Publisher: Animation Arts
Developer: Animation Arts
Year: 2023
Platform: Windows, Linux

Rating: 4

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: In this era where a daily deluge of entertainment options are available and attention spans are shorter, if you don’t grab the player almost immediately you run the risk of your game not being played at all. With Monolith, Animation Arts (Lost Horizon, Secret Files series) returns from a lengthy absence to deliver an overall solid third-person point-and-click adventure in the well-worn isolated astronaut subgenre. Yet I fear many players won’t be willing to see it through, as every one of the game’s weaknesses are highlighted in all their infamy in the first hour of play.

Continue reading Monolith →

Ten years ago I did a Top 50, and I’ve played a lot of great games since then. I’ve now reviewed close to 200 adventure games at Death By Troggles. Here’s my Top 100 with more modest blurbs for each one.

This is for commercial (or formerly so) games only. Ergo, King’s Quest II: Romancing the Stones is not in the top 10, as it would be. Several free text adventures would also make the list. Maybe in the future I’ll include them.

If a game you love isn’t listed here, I either haven’t played it or its terrible. But please tell me why it’s awesome in the comments.

100. In the 1st Degree (Brøderbund, 1995)

Low-budget full-motion video courtroom drama where you play a prosecuting attorney trying to convict an artist who murdered a museum curator. Gameplay consists of interviewing witnesses before and during trial, and the jury can render four different verdicts based on your actions. Tedious at times, but the acting is surprisingly solid and the story holds interest for the short duration, especially with TV talking heads regularly judging your progress.

99. Trinity (Infocom, 1985)

Impressively mature time-travel text adventure based on the Project Trinity nuclear test site in New Mexico. You spend most of your time in a metaphorical dream world and will visit several other locations where atom bombs were detonated. Exceptionally written, though unfortunately bogged down with some irrelevant adventure game puzzles and innumerable walking dead situations. Play with a walkthrough.

98. Amnesia (Cognetics, Electronic Arts, 1986)

Another text adventure, Amnesia is written by science fiction author Thomas M. Disch, about a man who wakes up in a Manhattan motel with virtually no memory and no clues to his own identity. Your primary goal is to survive as a homeless person in New York. You will die early and often, usually via hunger or cop. The game itself is cruel, but Manhattan is laid out in meticulous detail and the prose is simply wonderful. Definitely play with a walkthrough.

97. Sanitarium (Dreamforge, ASC Games, 1998)

Another game about an amnesiac, Sanitarium presents no real danger despite tense situations that would suggest otherwise. You begin in an asylum, and after escaping traverse many strange worlds that soon become apparent are reflections of your inner psyche. Plodding, obvious story with excessive dialogue. Yet it’s gorgeous graphics, haunting music, fun puzzles, and ease of play are enough to make it worthwhile.

96. Drawn: The Painted Tower (Big Fish Games, 2009)

The only hidden object game on the list, Drawn transcends the genre by creating a fascinating world where the hidden objects are integrated into the story itself. Your goal is to rescue a girl in a tower, who has a magical gift of creating paintings that act as doors into other worlds, all of which you will enter to help you solve problems back in the real world. The objects being hidden serve as barriers to those who want to harm the girl. Every painting and every puzzle is unique to the game, including several clever puzzles I’ve never seen in another game. Very charming adventure.

95. Spellcasting 101: Sorcerers Get All the Girls (Legend, 1991)

Legend’s first game, Spellcasting 101 is a bit of a haphazard mess of college life, adult humor, and language-based puzzles with an unmemorable story. Thankfully, I love author Steve Meretzky’s writing and I love language-based puzzles. The UI is an adaptation of still graphics, verb lists, and a text adventure parser that is not as user-friendly as it aims to be, though still moreso than most text adventures at the time. There’s a “nice” mode for those who don’t want the sex jokes, but they’re good jokes and why else would you play this?

94. Shannara (Legend, 1995)

Another competently made adventure by Legend, Shannara takes place in the world created by fantasy author Terry Brooks, though with some new characters and a new story. A casual and simple adventure that is accessible to anyone (I never read the novels myself), though perhaps too casual for ardent fans of the series. It has the standard Legend UI that looks like a Geocities website (though this one is point-and-click), and the graphics are pretty bland for 1995, but the music is great and it’s just a very pleasant overall experience.

93. Still Life (Microids, The Adventure Company, 2005)

A very atmospheric detective mystery, Still Life has you alternately playing as a modern-day homicide detective and her P.I. grandfather, the former during current day and the latter two generations prior. Naturally, the cases they are working on have eerie coincidences and are part of something bigger. Suffers from excessive linearity, space-filler puzzles, and uneven character development. However, some of the detective work is fun, the graphics are powerfully grisly, and the cutscenes are absolutely phenomenal.

92. Loom (LucasArts, 1990)

While I admittedly have only played the 256 color talkie version (that cut a lot of the dialogue), I couldn’t love this unique adventure as much as I wanted to. Being outcast from a guild of weavers, you must play actual music in order to solve puzzles and figure out who’s behind your expulsion (and all your colleagues being turned into swans). Very easy, even on the hardest difficulty, and pretty short as well. The dialogue not cut is pretty banal, and I just didn’t like the characterizations. That said, it’s worth playing for the clever idea and the exceptional score.

91. Manhunter 2: San Francisco (Sierra, 1989)

One of the hardest games from Sierra, Manhunter 2 builds upon its predecessor as a unique parser-less game with no mouse support. Aliens have taken over, and you’re pretending to be one of their man-hunting operatives while helping the resistance. A bizarre mishmash of fetch quests, arcade sequences, deciphering symbolism, and searching dead bodies. Very gory, but simultaneously visually arresting. Very difficult in many ways, but every puzzle solved provides a rush of pride. Unfortunately, the game doesn’t make sense at all if you haven’t played Manhunter: New York, an inferior game.

90. Tacoma (Fullbright Company, 2017)

You play a subcontractor tasked with discovering what happened to the six-person crew on an abandoned space station, downloading data from the computer while using a special device to recreate crew conversations from uncorrupted files. This is the fun part of the game, watching holographic scenes play out, following characters around, slowly learning what befell them. Puzzles are mostly silly, acting only as pacing to keep you from learning everything immediately. And while the story is predictable, it’s compelling and voiced wonderfully by a diverse cast.

89. Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge (LucasArts, 1991)

Very similar in style to its predecessor, with tongue-in-cheek humor and a lot of silliness. Unfortunately, the plot (about finding the treasure Big Whoop) barely moves, and with the incredibly difficult puzzles (especially in the second half), I found a good deal of the game a chore. But I loved the ending and still laughed quite often otherwise. Your mileage may vary, and many players view this entry as their favorite in the series.

88. Firewatch (Campo Santo, 2015)

Wonderful premise, following a middle-aged man who escapes into his job watching for forest fires as his wife withers away from a terrible disease. He makes friends with a lady colleague stationed elsewhere in the forest, and all conversation occurs over their walkies. The story, a creepy mystery involving a shadowy figure that seems intent on scaring you away, takes place over the whole summer. Most of the game is just walking and talking; despite the occasionally creepy vibes, Firewatch is one of the most relaxing adventures I’ve ever played. Sadly, the ending screws the pooch and leaves me no desire to ever play it again.

87. Wishbringer (Infocom, 1985)

The third and final game on this countdown from Brian Moriarty (along with Trinity and Loom), Wishbringer is a simultaneously creepy and delightful text romp through a haunted town as you try to save it from some unknown dark force. Every main puzzle can be solved in two ways, one by using the magick (sic) wishbringer stone to cast a spell, and one by using clever real-world logic. The game rewards the player for not using the stone, though the game can be won either way. A fairly easy game, and the story doesn’t develop as well as I would have liked, but it’s consistently fun throughout.

86. The Blackwell Deception (Wadjet Eye, 2011)

The fourth and penultimate entry of the heralded Blackwell series and a nice set-up for the final game. Ghost whisperer Rosangela and her spirit guide Joey are finally showing the hints of a friendship this time around as they try to solve the murder of one of her former colleagues. There’s a fair set of fun puzzles requiring both characters to use their applicable skills, and acting and graphics are top notch. Though I felt some of the story beats were contrived and too many of the story’s roadblocks involved guessing passwords, this is still a worthy entry in the series and should be played prior to The Blackwell Epiphany.

