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Point & Click Adventure Thread 2018 - This Is The Year!

New trailer for Unforseen Incidents announces new release date as May 24th



Gotta give them credit for the art style, it's pretty rad.
 
How's everyone doing lately?

I've been really looking forward to The Sinking City by Frogwares, who makes those nice Sherlock Holmes adventure games. They released a new dev blog video which shows some gameplay and all. No release date yet, but it's coming in nicely!

 
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Lately I've gone through Gemini Rue and Technobabylon. I love those games and it feels like PnC games back in the 90s.

Are the other 2 from the Dark Future series recommended (aka Resonance and Primordia)?
 
Gemini Rue and Technobabylon are both great games. Can't wait for the next slew of games to come from Wadjet Eye and Grundislav Games (Unavowed and Lamplight City)

Primordia is really good. Atmosphere really drags you in. Resonance is good if you like switching between characters a lot. Puzzles in Resonance could have been harder, though. I'm not as harsh as others so I liked all four of them. The sci-fi worlds are just fun to dip into.

If you haven't already, Kathy Rain is a really good game too. It's sci-fi with real world elements like the others. It was much easier than the others listed, but the story doesn't really drag.
 
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TripleSun said:
How's everyone doing lately?

I've been really looking forward to The Sinking City by Frogwares, who makes those nice Sherlock Holmes adventure games. They released a new dev blog video which shows some gameplay and all. No release date yet, but it's coming in nicely!
Click to expand...

I'm looking forward to this as well. As previously discussed in thread, I played the last several Sherlock games and enjoyed them quite a bit, even if the very last one shifted tone a bit to far away from the Sherlock characters as they'd previously appeared. That game (Devil's Daughter) clearly showed that they were wanting to stretch out from their historical-London-mystery genre to add occult and action elements, so I hope this works out better than weirdly compromising with the Sherlock universe as they had begun to attempt.
 
ResurrectedContrarian said:
I'm looking forward to this as well. As previously discussed in thread, I played the last several Sherlock games and enjoyed them quite a bit, even if the very last one shifted tone a bit to far away from the Sherlock characters as they'd previously appeared. That game (Devil's Daughter) clearly showed that they were wanting to stretch out from their historical-London-mystery genre to add occult and action elements, so I hope this works out better than weirdly compromising with the Sherlock universe as they had begun to attempt.
Click to expand...

I really enjoyed Testament and Crime & Punishment but I agree, it felt a bit off adding the supernatural elements. Still enjoyed it, though. Sinking City, I welcome all the crazy nightmares they can come up with. Devil's Daughter definitely feels like it got them ready for this Sherlock Holmes + Lovecraft ish game without having to change the Holmes name any further. They said they'll have need for guns in game, so like shooting monsters and all but it's still mostly about investigation and there is a whole town of people. Kind of mixes the genre to appease both traditional investigation fans and more modern fans of adventure games. I've been craving something like this for a while.
 
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Hey guys, thought I'd share my thoughts so far on Unforeseen Incidents!

I've only played about an hour and a half of the game, but they got me - I am in. If I had to draw a stylistic / atmospheric comparison I'd say it's a bit Twin Peaks sans most of Lynch's absurdity by way of graphic novel. Visually, it's a great argument for more HD adventure games - the backgrounds don't feel super intricate because the colors are pretty much flat with some super effective use of gradients, but the squiggly black comic book-style outlines add a lot of details to them, to the point where you're actually tempted to forget there's a hotspot revealer and just mouse over them 'cause they're inviting. I'd say it's an art style that fits the backgrounds more than the characters - the latter do tend to look a weird because of it, but it goes nicely with the general uncanny atmosphere.

Haven't dug into the story too deep, but so far the writing is excellent. It was co-written by Alasdair Beckett-King, creator of Nelly Cootalot and talented comedian, but he did a great job of holding back on the one liners and delivering a more naturalistic, every-guy protagonist. There are some beloved adventure game protagonist common places : the loveable loser who keeps procrastinating cleaning his place up etc., but Harper is refreshing in that he's NOT an asshole, and it's easy to inhabit his character.

Puzzles so far have been neatly woven into the story, but the game opens up to some 7-8 free roaming screens pretty quickly, and I now have I think 9 or 10 items in my inventory, so the complexity ramps up pretty fast. Depending on your play style, this might be either extremely satisfying or extremely intimidating. It's nice that you don't just pick up stuff you absolutely need.

One weird thing is that it took me a while to realize this is actually a one-click affair - I kept left and right clicking stuff and getting different responses, but that's because there are multiple examine responses (yay!). Not usually a fan of one-click adventure games, but UI makes up for that. In this respect it feels more interactive than, say, Broken Age.

And some extra points for the music, which is incredibly good. It's understated and loops a bit often, but the shoegaze-like vibes really make it into a weird creepily melancholic game. Maybe I'm wording this weirdly but it's really effective.

I realize this is not a lot to go by if you're on the fence about getting this or not, but I have a very good feeling about this game, and I'm happy I bought it day one. If you're a fan of the genre, I really think you should spring for this.
 
