I decided to present you the thirty most interesting, at least according to me, titles in this genre. Hopefully, this lists of little gems will be helpful on your quest to discover interesting productions that will stir your imagination.
Among the many types and kinds of stories everyone is bound to finding something special. After all, the whole genre was named after it. The world-shattering breakthrough happened in when William Crowther wrote the game to cheer up his two young children after the divorce. It was the text-based production, involving an exploration of a cave, resembling the real Colossal Cave, but not free of supernatural elements like for instance dwarves. The game uses a verb-noun parser and only typing appropriate commands can save us from the impending doom of getting lost in a labyrinth or a surprise death that can occur without any previous notification.
Since the game was released, it was changed and expanded numerous times by different authors, who added new challenges or rooms into it. Still, no matter the version, Adventure is a milestone in game development. Some big quest have a very unheroic beginnings. S Feinstein — a starship of the Stellar Patrol. The fate, however, gives us a chance to prove ourselves when, after the catastrophe, our escape pod crashes on a deserted planet. Finding an unlikely ally, a friendly robot called Floyd, we need to unravel the secret of the civilisation who suddenly abandoned their home.
At least two things makes Planetfall memorable. The first one is certainly our sidekick, Floyd. The other thing is a bit more controversial because the game is full of red herrings. Figuring out which items are actually useless and which puzzles unsolvable, is actually the part of the gameplay. Still, despite that all the fans of s-f genre should at least try and embark on a journey with Floyd.
Some of the productions are quite recent, like for instance Digital: A Love Story, which was developed by Christine Love and released in February Are you in a mood for a romance? Soon we acquaint online a girl called Emilia and as we exchange messages with each other, the affection starts to bloom. Not everything goes smoothly though, because due to some malfunction of the host computer we cannot make any contact with her.
What would a heartsick person do? Try to find her, obviously. Try it out, especially if for some reason you feel leery of older games and still want to give interactive fiction a chance. You might also want to watch the movie or, even better, play the game. It was released in and Adams himself had his hand in it. He is the protagonist, but the game allows us as well to play as Ford Prefect, Trillian or Zaphod Beeblebrox, so the fans of the originals should be pleased.
Some puzzles if not solved in an appropriate fashion, would infallibly result in not being able to beat the game at all. A walkthrough is thus recommended for less patient gamers. The ending also teases the sequel but it was never produced. Who said that the protagonist of a game must be an honest man?
Playing as a cunning scoundrel can be at least as much fun. Or maybe even more. Varicella, a game developed in by Adam Cadre, shows us an alternative history of the world, skilfully mixing together atmosphere and customs of Renaissance with fairly modern technology. The king has recently died and the prince is too young to rule on his own, so a regent needs to be chosen.
Of course, we want to hold that position and in order to do that we must eliminate other candidates. Great writing, lots of dark humour, the opportunity to be really nasty and above all, the ending makes Varicella a great, unparalleled experience.
The highly praised title, which was created in by Daniel Ravipinto and Star Foster, is set in year in the Victorian London where magic is as easily encountered as steam-powered technology. We play here as Doctor Xavier, who works as … well, a doctor in Bedlam Asylum. Adding to this very atmospheric narration, great setting and overall enjoyability of experiencing the game, Slouching Towards Bedlam can be recommended to anyone seeking a good and engrossing story.
The newest game on the list and the one I had the pleasure of reviewing. Long story short, Cypher is set in a cyberpunkish city called NeoSushi formerly Tokyo…. One time though, something goes terribly wrong and Dog suddenly founds himself in a mortal danger. We need to find out who wants to kill us and we need to do it fast.
The game also incorporates some visuals and sound effects, which enhances immersion. Cypher got mixed reviews though, mainly due to very uncooperative parser as well as many grammatical errors and typos.
The game, however, has been patched a few times, so right now playing it should be much more enjoyable experience. Just give it a try and you might be nicely surprised. After all, so many things may go wrong and result in you being switched into a frog.
To escape from the room we need to master the magical language that allows us to manipulate the environment. Messing with magic is very rewarding and sometimes produces really funny outcomes.