85. Mean Streets (Access, 1989)

The first entry in the Tex Murphy franchise, Mean Streets threw everything and the kitchen sink in order to make its presence known. One of the first games to have digitized actors and digitized voices, and the first major game to deploy 256 colors. They also threw in a flight simulator, arcade sequences, and your standard inventory puzzles, all with no mouse support! Tex himself is a blast, heavily leaning into his role as a P.I. by acting like he’s in a film noir. He takes ten grand from a socialite to look into her father’s suspicious suicide. There’s plenty of crude jokes, bribes, stealing evidence, and fun interaction with San Francisco’s mutant population. The flight simulator is slow and boring, though blissfully has an autopilot option. Otherwise, the game is very easy, and while it’s kind of a mess, I enjoyed myself the whole time.

84. Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon (Sierra, 1989)

A generally pleasant and funny game, but dare I say too derivative of the first two games in the series. It’s certainly easier (in fact too much so), but unfortunately shorter as well. And even though all the plots in these games are meaningless, there is especially not much memorable going on here. That said, there’s enough here to satisfy fans of the series and it has some of the better production values of an EGA game.

83. Machinarium (Amanita, 2009)

Underdog story about a robot who has to rescue himself from the trash heap and then save his girl and the town one puzzle at a time. The story is entirely told through the puzzles and thought bubbles, which ends up being more transparent than you’d expect. All the puzzles are self-contained, and some are quite clever, especially ones where you use your robot body. The story itself is not that memorable and there’s some annoying pixel-hunting, but it’s short and worthy of a play for puzzle lovers.

82. Hero’s Quest: So You Want To Be A Hero? (Sierra, 1989)

A rare adventure game and RPG hybrid from Sierra, Hero’s Quest (later renamed Quest for Glory due to copyright issues), does a pretty good job as an adventure and a passable job as an RPG. The town of Spielburg needs a hero to protect them from brigands and a witch, and you can sign up to be a fighter, magician, or thief in order to help them out. And I highly recommend the thief, as the battle system is clunky, repetitive, and unsatisfying. The thief can solve many puzzles by avoiding fights, which means more neat puzzles to solve. Not to mention the fun from breaking into people’s homes and stealing their stuff. Overall a funny game, if a bit disjointed. I much prefer this version to the VGA remake as the puzzles are more challenging (and there’s fewer bugs).

81. To The Moon (Freebird, 2011)

A walking simulator designed in RPGMaker was sure an interesting choice, and it works despite itself. You follow two scientists whose job is to alter the memories of dying people so they can leave this earth believing they accomplished everything they ever wanted. The subject of this adventure is a widower who never got to go the moon. The story beats are predictable until they’re delightfully not. The leads are pretty funny as well, which breaks up the monotony of constant hotspot activation. Other than some tile puzzles, there is nothing to solve, so it’s the story or bust. Makes a lot of men cry, though not yours truly, which is saying something.

80. Space Quest I: The Sarien Encounter (Sierra, 1986)

A piecing together of puzzles, slapstick, and numerous untimely deaths encased in a B-movie space war plot, the first Space Quest mostly succeeds in just being stupid fun. You play as Roger Wilco, a lazy and incompetent spaceship janitor who accidentally finds himself saving the universe. Two entirely unfair walking dead situations unfortunately spoil the party if you find them, so look them up ahead of time if you intend on playing. To make up for it, many puzzles have multiple solutions, a rare treat for the time. Finding all the ways to kill Roger is a hilarious blast of a sidequest. Many find the updated VGA version to be better, but I find the original to be more charming.

79. Blackwell Unbound (Wadjet Eye, 2007)

As far as Blackwell games go, this one goes pretty unheralded. I understand why, as it doesn’t star Rosangela (but rather her aunt Lauren), and the plot doesn’t do a whole lot. But the co-op puzzles are fun, the jokes land pretty well, and Dani Marco is just amazing at playing Lauren, giving her incredibly dry personality a lot of humor and heart. She’s so good that I wish the whole series had been about her instead.

78. Star Trek: Resurgence (Dramatic Labs, Bruner House, 2023)

After a twenty-seven year gap between Trek adventure games, the folks at Dramatic Labs had their work cut out for them. And they mostly succeeded, creating an interactive choice-based game that ultimately oozes Trek at every turn. Takes places shortly after Star Trek: Nemesis, and borrows an alien from TNG, but deploys all new characters with the exception of Spock (who’s voiced perfectly by Piotr Michael). You alternately guide the first officer and a non-commissioned crewman, your choices affecting the fates and attitudes of those around you. The plot about negotiating a peace between two alien worlds is generally good, though there’s very few surprises. Action scenes are present (but skippable) to add tension. Doesn’t reach the heights of the early 90’s TOS games (mostly because there are so few puzzles), but Trekkies will sure enjoy it.

77. Hollywood Hijinx (Infocom, 1986)

Hollywood Hijinx is one of Infocom’s unsung gems.  Your rich aunt has just passed on, and you were the favorite nephew, chosen to inherit the large fortune. However, she needs to know if you are clever enough to be worthy of holding the family finances. She has given you twelve hours to explore her mansion and find the ten “treasures,” or leftover props from her husband’s popular B-movies. Hijinx captures the flavor of the times and the B-movie industry wonderfully, and is funny throughout. Most of the puzzles are very easy, with only a few mind benders to plunge through. But if you’re just looking for a good time and a few good laughs, this game is great.

76. Deliver Us The Moon (KeokeN, 2018)

Physics based, first-person space adventure about finding out what went wrong on a space station that led to a desperately needed mining operation (and the miners) to go kaput. Great learning curve, great physics, impressive production values, and many clever puzzles that fit the genre. You get a robot to follow you who can replay imprinted conversations from the past and solve puzzles with you. I only wish the characters had been more fleshed out and the plot less by-the-numbers.

75. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (LucasArts, 1990)

Really fun scene-by-scene recreation of the movie (with several liberties taken to change or add puzzles) that does really well in capturing the flavor of Indiana Jones, including keeping (and in sometimes adding to) the humor. You can even choose to fight in some situations if you’d like to skip a puzzle, though that doesn’t work forever. Conversation trees are a frustrating exercise in guess-and-check and there’s a freaking maze. If you can get past that, you’ll have a good time, especially if you love the movie.

74. Sam & Max Hit the Road (LucasArts, 1993)

The titular characters are crass, rude, and hilarious, which necessarily carries the game as a bunch of obtuse and disjointed puzzles really get in the way. Moon logic is regularly required, making the game not terribly satisfying to win. Though a few puzzles require Sam to use Max (the up-for-anything lagomorph) with amusing results. The plot literally doesn’t matter. Thankfully, you’ll know in the first five minutes if you’ll like the rest.

73. Thaumistry: In Charm’s Way (Bob Bates, 2017)

Indeed a charming text-adventure about using magic to protect the secrecy and safety of fellow-magic users from being exposed at a science convention. An abundance of clever puzzles ranging from wordplay to time travel to convincing an invisible dog to play with you. Superbly coded and quite welcoming to text-adventure novices with a tutorial and a hint system. A bit too linear for my tastes and, disappointingly, no puzzles have multiple solutions, leaving the extensive spell book underutilized. Even so, there is still quite a bit of satisfaction

72. Police Quest 3: The Kindred (Sierra, 1991)

Wrapped up the Sonny Bonds saga in a tidy bow, but assisted by a completely nonsensical plot, over-the-top characterizations, a horrifying driving interface, ridiculous puzzles, and a bug that makes a long day repeat if you do something trivial in a different order. So why did it even make this list? Part nostalgia (I played this with my dad), part some of the ridiculous puzzles still being fun, and part some deserved intense scenes where you need to use your nightstick or firearm. But unless you’re a huge fan of the series or really love police procedure, there’s no need to play this.

71. The Dark Eye (Inscape, Expert Software, 1995)

Experience three Edgar Allen Poe stories (Berenice, The Cask of Amantillado, and The Tell-Tale Heart), from both the victim’s and the perpetrator’s perspective. Claymation presentation is surprisingly effective at making every scene creepy, though some pixel-hunting and confusing orientation needlessly slows down the pace. Have a walk-through handy in case the game’s UI gets in the way of the experience.