Haha I knew you would all find the Larry news quick. Strap in for an emotional roller-coaster

Also, thanks for the Unforseen writeup! Been following that game for like six months so its next on my list after Detriot: Become Human. Glad you enjoy it, the screenshots grabbed me and looks like the puzzles are weaved in nicely.
 
Unforeseen Incidents looks really interesting.

Edit: Ok, played it a bit. It's pretty damn good, but oh god, I detest the interface and the object dragging. So annoying.
 
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Fuz said:
I detest the interface and the object dragging. So annoying.
Click to expand...

Yeah I'm not crazy about inventories that pop up on hover, I'd rather have my trusty click - stays visible til I click again or use an object. In Unforeseen Incident's it's particularly annoying when selecting the multitool submenu... But it's a very small blemish on an otherwise great game.
 
They probably want to port it to tablets.

But man, give me my SCUMM interface any day. Still the very best one after all these years.
(I'm so thankful for Thimbleweed Park)
 
Unforeseen Incidents was awesome. The very ending was slightly disappointing but overall, I dare say it was the most enjoyable adventure game I've ever played because the puzzle difficulty was just right, and the writing was subtle.

If there's anything comparable in the world of adventure gaming let me know.
 
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The reviews make me want to have an interest in Unforeseen Incidents... but I can't get past the art style. The character designs are so off-putting and ugly to me in every screenshot. This is compounded by playing point-&-click games exclusively with my wife, who takes the art style as the key ingredient, making this surely a hard sell if I put it on our list.
 
Just can't help thinking that there is a huge void within the point and click genre as of today.....the games we never got and never will: Full Throttle 2, a sequel to Fate of Atlantis, Beneath a Steel Sky 2, or a HD remake...A Star Wars point and click game....which could have taken stylistic cues from Day of the Tentacle, Full Throttle, and The Dig...
 
RAIDEN1 said:
Just can't help thinking that there is a huge void within the point and click genre as of today.....the games we never got and never will: Full Throttle 2, a sequel to Fate of Atlantis, Beneath a Steel Sky 2, or a HD remake...A Star Wars point and click game....which could have taken stylistic cues from Day of the Tentacle, Full Throttle, and The Dig...
Click to expand...

Sam & Max (season 3, in particular) did a pretty great job of bringing the old LucasArts style of comedy adventure back to life (more than Double Fine's Broken Age, if you ask me). But I agree that there should be more in the style (humor; situational puzzles; characters) of those old games.
 
TripleSun said:
How's everyone doing lately?

I've been really looking forward to The Sinking City by Frogwares, who makes those nice Sherlock Holmes adventure games. They released a new dev blog video which shows some gameplay and all. No release date yet, but it's coming in nicely!

Click to expand...


2002 called, they want their lip synching back
 
Since it's Screenshot Saturday I might as well show you guys how our game is coming along. Coming later this summer.

PV6ZGEE.gif
 
Thanks so much TripleSun TripleSun ! We're still editing and implementing tons of voice acting, but it won't be long now!

The Bloody-Nine The Bloody-Nine I recommend you use a controller for that. Pendulo games have always been very hit and miss for me, but I'm a big fan of the artist who made a lot of backgrounds for this one, so at least in that respect it's really, really good. It's also not a _real_ point and click; if you still feel like playing a couple after Y:O I recommend Thimbleweed Park and Unforeseen Incidents, they have that classic look and feel to them, and are both eerie and fun.
 
Guard Duty by Sick Chicken Studios' official trailer is here, along with the Steam page as well! Go check out this beauty



 
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So, I've finished Unforeseen Incidents.
It's pretty good... but could have been much more, story-wise. The plot twist at the end was super obvious since the beginning. A certain chracter motivation is... kinda weak.
Nice puzzles, some are quite original (and confusing - I had to use a walkthrough for that damn "blue wharehouse" puzzle - which in turn triggered this: https://www.neogaf.com/threads/rais...oversial-gaming-opinion.459297/post-253282830 ). I have a love/hate relationship with the art style. Hated it at first glance, I grew to really, really like it. It's original and pleasant. Animations are SO BAD though, and I hate that cheap flash-game vibe they have.
The voiceover is quite good, these are some good actors. Oh, I also hate the interface, especially when selecting the multi-tool items.

A pretty good game overall.
 
For anyone who was interested and still doesn't know, E3 confirmed that The Sinking City will be released on March 21th 2019

New gameplay footage as well

 
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Decent E3 for adventure games. Captain Spirit looks interesting and is a pretty clear indication that LiS2 is on the horizon. Twin Mirror could be cool, gives me an Indigo Prophecy vibe.

We're seeing the first gameplay footage for The Walking Dead: Final Season and it looks good. Looks like they're returning to a focus on exploration (after almost stripping it completely in New Frontier) as well as showing some new dynamic combat encounters. I'm hoping for at least some of the light puzzle solving elements from Season 1.

I think this is their first game fully developed post their last CEO. Who was not what you'd call beloved & supposedly was holding back innovation. So I'm hoping to see some fresh ideas since their games really need them.

