Operating on the assumption that Steam is the only place you're willing to find adventure games (The Adventure Company, which acts a retail publisher for a lot of adventure games, operates their own store
here, but again I'll exclude that)...
Here are some great 2010-or-so adventure games. I'm played some of these to completion, some of them a little bit, and some not at all--if you can't tell which, I've done a good job:
Amnesia: The Dark Descent - this is a combat-free physics-puzzle based first person exploration adventure. Some people would class it a little more as survival horror because there are segments where you need to run for your life or hide, but it's classically still an adventure. You're an Amnesiac exploring a beautiful old dilapidated mansion, slowly remembering how you came to be there and what dark things that have been done in this place. Atmospheric, tense, low-medium amount of physics based puzzles, 3d, no real inventory. (
AdventureGamers review -- yes, I know, I know, don't pay attention to their reviews)
Blue Toad Murder Files - this is a little closer to a straight puzzle game thrown together with a linear whodunnit mystery adventure element. Go from location to location, watch dialogue exchanges between hilarious John Cleese-inspired British goons, solve relevant puzzles. Professor Layton is the closest console equivalent. Fixed perspective, high amount of logic puzzles, no inventory. (
AG review)
Lost Horizon - this is a classical point and click style adventure game loosely based on the theme but not the story of the Capra flick or the original novel (adventure story following great ancient lost cities, with a dash of Indiana Jones Nazi-era shenanigans). Point and click with no camera control, inventory, medium amount of classic inventory puzzles. (
AG review)
Windosill - this is a screen escape adventure game. Each screen has one or more objects that can be triggered to move or act in a certain way and you must combine them or trigger them in the right order or with the right timing to unlock the door to move to the next screen. This is a common flash genre, but this has been packaged for download. Great, light theme and presentation; you're a choo choo train!!!! Single screen perspective, each screen has click-interaction puzzles. (Not covered by AG, that's reasonable, this genre is on the borderline of adventure and puzzle)
RealMYST - Myst, of course, is one of the most acclaimed but also divisive adventure games of all time. In Myst, the puzzle is mostly figuring out what the puzzle is. You're a solitary man who fell through a book into this beautiful but dead world. How do you escape? What happened to the world you are in? How do you operate all of the strange and elaborate devices around you? RealMYST is a full 3d remake that ditches the fixed pre-rendered images of the original for a 3d world. Puzzles are generally single-screen click interaction puzzles with some minor inventory, but again the puzzle design tends to tilt towards "What do I have to do?" rather than "How do I do it?" (which tends to be pretty easy). Be prepared to take notes. Atmospheric, 3d, click-interaction puzzles, no real inventory. (RealMYST was not reviewed by AG, but the original Myst
was)
Machinarium - this is a classical point and click adventure game with excellent and strong theming. It borrows heavily from silent film (there is no dialog at all), dystopic rust-punk future scrapheap architecture, and while I'm not an expert it feels very eastern Europe, post-Soviet to me. Puzzles are largely click-interaction or inventory puzzles. This is absolutely the closest recommendation you're going to get to the old Sierra or LucasArts games. You're a robot in a junk heap. Reassemble yourself, explore a robot city, save your friend, and punish the jerk-bots who put you in the heap. Gorgeous, hand-drawn 2d art, atmospheric, 2d point-and-click, click-interaction and inventory puzzles. (
AG review)
Flotilla - Flotilla is one part space combat game, but one part interactive text adventure. The premise is that you're a terminally ill space captain and you decide to go on a grand (non-linear) adventure for the end of your life. You go to certain planets and trigger events, which are presented as a sort of text based "choose your own adventure" style. Your choices might benefit you or backfire. Occasional Homeworld-style space combat. When you die, your "life" chronicle is presented to you so you have the opportunity to relive your choices. The game keeps a running tally of your number of careers, and even a successful career will only last an hour although failed careers might be over within 5 minutes. Very cool. Text adventure + space combat, 3d, cool plasma/jarring colour scheme with lots of bright orange, no puzzles. (Not covered, which is lamentable because I do think that the text adventure elements make a strong case for the game being an adventure although most of your TIME playing it may be occupied with space combat)
Sherlock Holmes vs Jack the Ripper - this is pretty typical of a mid-low budget current adventure game. The theme is somewhat dark as Sherlock Holmes explores seedy London looking for Jack the Ripper. You'll encounter prostitutes, see what I assume are actual real-life pictures of people seriously afflicted by syphilis (this part was really gross) and eventually crack the case. There's a surprising amount of inspiration drawn from the real crimes, evidence, and police handling of the case. It is presented as a 3d point and click adventure with elements of click-interaction and inventory puzzles. If I have one complaint, it's that the characteristic intelligent / socratic method of speaking that Sherlock Holmes uses is a bit long-winded and undermines some of the more tense scenes in the game. Fun, though. 3d point and click, inventory and click-interaction puzzles, no combat. (
AG review)
These aren't my favourite adventure games or anything, just a wide representative sample for people to check out. It'd be great if someone else was willing to make the effort to do mini-descriptions like this for another 4 or 5 great games that are widely available.