70. Norco (Geography of Robots, Raw Fury, 2022)

Exceptionally atmospheric and supernatural tale set in the real Norco, Louisiana, about a conspiracy involving your late mother and her investigation into the big bad corporate guys. Play alternates between you and your mother (prior to her death) and is a good combination of exploring, conversations, and inventory puzzles. The plot clips along well and the different people you meet really come to life, as does the town rife with pollution and poverty. Sadly, some really pointless turn-based combat sequences (done with quick-time events) get in the way often, and the end game is a slog of a combat sequences followed by all the game’s loose threads being unsatisfyingly explained in about two minutes. Hopefully the planned trilogy is coming and some of the mistakes can be remedied.

69. Immortality (Half Mermaid, 2022)

Marissa Marcel was a B-movie actress who had three hyped films that never saw the light of the day. You have access to bits and pieces from these films, including auditions, table reads, and rehearsals, with the goal of learning how and why Marissa disappeared. Gameplay is simply watching a clip, then clicking on a person or object in each clip to get transported to a clip with something similar. The discontinuity is slightly jarring at first but it comes second-hand quickly; plus you can organize clips by date to help keep things in order. Exceptionally acted and directed; all three films feel like B-movies with earnest performances, and the cast has chemistry. There’s also some unexpected spine-chilling moments. Not for the faint of heart, with a significant amounts of rape and domestic violence, as well as nudity and religious blasphemy. It also gets monotonous after watching a hundred videos or so as many will begin to repeat. Still, great to experience once.

68. Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon (Legend, 1997)

Based on the Spider Robinson books, Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon is a pun-filled adventure about a regular barfly who has to save the world from destruction by an intergalactic council. Standard inventory-based puzzles abound, though so do some nifty word puzzles as well. I laughed out lout a lot, and the game is consistently creative, but it’s also bogged down with some obtuse puzzles and a dragging plot. Spider himself released four folk songs for the game and they’re all pretty amazing.

67. Gone Home (Fullbright Company, 2012)

One of the first true walking simulators for the PC, Gone Home sees a young woman return home from college only to find her parent’s inherited mansion suspiciously empty, with flickering lights and spooky sounds adding to the chills. Though I don’t mind saying it’s a lame ruse, as this isn’t a horror game in the slightest, but rather a very touching exploration of the home life of the narrator’s younger sister, who is dealing with normal teenage stuff as well as struggling and not entirely supportive parents. The pacing is awfully contrived, but the storytelling is very moving. It helps that the younger sister’s narration (told through journal entries) is extraordinarily performed by Sarah Grayson. I truly felt for her by the time the game was over.

66. Rise of the Dragon (Dynamix, Sierra, 1990)

Somewhat non-linear adventure has the mayor hiring you, a former cop, to investigate his daughter’s mysterious death in a hedonistic city rife with crime and corruption. The game world is not large, but people move on without you if you’re not around. Events will also change based on how you treat those you talk to. While there is some trial and error as far as being in the right place at the right time, the game world is so vibrant and the characters so stylish (if not very deep), that making mistakes is part of the fun. I enjoyed finding all the different endings, not to mention the many death scenes. Short game that also has a couple of disappointing arcade fighting sequences (that can be skipped), but overall a worthy afternoon play.

65. Phantasmagoria 2: A Puzzle of Flesh (Sierra, 1996)

While the original Phantasmagoria had its share of horror, the FMV interface was quite clunky, the acting was poor, and it relied on enough gore to make Wes Craven blush. The sequel improved in all of these areas and focused more on telling a psychological thriller. You play as Curtis Craig, a nondescript introvert who works a cubicle job and whose best friend is his pet rat Blob. An unexplained murder at the office has everyone on edge, and that’s before Craig starts experiencing disturbing flashbacks. Despite some continuity issues ever present with 90s FMV games, the game is easy enough that the tension still has space to grow. Paul Morgan Stetler does a fantastic job in front of the green screen, his nonverbal reactions matching the horror he’s facing. The rest of the case is also solid, especially Ragna Sigrun who plays one of Craig’s coworkers who’s trying to seduce him. While the ending is a bit overwrought (and too puzzly), the ride is still fun as long as you turn your brain off and enjoy the ride. The subject matter is quite heavy, with prominent themes of S&M and child abuse. Props to Sierra, who in 1996 released a game that prominently discusses gender identity issues and has a gay character whose sexuality is irrelevant to the story.

64. King’s Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow (Sierra, 1992)

While the characters are hokey, the plot vapid, and a not insignificant portion of the game’s puzzles are copyright protection (not to mention a horrifyingly stupid walking dead situation that spans almost the entire game), I still adore this game that sees King Graham’s son Alexander search on a faraway isle for his damsel in distress. Part of my enjoyment comes from the extensive use of magic, including an alternate path through the game that is harder but more magic-filled and more rewarding. There are also some great side characters that make the place come alive. Mostly, though, I love the production values. The graphics are gorgeous, the music is on point, the voice acting is above average, and there’s a very satisfying sound effect every time you get a point.

63. Gabriel Knight 2: The Beast Within (Sierra, 1995)

One of the best FMV games of the 90’s, The Beast Within tells an engaging mystery about werewolves in Germany. The puzzles are really good and they carry the game for quite a while. Unfortunately, there is too much pixel-hunting in between. The leads also have no chemistry; these versions of Gabriel and Grace are not the same that I loved in the first game. Thankfully, the rest of the cast (which consists mostly of German actors) does a bang-up job. The end game is also quite tense with a great payoff; I only wish Gabriel himself had realized who the bad guy was when it was super obvious to me any anyone else who plays this.

62. Orten Was the Case (Woodhill Interactive, 2023)

Unique time loop game where the city explodes in twelve minutes and there’s a crap-ton of discovery you have to do to figure out how to prevent it. The city spans many stories high and many stories low and often you have to do things counterproductive to your goal of stopping the bomb to learn information for future loops. Captivating hand-drawn graphics are a bit too (intentionally) ugly in places for my tastes. And character movement isn’t entirely smooth, especially since the twelve minutes happens in real-time. But the overall puzzle is very satisfying to solve (with alternate routes available), and there’s a better ending that is several orders more difficult to achieve if you’re up for it. I wasn’t.

61. A Space for the Unbound (Mojiken, Toge, 2023)

One of the most emotionally powerful games I’ve played, though unfortunately it takes forever and several more days to get to the good parts. You play a high school senior in Indonesia, and along with your best friend decide to throw caution to the college wind and focus on your bucket list rather than study. A good portion of the game involves diving into the subconscious of others (and then sometimes diving into the subconscious into people there as well) to solve puzzles. In between there’s a lot of fetch quests and banal arcade games. The final third finally hits the ground running and the ending cuts like a knife.

60. Nord and Bert Couldn’t Make Head or Tail of It (Infocom, 1987)

Not much of a game, but rather a bunch of loosely connected stories, each with their own type of language puzzle to solve. Homophones (that stake looks delicious), idioms (just try to kill two birds with one stone), and spoonerisms (should you shake a tower or take a shower?) are just some of the brainteasers you’ll come across. A perfectly nested hint system is there to help as some will sure stump anybody. The plot is irrelevant, but it’s amusing enough to get you through if you love language puzzles.

59. Dark Fall: The Journal (XXv Productions, The Adventure Company, 2003)

Dark Fall sees you taking a train into Dorset, England after receiving a desperate call from your brother. He had been working on plans to redevelop an abandoned hotel and train station, but just as was suspected happened here seventy years ago, he along with some local ghost hunters have now gone missing. While unraveling the mystery is the goal, soaking in the eerie atmosphere is where the fun lies. The game can be completed in about seven minutes if you know what to do, but it can take hours and hours of note-taking and deduction to arrive at the conclusion, giving more time for lighting, sound effects, and isolation to produce a never-ending string of goosebumps. Along with a meticulously detailed setting that plunges you into the postwar 1940s, this haunting game is a great choice for those looking for scares without the associated risks.