There was also the awesome Grim Fandango reunion script reading starring all the original cast w/ Jack Black. It was a ton of fun and worth watching the VOD if you didn't catch it live.
 
Another thing recently announced is Telltale got the rights from Netflix to make a Stranger Things telltale adventure game. They gave the rights for Netflix to make their first interactive show about Minecraft: Story Mode. Interesting market for Netflix going forward, choose your own adventure shows.

Wow, Captain Spirit is being released for free too. That's really unheard of! Vampire On Titus Vampire On Titus
 
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Thanks TripleSun , I wouldn't have know about the Bitmap Books art of adventure games if it wasn't for you and reading through this thread, i just pre-orderd the special edition. its schedule for release is august.

So thanks again
 
TripleSun said:
Another thing recently announced is Telltale got the rights from Netflix to make a Stranger Things telltale adventure game. They gave the rights for Netflix to make their first interactive show about Minecraft: Story Mode. Interesting market for Netflix going forward, choose your own adventure shows.

Wow, Captain Spirit is being released for free too. That's really unheard of! Vampire On Titus Vampire On Titus
Click to expand...

I'm definitely intrigued by the prospect of a TTG Stranger Things game. It's a little worrying that they're still taking on so many big projects despite talks of a renewed focus on quality over quantity. That being said who knows how far off the Stranger Things game is. They did delay Wolf Among Us 2, which I think is a good sign.

If TTG can hit it out of the park with TWD Final Season, along with some of the great indie offerings, it'll be a solid year for adventure games. Which reminds me I've gatta finish Unforeseen Incidents. I'm not very far in but I'm really enjoying what I've played up to this point.
 
Supposedly they're mixing it up. If that article from The Verge is any indication they've heard the fan complaints and are trying to address them.

TTG Employee via The Verge said:
"We needed to break out of the Telltale formula, do something different, surprise and delight people, multiple years ago. It's reflected in [online] comments in articles about us. It's reflected in our review scores. It's reflected in our sales. It's reflected in our game scores. Everyone [could] see that, not just people who work for Telltale."
Click to expand...

Looks like they're taking some inspiration from LiS with the changes they've made to the exploration (actually having it again for one). I'm hoping we could also get some LiS tier puzzle solving. At the very least something on the calibur of TWD S1. I don't mind mainstream adventure games pairing down the difficulty but imo they shouldn't abandon puzzle solving altogether. DontNod struck a decent balance. TellTale's been slowly eroding more and more of their gameplay and by the time we got to New Frontier there was almost nothing left.

It seems like they get that, though, and the brief footage we've gotten for TWD S4 looks promising so I'm willing to give it a shot.
 
Ok, so it's more of a text adventure with a modern spin but I felt here was appropriate to talk about it. Just finished Stories Untold and that game was mind-blowing. It only took me like 2.7 hours to beat according to Steam but it was worth every penny. You have to go into it completely blind and just get ready for the ride. I had no idea where the game would take me and I'm glad.
 
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Made another gif, thought I'd pop it in here as a screenshotsaturday.

lq8PySm.gif


Other than the shameless self-plug, though, finally beat Unforeseen Incidents. Super good! The ending was a bit out of left-field, but as Fuz mentioned, some character motivations were a bit wonky. However, this being the first ever effort of an indie studio, it rates pretty high in my personal list.

Currently playing through Gray Dawn. It's supposed to be really short, but I can only find half an hour here and there to play it. It's a lot more light Myst than I expected, but the visuals keep drawing me back in.
 
Zero Escape: The Nonary Games is on PS4. They're very text heavy adventure games in the vein of a Visual Novel. Unlike straight up VN's there is exploration and puzzle solving. There's also "Adventure" & "Novel" modes you can switch between. The "Adventure" setting cuts back on the prose and plays more like a traditional AG.

There's also Zero Time Dilemma, the Sequel to the games in Zero Escape. I haven't played this one yet but it looks interesting. From what I've seen it looks to have largely left the VN aspects behind.

Ken Follet's The Pillars Of Earth is also on PS4, it's one of the games featured in the OP. Most Daedalic games' writing does not hit with me. But this is an adaptation of well received novels and by most accounts a fairly good adaptation too so It might be worth looking into.

There's also episodic stuff like Life Is Strange or The Council (also featured in OP & currently ongoing). The first episode of Life Is Strange is free so it's worth giving a shot to see if you're into it.
 
Looks like I'm going to be getting Paradigm, Pillars of the Earth, [event]0, Tacoma, Football Game and The Beginner's Guide for starters from the summer sale. Nothing else immediate for me.

Tales looks to be 73% off as well. Totally forgot about that one.
 
Paradigm is reeaaaaaally fucking good. Obviously your mileage may vary, especially for something as subjective as humor, but I found the game consistently laugh out loud funny. If you're a fan of clever & absurd humor in the vein of early Adult Swim cartoon's like Aqua Teen Hunger force then you will love Paradigm.

I should do a run with developer commentary soon.
 
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That whole paragraph rang bells for me. I loved old school Adult Swim. I've heard phenomonal things about the game's smart humor and the art looks really good. I've been meaning to pick it up for a while, but yanno other games get in the way. It is time!
 
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