place

Sanya

This Bed We Made 

Torn Away 

Twilight Oracle 

Verne: The Shape Of Fantasy

Vlad Circus: Descend Into Madness

The Wreck

"The Mildew Children", my Adventure Game Hotspot review!

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Excerpt: Though The Mildew Children won’t pose much challenge for experienced adventure gamers, its lovely visuals and intriguing story did keep me glued to the screen. It deals with interesting themes like social acceptance, life after death, religious doctrine, loyalty to friends and family, and lots more. I wasn’t a big fan of the different dialogue challenges initially, but their utilization during key scenes really does wonders to heighten tension. And tension there definitely is, not only from the world being in jeopardy of having all life sucked out of it, but also between the different characters with opposing belief systems. I didn’t appreciate being punished with a lesser ending for something I didn’t even realize I had done much earlier, but that’s all part of the many choices and branching paths that make the game highly replayable. More variety and an improved balance between story and gameplay elements would have inspired me to go back and pursue a better ending right away, but instead I need a break from tiring walks around the village and exhausting conversations with its inhabitants before I do. Still, I know there’s more left to discover, and it’s that impressive narrative depth and richness that will surely appeal to fans of choice-driven adventures, whether a young adult or not.

"INDIKA", my Adventure Game Hotspot review!

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Excerpt: Despite an abrupt ending that kept me wanting more closure, INDIKA’s journey, with its different varieties of gameplay, gorgeous if drearily realistic environments while exploring and playful retro pixel art for the mini-game flashbacks, captivated me from beginning to the credit roll. It’s a story of right and wrong, and realizing that doing what’s expected of you through the doctrine of religion doesn’t safeguard you from evil. It raises the question of whether you should resort to turning “evil” yourself then, and whether all acts can even be categorized that way to begin with when looking at basic needs and survival. Are morals universal or merely a human construct? Is religion an absolute truth or a manipulative tool? While I was expecting quite a controversial game, I was happy to find it isn’t all that in-your-face. It certainly offers food for thought if you like to philosophize, or you can simply play the game, experience the (sometimes disturbing) five-hour story and ignore all the symbolism. I for one will be praying that the developers make more games like this!

"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.

"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!