58. Leisure Suit Larry Goes Looking For Love In Several Wrong Places (Sierra, 1988)

The second adventure of Larry Laffer focuses less on his sexual adventures and more on escaping the KGB; in fact, if you accept sex from anyone in the game you are promptly murdered. Larry wins a ton of money and takes a cruise, and it’s your job to keep him alive. Which you most certainly won’t. Not only is it very easy to die, it’s too easy to lock the game in an unwinnable state for the most ridiculous of reasons, including not stealing a random knife from a dinner table you’ll need much, much later. Still, I found the game too funny not to like despite all its issues.

57. Letters: a written adventure (5am Games, 2022)

A rather touching coming of age story of a young girl named Sarah, told mostly in letters (and later e-mails) to her friends, spanning from childhood to early adulthood. You spend the entire game literally on the letters as an avatar, moving around the page. Sarah has written drawings of people and things that block her path; she must listen to their musings, then kick appropriate words and letters around on the page to satisfy these drawings before advancing. These drawings may be something simple like a hungry bird, or something devastating like a scene of her parents talking about divorce. Game slogs a bit once Sarah hits her teen years, but remains heartwarming to the end.

56. Space Quest II: Vohaul’s Revenge (Sierra, 1988)

Surprisingly poor production values given the year it came out, but Space Quest II is so damn funny it doesn’t matter. You can die on just about every screen, often in multiple ways, with the game mocking you the whole way. And because of how ridiculously dangerous the game is, you’ll be saving all the time which helps prevent a lot of frustration. One walking dead scenario in particular is freaking hilarious, and is allowed to be since you’ll have a saved file you can return to if it happens to you. The plot is pointless and some of the puzzles are unfair, but humor can make up for a lot of faults.

55. The Curse of Monkey Island (LucasArts, 1997)

Despite losing Ron Gilbert, another funny entry in the series for Guybrush Threepwood. The puzzles are certainly more logical than in the second game and the plot (that sees his love interest Elaine turned to stone after our hero proposes with a cursed ring) develops a bit more frequently. And there’s a new sidekick, Murray the talking skull which is good for many a laugh. While the game’s atmosphere is a bit too cartoony for my tastes, its lightheartedness makes it a pleasant romp throughout.

54. Gateway (Legend, 1992)

Based on the Frederik Pohl series, Gateway sees you as a prospector hoping to go on solo missions to alien planets to dig up artifacts of the ancient Heechee race (whose technology you’re using to get there). The text parser does its job well, allowing you to tackle the sci-fi puzzles which often require you to understand alien technology or customs. Even better, you can bounce between the different alien worlds if you get stuck on a puzzle. Sadly, the final act goes off the rails with bizarre story choices and moon logic puzzles, not to mention an unsatisfying, passive ending. Up until then, it was just about perfect.

53. Day of the Tentacle (LucasArts, 1993)

Tim Schafer is a legend and you be hard-pressed to find many lists where this isn’t in the top 10, let alone the top 50. I do enjoy this quite a bit, if only for the excellent co-op time travel structure. Purple Tentacle has drank some radioactive sludge that turned him into a power hungry dictator, and you and your friends get sent back in time to stop him…only to find out one of you went to the future, one to the past, and one didn’t go anywhere. A few puzzles seem unfair, and there’s a bit too much walking back and forth, but overall it’s quite satisfying. Personally, I wish the game was funnier and had more plot; as it stands it’s mostly a generic puzzle, though many disagree.

52. The Case of the Golden Idol (Color Gray, Playstack, 2022)

Unique mystery that requires you to fill in reports Mad Libs style to deduce what happened during each murder. You are presented with twelve scenes that follow a prominent British family of the 18th century and the cult they’re involved with, which now is being affected by this golden idol, its powers mysterious and dangerous. In each scene you see a static image (with some occasional cute animation) and you must click around the screen for clues, pulling off names and words off letters, books, portraits, etc to use as a word bank. You’ll then try to fill in the blanks. Much harder than it first appears, with a gradual learning curve. Each case has excellent red herrings and logical conclusions. I only wish I cared anything about the story, which lacked suspense and anyone to root for.

51. Gemini Rue (Joshua Neurnberger, Wadjet Eye, 2011)

Stylish point-and-click adventure that has you playing as both a former assassin for the evil Boryokudan and a new recruit being trained as one. A lot of action in the form of arcade-like shooting sequences that are cool at first but then get repetitive. Though at least there’s real tension, not just there but with some mild stealth work as well. The puzzles are top-notch and consist of inventory, research, co-op, and liberal use of your foot. Disappointingly, with all the real danger elsewhere in the game, conversation trees can only end in one way. I was ready to love the climax that subverted some of my assumptions, but then two more climaxes came after that with a lot of exposition. Voice work is excellent and elevates this game in the ranking.

50. The Pandora Directive (Access, 1996)

A marked improvement over the third game in the Tex Murphy series, The Pandora Directive fine-tuned the 3-D engine while significantly improving the plot, the puzzles, and the acting. Tex takes a case from a friend asking him to look for a scientist with a secret, and it takes him on a chase all over the world. The story veers depending on choices you make; at most opportunities you can take the high road, be a dick (and not just a private one), or be generally nice but take shortcuts. As such there are multiple endings, and also alternate puzzles, making replay not so much a chore if you want to see everything. There’s also significantly more stealth scenarios which work better than they should moving through pre-rendered environments. Easily the best of the Tex Murphy series.

49. The Dig (LucasArts, 1995)

Intriguing sci-fi that went through Steven Spielberg, Orson Scott Card, and Brian Moriarty before landing with Sean Clark. Three astronauts (one of which you control) detonate an explosive on an asteroid heading for Earth, but then discover something otherworldly inside the darn thing. The graphics are gorgeous and the orchestral soundtrack is phenomenal. Puzzles are generally sci-fi related and not overly challenging. The voice acting is also solid, though sadly the dialogue for the most part is pretty laughable. That said, there’s still some good jokes and overall I had a blast (pun intended) until the ending, which is incredibly disappointing.

48. Leisure Suit Larry 3: Passionate Patti in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals (Sierra, 1989)

One of the more polished Larry games; the parser understands a lot, the graphics and sound are good for the time, and the puzzles are generally interesting and fair. And I enjoyed playing as Patti for the second half. Though the reason for the ranking is how relentlessly funny it is, though admittedly I haven’t played it in over twenty years. The last Larry game where our lovable loser isn’t a ridiculous cartoony (and sexist) caricature.

47. Journey (thatgamecompany, Annapurna, 2012)

A wondrous trek through gorgeous and occasionally hostile landscapes, moving this robed figure over rough terrain and solving simple puzzles by deciphering the alien glyphs you encounter. Short cutscenes give hints to the figure’s past and culture, including the ultimate goal you’re working towards. With no dialogue and limited character interaction you’d assume it would get tiresome, but I surprised myself with how invested I became. Just a beautiful game. Apparently co-op is even more rewarding.

46. Her Story (Half Mermaid, 2015)

An exercise in combing through old police interrogation videos, being only able to comb through them with tagged keywords. All of the clips are of the same woman, whose under suspicion of murder. The order you watch the videos is mostly up to you, though naturally the videos that conclude the mystery have keywords that are harder to guess and thereby allowing the player to pace themselves. Even after you reach the conclusion, finding the rest of the videos is still fun, especially since not everything is spelled out for you. Great story with a lot to dissect. Viva Siefert, a gymnast and musician, plays the suspect very well, and even gets to sing and play guitar.

45. Mission Critical (Legend, 1995)

A very easy, plot-driven space adventure sees you playing the sole survivor on a damaged ship after a battle. The plot is complex and excellently paced until the end where the writers decide to break a record for longest exposition. Prior to that, the puzzles are generally interesting and involve either fixing the ship or investigating the unraveling mystery. There’s some tension as you can die (either by running out of time or making a mistake), but you can’t unlock yourself from victory and the game is forgiving, including the on-board computer giving you regular help. There’s a space battle simulator which is well coded but out of place. Outside of that it has the feel of a Star Trek episode, even outside of the cameo by Michael Dorn.

