Publisher: Wales Interactive
Developer: Little Jade; Good Gate; Wales Interactive
Year: 2020
Platform: Windows, Mac, PS4, XBox One, Switch, iOS, Android
Rating: 4
I’m not entirely sure what it would take to make an interactive movie truly great. Pure camp could work, and Black Mirror’s Bandersnatch has its moments. But a dramatic piece can easily suffer from discontinuity or the randomness of a choose your own adventure. The Complex is no different.
Continue reading The ComplexPublisher: Quantic Dream
Developer: Red Thread Games
Year: 2024
Platform: Windows, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series
Rating: 2
As the world’s gaming community grows more diverse, games are increasingly becoming more representative of the folks who play them, and designers are becoming braver at tackling controversial social issues. Red Thread Games exemplifies this with their latest release in Dustborn, a road trip story that explores how the use of language impacts everything in our lives, for better or worse. Regrettably, they failed to create an entertaining adventure around it in this potentially compelling but ultimately overlong and tedious experience.
Continue reading DustbornPublisher: Focus Entertainment
Developer: Rundisc
Year: 2023
Platform: Windows, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series, Switch
Rating: 6
Games where you have to decipher alien languages always feel like a lot of work to me, and Chants of Sennaar is no different. I suppose the language processing part of my brain gets tired easily. Yet I was able to get past that here and enjoy myself thanks to some forgiving gameplay mechanics and a compelling, albeit mostly silent, narrative.
Continue reading Chants of SennaarPublisher: Annapurna
Developer: Mobius
Year: 2019
Platform: Windows, PS4, PS5, Xbox One
Rating: 8
In general I haven’t had the patience for completely open-world games for various reasons, the most prominent being the narrative often gets derailed either by sidequests or I wind up doing things in an order the writer didn’t intend. Outer Wilds breaks the mold for me, telling a remarkably tight and moving science-fiction story wrapped up in the conceit of a 22-minute time loop.
Continue reading Outer WildsPublisher: Plug In Digital
Developer: Modern Storyteller
Year: 2021
Platform: Windows, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, Stadia
Rating: 8
Originally a well-acclaimed Skyrim mod, The Forgotten City is an updated and larger, independent version of the game. While I couldn’t get into Skyrim, I’ll play almost anything about time travel and especially anything that involves time loops. While it takes a little bit to get going (and to fully grasp the game mechanics), once it does it becomes a relative breeze and is one of the most addictive and satisfying adventure game stories I’ve ever played.
Continue reading The Forgotten CityPublisher: Double Fine
Developer: Double Fine, Shiny Shoe
Year: 2016
Platform: Windows
Rating: 7
It had been about 20 years since I played the original SCUMM classic by LucasArts, long enough that I couldn’t recall any of the puzzles. So I thought I’d give the remaster a try to see if it was as good as I remember. It was, indeed. And while the remaster changes nothing about the story or the puzzles, its enhancements make this the version the more worthy play today.
Continue reading Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle RemasteredPublisher: Julia Minamata
Developer: Julia Minamata
Year: 2024
Platform: Windows, Mac
Rating: 8
For those of you who have been eagerly awaiting for years to play The Crimson Diamond: Yes, it’s as amazing as you were hoping. Go get it.
For those who have only more recently become aware, The Crimson Diamond is the labor of love from Julia Minamata, first-time indie designer from Toronto. This murder mystery is an homage to EGA Sierra titles, sporting a 16-color palette, a parser interface, and a design highly reminiscent of Roberta Williams’s classic The Colonel’s Bequest. Taking the best features of those nostalgic 80s adventures and supplementing them with modern conveniences, Julia has successfully created a charming and engaging game that ranks right up there with the best Sierra had to offer.
Continue reading The Crimson DiamondPublisher: Postmodern Adventures
Developer: Postmodern Adventures
Year: 2024
Platform: Windows
Rating: 5
As I sit down to write this review just a week after finishing An English Haunting, I realize that I cannot call to mind the name of the protagonist or even how the game ends. My rapidly aging brain surely shoulders much of the blame, though I suspect it also cuts to my feelings about my experience. The second pixel art adventure by Spanish developer Postmodern Adventures, a ghost-hunting yarn set in early twentieth-century London, is certainly a pleasant enough experience buoyed by above-average production values and a satisfying level of gameplay challenge. Yet an unmemorable cast of characters—replete with enough exposition to make a Bond villain blush—make it difficult to give it an enthusiastic recommendation.
Continue reading An English HauntingPublisher: The Brotherhood
Developer: The Brotherhood
Year: 2023
Platform: Windows, Switch, PS5, Xbox One, XBox Series
Rating: 8
After not particularly enjoying the highly awarded Stasis or its follow-up Cayne, I was skeptical when Bone Totem was released to universal praise and accolades. My doubts faded quickly and never returned as The Brotherhood demonstrated they could learn from their mistakes and produce was one of the greatest sequels in adventure game history.
Continue reading Stasis: Bone TotemPublisher: Spooky Doorway
Developer: Spooky Doorway
Year: 2017
Platform: Windows, Mac, Linux, Switch, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series,
Rating: 7
After playing a bunch of serious games in a row, sometimes you just need something that’s stupid fun. The Darkside Detective, a buddy cop adventure about paranormal detective work, is the perfect remedy.
Continue reading The Darkside Detective
Death By Troggles 
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