Wonderful visuals, some expected translation issues
Don't Disturb is a game about mourning, all told through the eyes of a dog. It is technically a puzzle game, although it takes around 20 minutes to solve everything it offers. This game is more about the journey, the way the dog tries to face the loss of its owner, and the striking visuals that show us the traditional Chinese afterlife based on their old folklore. Since this is a Chinese indie game, the translation is quite bad, but it almost exclusively relies on visual storytelling, so it is more like a mild annoyance. Three stars mostly because of the length. Despite the two endings, it is possible to see everything it offers in 30 minutes.
This is the first game of an intended series of horror hidden object games, and unlike similar casual games, this one relies on surprisingly eerie atmosphere and even some bloodier aspects of horror games. We play as a young woman who is trying to learn about her past... and that is pretty much it. Since this is the first episode, it is mostly atmosphere build-up, with only the bonus chapter containing some actual plot. Said atmosphere is especially strong though, better than in most 60-dollar horror titles. Gameplay is problematic though. Backtracking is through the roof and the adventure game aspects have a hefty dose of moon logic. The hidden object scenes are so challenging, players can choose to turn them off completely. This also means that if you want a HOG that is not just a super easy casual breeze-through title, then True Fear will satisfy. A lot.
A sequel that almost makes the first game obsolete
Yesterday Origins is marketed as a prequel, but in reality it is both that and a traditional sequel to Pendulo's darkest and most realistic adventure game.
Set both in the middle ages and modern days, it has quite a bit of character drama around the life of the immortal protagonist. Despite the outworldy premise and some extreme plot points, the characters are realistically fallible and morally grey, especially the girlfriend character in modern days. The plot itself is gritty to the point where sometimes the typical point 'n' click gameplay bits almost feel out of place, despite their mostly logical nature.
On the whole though, this is probably one of Pendulo's best games, one that is so complete in its storytelling that you can safely skip the first game and just rely on this one's superior narrative and play time.
One of the best point 'n' click series in recent times
The Book of Unwritten Tales is something you think of when you hear the word "adventure". Set in a typical magical fantasy land, it offers anything but typical storytelling, as it follows the tale of three different protagonists (all controllable, although the Critter Chronicles reduces itself to two, and BoUT 2 has over half of the game time controlling one) trying to prevent the plans of some rather conventionally evil villains.
The real charm lies in the writing. It is partly goofy, self-referential, and full of pop culture references and fourth-wall breakings, especially when it comes to modern society; and partly dungeons&dragons type adventure with heroes, monsters, treasure, and magic.
This collection puts all games together, totalling easily over 50 hours of play time, so if you love point 'n' click, you really ought to get into the world of Aventasia.
Amanita's games usually consider storytelling a secondary aspect, they are about the visuals, the imagination put into their worlds, and the really unorthodox point 'n' click puzzles.
Although Samorost 3 still has those, this time the story makes an obvious presence, as the hero Gnome tries to foil the plans of a musical monk gone rogue. Music itself is a central element in the game, many puzzles and many small planets we visit rely on it somehow.
This was also Amanita's most "adventure game-y" title for a long while, with puzzles having more straightforward solutions. The usualy intuitive use of the scenery remains though, so if you are up for some really unique experience, Samorost 3 still delivers.
Perils of a Man is about a young girl who discovers the true heritage of her scientific ancestors: a time-travelling device. This puts her on a quest through the ages as she tries to find her father but also finds something more sinister.
Gameplay, for the most part, tries to follow the shoes of the more light-hearted classic adventure games. The humour is there, yet it is not the main focus and some plot elements are downright dark and gloomy. As for difficulty, it is somewhere between a 90s adventure game and an early 2010s one. It is relatively easy, since the amount of items and interactive spots is limited, but some of the solutions need extremely out-of-the-box thinking.
For its few-hour length, Perils of Man is easily one of the best indie point 'n' clicks of recent times, although it sometimes feels more like the first episode of a cartoon series than a standalone game.
Poker Night 2, just like its predecessor, tries to do what a few other poker games did by enhancing video poker with quality writing. Everyone you meet here is a known character from a known franchise (video games and motion picture alike), and they chat a lot. Their banter is not only full of humour, but somehow manages to feel natural, even when they talk about time travel or demons.
The amount of spoken lines is impressive, and it can be boosted further by unlocking character-specific themes which all come with their unique bonus dialogues. This little addition can keep you in the game for quite a long time; it may take up to ten hours to unlock and hear everything.
Good dialogues are great, but they couldn't keep you around if the game is bad. Luckily TellTale managed to program a rather impressive AI for Poker Night 2; an AI that follows the characteristics of your opponents. They all have personalities and play accordingly... they sometimes even give small tells, if you look closely. Naturally they cannot substitute human players, but far as poker games go, Poker Night 2 is probably the best one you can get– and for a rather low price.
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