44. King’s Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella (Sierra, 1988)

Truly a masterpiece of its time, King’s Quest IV was one of the first major games with a female protagonist and was at the forefront with graphics with increased resolution and color dithering as well as a gorgeous soundtrack utilizing the new Roland MT-32 MIDI synthesizer. Rosella, King Graham’s daughter, travels to a far away land to get an antidote for her father’s illness, all the while avoiding the evil Lolotte and her minions. Many delightful puzzles borrowed from fairy tales, including two potential endings based on a key decision. This would rate much higher, except I can’t forgive the extraordinary amount of unfair walking dead situations.

43. As Dusk Falls (Interior Night, Microsoft, 2022)

Choice-based narrative about two families who intersect at a motel where a burglary goes terribly wrong. The first half of game you alternate between playing the dad who was on a road trip and a teenage boy who was, reluctantly, involved in the hold-up along with his older brothers. The second half sees you alternate between the same boy and other characters, including the dad’s traumatized girl after she grows up. Many paths through the game, including who lives and dies, though some events happen no matter what, including the ending, which begs a sequel. Unique comic-book style graphics with stop-motion animation is buoyed by strong acting performances.

42. Grim Fandango (LucasArts, 1998)

This ranking lies significantly lower than where most people would have it, and I get it. Manny Calavera, a travel agent in the Land of the Dead working off his time, is one of the coolest protagonists ever. The world-building is amazing, with film noir mixed with Mexican mythology and Art Deco. The voice acting is nothing short of brilliant. And the puzzles, while annoying at times, are generally entertaining. But the tank controls are brutal, the inventory menu is brutal, and there are so many game crashing bugs. Most of this was fixed in the recent remaster, and I imagine if I play that this ranking may go up.

41. What Remains of Edith Finch (Giant Sparrow, Annapurna, 2017)

Short walking simulator where you explore the abandoned mansion of the Finch family, transporting to important moments in the past when you enter their rooms and access the relevant memorabilia. Each scenario is unique, ranging from being various animals, taking Polaroids to advance a scene, or literally maneuvering through a comic book. The story is on rails and it’s a good one, even moving at times. Many consider it the best adventure of the past ten years.

40. Blade Runner (Westwood Studios, Virgin Interactive, 1997)

Very movie-like follow up to the 1982 movie of the same name, with a new story and a new protagonist, who like Harrison Ford, plays a blade runner whose job is to weed out replicants from society. Every time you play, different characters change their motivations, which in turn changes dialogue and puzzles. Along with multiple endings, there’s considerable replay value. Play mostly consists of exploration and conversation, with the ability to use the Voight-Kampff test whenever you like on potential suspects. I, for one, found this to be significantly more engaging than the movie, with more sympathetic and less sexist characters. Fantastic production values, with sights and sounds lifted from the silver screen.

39. Toonstruck (Burst, Virgin Interactive, 1996)

A very expensive game that merged human actors with a cartoon world in a zany, adult-oriented adventure. Virgin lost bucket loads of money, but it’s certainly not due to the quality of the game. Christopher Lloyd stars as a cartoonist who has inexplicably been transported inside one of his own properties and must figure out a way back to the real world. Lots of variety in the humor, including puns, wit, an innuendo. Some very difficult puzzles, though many are satisfying, including some where you use your cartoon sidekick as an item. Excellent acting, aided by Dan Castellanetta, David Ogden Stiers, and Tim Curry. There’s so much packed in here it can be overwhelming at times, but it’s nevertheless a triumph and a unique experience.

38. The Blackwell Epiphany (Wadjet Eye, 2014)

The fifth and final game of the series and easily the best, though more or less requires you to play the first four games to get the most out of it. The plot, that naturally leads Rosangela and Joey to learn about their fates in the universe, is executed to perfection, with surprising but logical twists, heartfelt moments, and tense situations. Puzzles are engaging and often multi-step, with many co-op opportunities. All in all a really good buddy cop story and a satisfying conclusion to the Blackwell series.

37. Eric the Unready (Legend, 1993)

Well-executed satire (of both adventure games and pop culture circa 1993) that sees a doofus assigned to save the princess, though unbeknownst to him it’s because he’s a doofus who is surely incapable of doing so. The production values are only average, though the text parser itself is pretty good. Puzzles are hit and miss. I just couldn’t stop laughing when I played this, but that was over twenty years ago. I’m afraid to play it again.

36. Back to the Future: The Game (Telltale, 2010)

Very similar in style to Back to the Future II, with endless paradoxes and goofy fun. Marty gets sent back to 1925 and runs into a cast of characters that were only mentioned or implied during the movies. Christopher Lloyd reprises his role as does Claudia Wells as Jennifer. A.J. Locascio plays Marty and he matches Michael J. Fox’s voice pitch perfectly. There’s some fun and some annoying puzzles, but thankfully they rarely get in the way of the good time.

35. Telling Lies (Half Mermaid, Furious Bee, Annapurna, 2019)

As with all the Half Mermaid games, the story is told non-synchronously. This time you’re an FBI agent who is pulling old video calls from your co-workers laptop to figure out what the hell happened on his assignment where he was supposed to infiltrate a group of anti-pipeline protesters. For some reason you can only access other videos by entering keywords, but it works anyway. Half of the videos you watch are of the FBI agent, and the other half are of his wife, his girlfriend (whose one of the protesters, whoops), and some random cam girl because he doesn’t hate his marriage enough as it is. The acting is above average, with the exception of Alexandra Shipp, who is phenomenal. For me the fun was all in piecing together the timeline of videos and using inductive reasoning to figuring out what happened during the times you don’t have video for. Many people bemoaned the lack of a puzzle to solve. I just enjoyed the movie.

34. Star Trek: 25th Anniversary (Interplay, 1992)

Not sure if it’s the writing or the directing or both, but I sure enjoyed the stories more here than I did the original show. All the main actors of the original series reprise their roles and give good performances, and all of the familiar music and sounds are present. Most of the episodes are only loosely connected until the very end, but I found all of them to be entertaining in their own right. The Romulans, Klingons, and even Harry Mudd make an appearance. As Kirk, you must solve many sci-fi puzzles while also being a diplomat; violate the Prime Directive and Starfleet will dock your performance appraisal…which for some reason decreases the power of your weapons and shields. And therein is the game’s major flaw: the space battles are horrifyingly clunky and unintuitive and there’s no way to skip them, thereby making the need to have perfect records in prior missions a necessity to keep up in battle.

33. Black Dahlia (Interplay, Take 2, 1998)

Exceptionally long and exceptionally difficult full-motion video mystery that combines the legends of the real-life Black Dahlia (Elizabeth Short) and the Torso Murders in Cleveland, with Eliot Ness getting in the way to muck things up. You play an agent of the CIS who is investigating the torso murders and wind up getting in over your head. The acting is above average and the soundtrack does an excellent job building tension. But, as mentioned, the puzzles are ridiculously hard. They’re generally not unfair but I could only solve about half without looking up hints. That said, the ones you can solve on your own are quite rewarding.

32. Kathy Rain (Clifftop Games, Raw Fury, 2016)

Kathy Rain is a sardonic (with a capital “S”) college student whose grandfather just died, and she discovers he was involved in a decades old mystery that has impacted her town and her family. Reminiscent of the Gabriel Knight games, and Kathy is just as charming. Good acting, good graphics, good puzzles. The music and plot are only about average, but with a very likable lead and a relaxing user interface, Kathy Rain is a game that suits just about anybody.

31. Leisure Suit Larry 7: Love For Sail! (Sierra, 1996)

At this point Larry had become a caricature of a caricature, but surrounding him is quite an impressive game. Some puzzles are really clever and the keyboard was brought back for a few of them, stretching the brain cells a bit more. But mostly the game is just hilarious. The ship’s purser is a delight, the narrator is a tour de force of comebacks, and there’s a surprisingly entertaining mini-game that has you searching for red-and-white striped…well, you’ll just have to play it. You can also read some lines yourself ahead of time and have them interjected into the game. It’s certainly not perfect, including one incredibly annoying walking dead situation, but it does what its meant to do really well.

30. Beneath A Steel Sky (Revolution, Virgin Interactive, 1994)

Campy steampunk adventure about a man living in the Outback being kidnapped by the big guns in the city, then lucking out when the helicopter crashes. He must survive by infiltrating the city and learning the whos and whys behind his abduction. You get to pal around with your cynical robot friend Joey by inserting his motherboard into whatever shells you can find. The game bleeds atmosphere with fantastic graphics and voice work and is pretty funny to boot. I only wish the plot was less predictable and the game as non-linear as it tries to be.

