Tiger Sheep

There’s really nothing negative about a good old point-and-click adventure game. The fulfilling brain-feeling I get when I solve a puzzle without using a walkthrough is incomparable and honestly gives me more of an endorphin rush than completing a really great Mass Effect mission (blasphemy, I know). In the last year, I’ve been catching up on both older and newer adventure games I’ve missed and I’ve compiled a mini-review list of my favorites.
 
8. The Blackwell Legacy
This one surprised me. I was expecting it to be an average point-and-click mystery, but it turned out to be strangely compelling, in terms of both gameplay and story. The story is about a medium who is forced to partner with a crime-solving ghost, helping him send dead people stuck in the mortal world to the next dimension. The puzzle solutions strike a nice balance between challenging and intuitive, with a satisfying payoff. The voice acting is probably the most annoying thing about the game, being decidedly amateur, with the exception of a few characters. Overall, this is a solid game, although I’d prefer it to be longer, as it only took me about three hours to finish. Luckily, it’s the beginning of a series, which I’m playing through at the moment.
 
7. Gone Home
Ahh, Gone Home. Made by a dev team based in our beloved city, Portland, the game evokes a sense of creepiness extremely well. The company garnered some hate after pulling out of PAX Prime 2013 in response to some of Penny Arcade’s more controversial statements, but it doesn’t seem to have affected the game’s popularity as far as I can tell. An exploration game that hits home and hits hard, it’s really not one to pass up. Unless you hate awesomeness.
 
6. The Testament of Sherlock Holmes
I have played all the Sherlock Holmes adventure games. No, that’s a lie. I couldn’t get one of the oldest ones to work on my computer and gave up. I love them. So, so much. The Testament is the newest game, and my favorite, I think. I don’t know, I love them all. Have I mentioned that I love them? The graphics keep getting better, but the good ol’ puzzle solving and clue finding aspects stay the same, for the most part. This game uses a “deduction board” mechanic, which for me, was the most fun part. It’s a sort of flow chart of clues you collect along the way that helps you reach the correct solution to a mystery. Sounds simple—or dumb, maybe—but it’s the aspect of the game that made me feel the most like Sherlock himself.
 
5. Violett
Although Violett didn’t do too hot when it came to its metascore (a measly 61), I thought it deserved more. Violett is a girl exploring a fantasy world filled with creatures that look like they popped out of James and the Giant Peach. While she’s having fun, she needs to get back home. What I liked was the non-linear progression of the game. You can go to any one of several rooms (accessible from an Escher-esque main area) very early in the game, and while some obstacles can’t be achieved right away, it’s possible to play the game in a different way each time you start it. Some of the puzzle solutions don’t make logical sense but it’s also not frustrating to just click things until you figure it out.
 
Join me next week for the final countdown of adventure games!