29. The Secret of Monkey Island (LucasArts, 1990)

A dashing beginning to the Monkey Island series of games sees Guybrush Threepwood going to a remote Caribbean island in hopes of becoming a pirate. As he begins to snoop around, he rubs the wrong people the wrong way, including Elaine, the beautiful but kind of scary governor. Some really good puzzles, including learning how to sword fight, which is one of my favorites of all-time. Laughs abound, with puns, fourth-wall breaking, anachronisms, and slapstick. This would rank higher except the final third of the game is bogged down by fetch quests and some moon logic puzzles. Still, there’s something here for everyone and it’s no wonder it’s so revered.

28. Technobabylon (Technocrat Games, Wadjet Eye, 2015)

A very fun sci-fi puzzlefest where you take turns playing as Latha Sesame, a regular citizen in public housing who spends most of her time in the metaverse, and Charlie Regis, a cop who pretty much hates all technology and lives in what Latha would call meatspace. Latha nearly gets killed in an assassination for unknown reasons, and Charlie is being blackmailed by an unknown party. Naturally, their paths will meet (and meet often) and will be at odds most of the time. You also get to play briefly as Charlie’s partner who is of course his polar opposite. The plot itself, while predictable, is fun and comfortable. But the highlight are the delightful array of sci-fi puzzles, my favorite being swapping out computer chips in various androids to alter their skills and personalities to fit your needs at the moment. Some inconsistent voice acting and a couple of obtuse puzzles are the only drawbacks.

27. The Quarry (Supermassive Games, 2K Games, 2022)

Campy, self-aware horror about some camp counselors who get stuck at the cabin one night longer than they should and fall witness and prey to some unexpected foes. A solid balance of relaxing adventuring, conversations trees that matter, and abject horror as you desperately try to escape. You get to play as nine separate teenagers at least twice each, sometimes more if you don’t kill them off (and you can kill any of them off). Dangerous situations are managed mostly with binary choices or quick-time events. The QTEs are pretty forgiving, but failing is also part of the fun. I killed off three people in my first run through and it was no less thrilling. Well-conceived plot, apropos soundtrack, immersive graphics, enthusiastic performances, and a bunch of well-earned surprises. The only significant issue, and it’s a big one, is the really poor replay value. There is no epilogue, so the ending is virtually the same no matter who dies. And while you can replay certain chapters, seeing everything there is to see in the game would take an unacceptable amount of slog given all the various game states.

26. The Longest Journey (Funcom, 2000)

The New York Times quote on the box is still true. Epic in every sense of the word, The Longest Journey is just such a lovely game. I’ve played it at least three times and it’s a world I just adore. April Ryan is away at art school and yeah she gets brought to a parallel universe, all the while being told that she’s the guardian of the two worlds and must save both. At its core a point- and-click inventory adventure, and boy are some of those puzzles doozies (though I do love the rubber duck one despite the haters). Sarah Hamilton is fantastic as April, one of the first video game performances where I felt the character I was playing was a real person. She also gets a sidekick, Crow, a talking crow, whose insulting petulance/affection with April is a joy. The game’s main issues are ridiculous linearity, some very long conversation trees with no player choice, and a frustrating lack of tension as April can’t die even if you play like an idiot. But yeah, one of the best adventure games ever made.

25. A Mind Forever Voyaging (Infocom, 1985)

A very early example of a walking simulator, in A Mind Forever Voyaging, you literally play as a simulation, tested to see what the future would like if a Ronald Reagan type presidential candidate got to install his vision for the future. You’re given a list of things to accomplish during each year of the simulation, though the best part is you’re allowed to freely walk about town, visit with people, and occasionally partake in some activities and go at your own pace. A touching story of self-discovery, along with some thoughtful political commentary that is not jammed down your throat. Very poignant ending.

24. The X-Files Game (Hyperbole, Fox, 1998)

Just a good X-Files script written by Chris Carter that could have been a movie, but instead turned into a full-motion video adventure. You play as an FBI agent whose tasked with finding Mulder and Scully, who have gone missing. Those stars do make cameo appearances, and Agent Skinner and The Smoking Man get considerable time as well. The UI is easily the best in this genre during the 90s. The puzzles are all logical and are directly related to the case. There are multiple paths through the game. There are also a few brief action sequences that crank up the tension. The ending is also a bright spot, with multiple possible outcomes as well. The plot itself is not terribly memorable, but the A+ production values make this a blast to play.

23. Repella Fella (Misadventurous, 2 Left Thumbs, 2023)

Do you like gratuitous amounts of cartoon gore? Do you like to hear constant cuss words coming out of South-Park style animated characters with an Australian accent? Do you like to go face-to-face with bloodthirsty mutant koalas? You do? Crikey, what a coincidence; Repella Fella has all of that plus some adventure game puzzles if you also happen to be into that. Playing as an exterminator who accidentally escapes World War 3 in a submarine that arrives 105 years in the future (and who hasn’t done that before), you must avoid the Russian military that’s taken over a large part of Australia while hoping the resistance will appreciate your superhuman skills you (naturally) developed in the submarine and take you in. You also get to play as one of the Russian intelligence agents and as an American operative who are both very interested in the Fella’s abilities. While primarily a choice-based game, there are many puzzles requiring clever investigation before you are asked to decide how you want to decapitate the bad guy. One of the funniest games out there…if you find it funny. Thankfully you can try a free demo, or even the whole game for free (with the developer’s blessing) if you can’t afford it.

22. Bureaucracy (Infocom, 1987()

Before Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, for me there was Bureaucracy, my introduction to Douglas Adams. You’re trying to go on vacation, but your credit card has been invalidated by your bank, because they sent it to your old address even though they accepted your change of address form weeks ago. So now you need to figure out how to get the bank to give you access to your funds. And, just like the bank, the game works against you at every turn. It’s so maddening there’s an in game blood pressure and if it goes too high, you die. And it’s all tolerable due to the hilariously on-point satirization, not just of banks, but also of the postal service, the airline industry, politicians, and conspiracy theorists. The final third of the game is a bit of a let down, and a couple of the puzzles seem unfair even within this world’s logic. But if you like Douglas Adams you have to play this. Also the best feelies Infocom ever had.

21. A Short Hike (Adam Robinson-Yu, 2019)

Easily the coziest game I have ever played, A Short Hike sees you guide a bird to the top of a mountain so she can use her cell phone while on vacation. It’s a bit of a resource progression game, but goes way beyond that as you get to know the island’s eccentric anthropomorphic animals with their own lives and issues. Other animals are also trying to reach the peak, some are profiting off this, some are running races, some are engaging in hobbies of fishing, painting, or parkour(!). There’s so much to do outside of climbing the mountain top, and it’s one of the few games where I really wanted to get all the achievements. It’s also one of the few games my children loved equally and played along with me, which speaks to its ease of play and universal appeal. Just delightful all around.

20. Return of the Obra Dinn (3909, 2018)

Chilling logic puzzle where you play an insurance inspector trying to determine how the 60 crew and passengers of the Obra Dinn died or disappeared on its ill-fated voyage. Using a mysterious pocket watch, you can transport to the exact moment each person died, sometimes with a brief spoken dialogue. You must observe every scene meticulously to consolidate clues to help you identify each person, how they died, and who or what killed them. And the game won’t tell if you’re correct unless you answer these questions correctly on three people at the same time. The process can be exhausting at times, and you may need some educated guesses, but it is oh so rewarding when you hear the familiar chime of success. And, of course, with each success you learn more about what went down. The monochrome 3-D graphics can be a little hard on the eyes, but add to the bleak atmosphere that is punctuate by a haunting soundtrack.

19. Police Quest: In Pursuit of the Death Angel (Sierra, 1987)

Nostalgia is strong with this selection as well, as there’s a lot I can point out that doesn’t work with the first game in the Police Quest series. The need to follow strict police procedure is fine for points, but many times even the slightest deviation from protocol results in a contrived death. And the driving, while not difficult, can get dull after a while, especially when you’re just driving to the next destination and not pulling people over. The poker game is tiresome. And the casual racism and sexism can’t go unmentioned. But there’s a lot of deserved tension as the story about Lytton, California’s drug ring develops and Sonny Bonds finds himself in gradually more dangerous situations while investigating. Most of the characters are interesting and there’s plenty of good jokes flying around as well. There are optional puzzles that help unravel more of the investigation and the final showdown with the Death Angel is good drama.

18. The Walking Dead (Telltale, 2012)

Superb drama starring a professor escaping prison thanks to the zombies and the scared orphaned girl who joins him. Much like the show (at least in the first few seasons), nobody is safe and characters come and go as everyone’s just trying to do what they can to survive. Comic-book graphics are integrated seamlessly. There are some action scenes with timed puzzles or quick-time events, and they provide enough tension and risk without making things too difficult. You also have a lot of choices to make which impacts small story lines, though the ending is ultimately the same no matter what you do. Primarily, the game is well regarded due to its story, which legit had me crying by the end. Brilliantly acted, with Melissa Hutchison giving a gut-wrenching performance as Clementine, the orphaned girl.

17. Beyond Good & Evil (Ubisoft, 2003)

An action-adventure accessible to most players, Beyond Good & Evil has you guiding a young photographer named Jade and her pig mechanic to fight along side the military to defeat the alien race bent on destroying them. Stealth is the name of the game, as the primary way to earn money in this world is to photograph species, including ones that are about to kill you. Battles do occur, but avoiding them when possible is generally beneficial, which gives Jade journey a lot more realism. Caring about all the characters are easy and they are unanimously voiced well. This was just non-stop fun from beginning to end. Sadly, the sequel has been in development for sixteen years and at this point I have no confidence it will ever happen or be any good if it does.

16. Death Gate (Legend, 1994)

Based on the Death Gate Cycle short stories, Legend created a new story wherein you, a humanoid race called the Patryn, must go through the Death Gate to help reunite the races of elves, dwarfs, etc to reconstruct the planet. Basically, it’s a revenge and reunification story. While the graphics are typically mediocre as it goes with Legend games, the still-frame photos are well-drawn and there are some cool cutscenes. But what I love about this game is how damn good the puzzles are. Magic is used extensively, and there’s such a wide variety to challenge different parts of your brain. The vortex puzzle near the end is one of my favorites of all-time. Complementing that is excellent voice work that keeps the story engaging enough so that the puzzles never feel like a chore.

15. Fahrenheit (Quantic Dream, Atari, 2005)

While it has its share of flaws, Fahrenheit was the game that allowed me, someone who can’t play an action game to save my life, to get to enjoy the thrill of one. So the haters who can’t stand quick-time events, I’m the guy they’re doing them for. The game starts out brilliantly, as this dude named Lucas just flat out murdered some stranger in a diner bathroom and you have to decide if you want to book it out of there or take the time to hide the evidence and wash your hands. It’s not just an equal choice either, as fleeing is safer, but taking your time helps keep your mental health more stable. If you consistently take the easy path through the game, you will break under the pressure. You will also play as his priest brother and the two cops in charge of the investigation. While the conversations and puzzles are nothing to write home about, the heavily Matrix-influenced action scenes are driven by quick-time events and are generally a sight to see. Sadly, the endgame flies off the rails and retroactively makes the whole story unsatisfying. But I’ve still enjoyed the ride long enough to play this three times.

14. Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (LucasArts, 1992)

A huge improvement from its predecessor, in Fate of Atlantis you help Indy locate the lost sub-aquatic city. There are three paths through the game, one with love interest Sophia Hapgood, one solo path where you use your wits, and one solo path where you use your fists. They each have their own puzzles, though of course they all wind up in the same endgame so the replay value is mostly because of how much fun it is to play anyway. The best opening credits I’ve ever seen in a game, in part because they’re interactive. Solid voice acting, with Doug Lee playing a less anti-hero but still fun Indy. Some sections drag a bit, and a few puzzles are a bit annoying, but overall this game does everything really well.

13. Heart of China (Dynamix, Sierra, 1991)

A very Indiana Jones type adventure sees a cocky Jake Masters accept a large sum of money from a magnate to save his daughter who was kidnapped in Chengdu. While there’s no voice acting, the production values are still high, with sharp and evocative depictions of Hong Kong, Chengdu, Kathmandu, and Istanbul, and matching sound to boot. Choices matter a lot, not only in how the game ends, but in a few cases some walking dead situations that don’t feel unfair as they tend to be well telegraphed and not that long anyway. Many creative puzzles, often combining inventory items. A couple of arcade sequences hold things back, including the one to end the game. And, honestly, it’s been a while since I played it and it’s probably a bit racist, too. Charming characters with romance and humor make it feel like an old Saturday matinee.

12. Star Trek: Judgment Rites (Interplay, 1993)

Very similar to 25th Anniversary, which while for the most part is welcoming, it unfortunately means they kept in the awful space battles. At least they’re skippable this time. And everything else is better. Majel Barrett now voices the computer, and I could just type in entries for an hour or more just to hear her voice. More importantly, the away missions are more interconnected with a more rewarding story. The original cast does fantastic voice work and the usual humorous banter is still present. Easy recommendation, even for non-Trekkies.

11. Anchorhead (Michael Gentry, 2018)

Not only is Anchorhead one of the scariest games ever made, it is one of the best text adventures ever made. Author Michael Gentry did H.P. Lovecraft proud in crafting a bone-chilling story about a woman moving into the New England home her husband inherited. When her husband starts acting strangely and then eventually disappears, she’s left with little choice but to engage with the eponymous town’s guarded citizens and research its history and her husband’s bloodline. Like a great horror novel, the tension is gradually built through evocative prose and slow reveals that will leave you on the edge of your seat even before the real danger begins. Once you escape from an angry mob, nearly every step you take can be your last as you try to avoid traps, possessed townsfolk, and even Cthulhu itself. The challenges are generally logical and fit within the game world, but like many Infocom titles before it, the game is a puzzlefest and there are a couple of instances where it will let you progress in an unwinnable state, which is a horror of a whole different kind. The freeware version came out in 1998, but the 20th anniversary edition cleans up several puzzles and even includes some horrifying graphics to complement the text, though the fact remains that what you can’t see is oh-so-much more frightening than what you can.

10. Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers (1993)

Maturely told supernatural thriller that makes the French Quarter of New Orleans come to life. Gabriel Knight is a bookstore owner who doesn’t pay his intern Grace Nakimura, inappropriately flirts with her, and is kind of a dick to everyone except his grandma. But a murder happens with a mysterious voodoo angle, and Gabriel investigates with the (often unwilling) help of his buddy Detective Mosely. The closer Gabriel gets to the truth, the more dangerous his life gets. Evocative pixel-art with glorious comic book-style cutscenes, chilling music, and tension nearly everywhere you go. The puzzles, with a couple of exceptions (stupid mime), are rewarding to solve; if only the linearity wasn’t so tight, as certain puzzles must be solved in a particular order for no reason. A more major quibble is that Gabriel’s rampant sexism and unethical behavior is really hard to stomach for the first third of the game. Thankfully, his character grows a lot, making Grace’s affection for him more relatable. The backstory of the Knight family is also steeped with institutional racism (hence the sins of the fathers); it mostly doesn’t affect the game itself, except the ending, where the Knight family past sins get perpetuated. The endgame is an incredible wrap up of the story, fraught with terror, and could have been so much better had they not chickened out. All that said, the experience is so much fun. All around fantastic voice acting with Tim Curry as Gabriel, Mark Hamill as Mosely, and Michael Dorn as a voodoo store clerk. And all the people of color are voiced by people of color, a rarity in 1993.

9. Heavy Rain (Quantic Dream, 2010)

Heavy Rain is won of those Oscar-bait movies that makes you sob like an idiot at the end and make you never want to see it ever again. I mean, the game has you play in the yard with your son and then the next day at the mall he DIES. Right in front of you. Oh, and then fast forward to your divorce and playing with your other son at a park and he gets KIDNAPPED. And then you kidnapper sends you messages explaining all the horrifying things you have to do to get him back. If you only played as the father it would have been too much, but you also play as a stranger/love interest, a private detective looking into the serial kidnappings for the parents, and an FBI agent who’s investigating the father. Gameplay is standard Quantic Dream, with conversations, decisions, and quick-time events. Lots of actions scenes that get the adrenaline running, in addition to some very heavy decisions. Despite how dark the game gets, and how over the top some of the situations are, I continually felt invested in the outcome. There’s many ways the game can play out, including killing off a character or two, but it’s one of those games where replaying it feels weird, like rereading a novel you liked but with a different ending. I was very satisfied with my playthrough. My primary criticism is that the love interest’s role in the game is to be the love interest and a damsel in distress and it feels kind of gross. She superficially is portrayed a strong, independent woman but is put into stereotypical situations. To end on a good note, the FBI agent has some pretty kick-ass technology to search crime scenes and consolidate evidence.

8. Full Throttle (LucasArts, 1995)

I never thought I would like a heavy metal adventure about a biker going up against a biker gang, but Tim Schafer can get me to like just about anything. Roy Conrad provides one of the best voice-acting roles you’ll see, rising Ben Throttle above the biker stereotype while still keeping him a badass. The plot itself doesn’t have a ton of surprises but the story beats are always satisfying and dialogue is exceptional. There’s definite room to critique the puzzles; some feel out of place (looking at you Energizer bunnies) even if they tend to be amusing. And the arcade sequences, while cool ideas, play a bit rough. Mark Hamill, a delight as always, plays the big bad biker boss. And The Gone Jackals provide an excellent metal soundtrack that keeps the adrenaline pouring in. The endgame is a ton of fun and you couldn’t ask for a better ending.

7. Life Is Strange (Don’t Nod, Square Enix, 2015)

Max Caufield, a new student at a prestigious are school, witnesses a murder in the bathroom. After a burst of raw emotion, she realizes she can rewind time, in this case before the murder in order to stop it. Overwhelmed and afraid of her new power, she reconnects with an old friend Chloe who believes her and joins forces to investigate some crazy stuff going down in their hometown. The time travel mechanic (which can only go back about a minute) is not used to the fullest extent it could have been, but it does make for some fine puzzles. Mostly, though, this story is great because of Max and Chloe’s friendship. Things can go a couple different ways depending on decisions you make, but most players will make the choices that help grow their friendship. And it’s just one of the most heartwarming things you’ll ever see in an adventure game. Some occasional rough lip-syncing gets in the way, and there’s a bit too much exposition at the end, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself from beginning to end. I just started playing the prequel, starring Chloe, and am glad I get to spend a bit more time in this world.

6. Dreamfall (Funcom, Aspyr, 2006)

The second game in The Longest Journey trilogy, Dreamfall plays out a bit like The Empire Strikes Back as far as the mood and tenor go. You do play a bit as the now jaded April Ryan, but for most of the journey you’ll inhabit the character of Zoë Castillo. Much like April in the first game, she unwittingly gets involved in saving the parallel worlds of Earth and Arcadia. Many players didn’t like the shift from a point-and-click inventory adventure to a more stealth-based game. I loved it, as I felt the tension that was missing from The Longest Journey is here in spades. There’s some occasional fighting sequences that are lame (and easy), but the stealth areas are top notch and had me on the edge of my seat many times. Outside of the stealth, there are a few puzzles, but nothing too difficult, as pacing is the name of the game here. You’ll also play a third character, Kian Alvane, who has been ordered to dispatch of April and Zoë. Perhaps my favorite part is Crow, who loses April and becomes Zoë‘s sidekick; he has become even funnier and more PG-13 and every minute he’s on screen is pure joy. The ending leaves a million questions, but thankfully they were all answered in Dreamfall Chapters.

5. Portal 2 (Valve, 2011)

Very worthy sequel sees you back in action with the portal gun, but discovering all new layers of the (somewhat broken) facility to see how the whole project got started. GlaDos returns as kind of a friend this time (in quite a hilarious form), and you also have an innocent and enthusiastic robot named Wheatley following you around like a puppy to help you. Much longer than the first game and it introduces some liquids that affect the properties of walls and floors. Many great physics puzzles, though the back half of the game borders on tediousness as the plot slows down. Thankfully, the endgame is incredible, and there’s also an entirely separate 2-player co-op game you can play afterwards.

4. Dreamfall Chapters (Red Thread Games, 2014)

I’m a unicorn here in my adoration for the final installment of The Longest Journey trilogy. And I get it. Dreamfall Chapters has little in the way of challenging puzzles or challenging stealth. It’s almost primarily a choice-based game that only leads to one major ending. And the primary theme of the game is free will vs. determinism, which isn’t exactly an original conversation. But I’m in love with this universe Ragnar Tornquist created and the final game manages to greatly expound on what we already knew about Arcadia and the balance between that and Earth, while also tying up every single loose end from the first two games. Zoë Castillo is back, a little more serious this time around but with much more character depth. Kian Alvane is also considerably more interesting. The locations are gorgeous; Propast, Bulgaria really comes alive. And boy oh boy is Crow even funnier and even more endearing than possibly any character in any game I’ve ever played. The game isn’t perfect by any means. But I can’t imagine this story being told any better and I left it feeling wholly satisfied and eternally grateful.

3. Detroit: Become Human (Quantic Dream, 2018)

Yeah, I’m a Quantic Dream fanboy. I know the storytelling can sometimes be a bit overwrought. But Detroit had me mesmerized from beginning to end. In the future, androids are everywhere for human work and comfort, but some of them become defective, in some cases killing their owners. You get to play as three androids: a cop, dragging along a drunk human partner; a nanny to an abused little girl; and a companion android who’s encouraged by his wealthy owner to take control of his life and be independent from humans. All three have their own agendas and will be at odds with the others, and you get to decide their fates along the way. The story is an allegory for the American Civil Rights movement; while it could have been more daring, it isn’t whitewashed by any meanings and I found it quite moving. My main issue with the game is the same as with Heavy Rain; one of the primary female ancillary characters is suppose to come off as badass but she winds up being nothing deeper than a love interest. In fact, many ancillary characters come off a bit one-note. The highlight for sure is the relationship between the two cops; what starts as a highly tense relationship grows (or at least it can depending on your choices) in an honest way. And, unlike many choice-based narrative games, your choices actually do matter! There are so many endings and permutations of those endings, including story paths that continue if you kill off one of your three characters. Sometimes you off somebody by not mastering the quick-time events, but many times it’s by making poor choices in tense situations. I found every story branch entertaining. Not to mention the meta story that plays out on the game’s menu with the android hostess. There’s even a branch map so you know how many possible decisions exist, and you can replay from any chapter. Did I mention the graphics are incredible? Detroit may be my favorite game, but today it gets third place honors.

2. Portal (Valve, 2008)

Hey! This is just an innocent little game where as a test subject you try out some new technology. A few physics puzzles use a new gun that creates dual portals that you can walk through and arrive on the other side. They get increasingly more complex, but the game is user-friendly and there’s a super helpful computer to provide support when you are stuck. And the best part is that once you’ve made it through the entire testing facility, you get cake!

This has been a really long countdown. Are you still there?

1. Police Quest 2: The Vengeance (Sierra, 1988)
   
   Police Quest 2 is certainly not the best adventure game of all time. Heck, I’m not entirely certain it’s my favorite. It has a few issues. But it’s the one I’ve played the most often. It’s the one that made me fall in love with the genre when I was eight years old. It’s the one where I solved a puzzle that my dad and older brother couldn’t figure out. It’s the one with the little jingle every time you get points that gives me a huge dopamine rush. It’s the one for where I spent hours on Prodigy bulletin boards providing hints to new players and made a pen pal when e-mails costs a quarter to send. It’s the one.

Jesse Bains has escaped jail and has vowed to get back at Sonny Bonds for testifying against him at his trial. And, as the cover of the game gives away, he kidnaps Sonny’s girlfriend Marie. Much more linear than the other games in the series, in part because Sonny is never patrolling the streets. He’s just- along with his hilariously useless partner Keith chasing down Bains. It’s got Miami Vices vibes but with a lot of real tension. Police procedure (such as evidence collecting) is still important to follow, but with the exception of the most obvious blunders, it won’t prevent you from advancing. You will take Sonny all over town, under water, in the air, and in the sewer. It’s basically non-stop action from beginning to end and it ends about as perfectly as a story can.