We play here is as a run-down cop who hit rock-bottom due to his drinking addiction and even his partner despises him. We have to interrogate witnesses, collect the clues and in the end bring the inquire to a satisfactory conclusion.
Apart from the atmosphere and great writing, the game has one very unique feature — the world there seems alive. All the characters have their own personalities, aim and purpose, moving about the house as they please. All in all, every home-grown detective should check this game out.
Hoosegow by Ben Collins-Sussman and Jack Welch allows us to have a first-hand experience of a titular jail cell. Spy stories definitely has their charm. But maybe not so much if you suddenly find yourself with a lamp pointed directly at your face and strange people asking you weird questions.
Spider and Web by Andrew Plotkin begins quite unexcitingly — the protagonist, a tourist, faces a closed door but as he tries to leave the alley, a voice begins shouting at him and saying that it is all a lie and we need to tell the truth.
And thus the intricate mystery unfolds as we want to outsmart our interrogator while trying to figure out what really happened, since the player is pretty much in the dark all the time.
The premise of the game is certainly original and the execution is equally good. Spider and Web is undoubtedly confusing, difficult and unforgiving, especially later, but the more you play it, the more you appreciate the ingenuity.
A bit of hilarity is always welcome. The epic quest starts as our protagonist, an orc Grunk, finds out that a pig from his farm is missing. During the chase after an unruly animal, the hero falls into some kind of dungeon, so he now has two objectives — find the pig and return home. What makes this game so enjoyable is the narration — Grunk uses broken English to describe everything that happens around him and his comments are often completely disarming.
Definitely a gem in the comedic genre. The puzzles are nice but it is the story that really attracts people into games. The way to overcome it involves taking various drugs, which send the poor guy on a weird and psychedelic journey into his own mind.
The game is ambiguous and nearly everything we encounter may be understood as a metaphor for something, but it is precisely why Losing Your Grip is so enjoyable. As for the puzzles, they are rather difficult. Still, they are also really well integrated into the game, so fighting against them proves to be very rewarding. Basically, a title worth looking into. It takes great skills to leave a haunting impression on the player while using nothing more than words. The game takes place in a 15 th century monastery, which seems to be the only haven free of the plague that rages throughout Italy.
Not for long though… Vespers puts us in the shoes of an abbot, who over the course of a few days sees his fellow monks descend into madness as the disease spreads and the whole world goes to hell. That is, however, not his only problem, since he needs to conduct an investigation regarding the murder that has been committed on the premises.
The tone of the game is very dark, gruesome and depressing. A truly horrifying, but thought-provoking experience that is sure to leave a lasting impression on the player. We assume here the role of an aristocrat and the current owner of Meldrew Hall, an old mansion full of secrets. Soon, however, as you find more and more bizarre items you find out that your family is cursed. Now you have no other choice but to discover the nature of the curse and try to lift it if possible.
The game is huge, well-written and thoroughly enjoyable, even though some puzzles prove to be a hard nut to crack. Still, it is one of those classics that any fan of IF should experience for themselves. We assume here a role of a student, who struggles with writing his dissertation.
Anyone who ever tried forcing themselves to write knows perfectly well how hard that is, especially if the Internet or a window overlooking a campus is in the vicinity. Will our hero be strong enough to fulfil his quest and keep his girlfriend? That motivates us to abandon any distractions and solve puzzles that allow us to write. Nothing better than a 19th century setting and a bit of mystery. We assume here the role of a detective, whose initial objective is to investigate the theft of a diamond.
Soon, however, we branch out to make an inquiry about the kidnapping and murder which is just a preview of a much more elaborate mystery. The game is definitely fun to play but what really distinguished it from many other is the focus on historical details.
No wonder, since the author is a historian. The exposition itself is as truthful to the original one as possible and features photographs from the period, which significantly deepens the experience. Lovecraftian mythos have inspired many authors, game developers included. Among them was Michael S. Gentry, who in released Anchorhead, which is a horror-adventure that no fan of the Cthulhu mythos should pass over. But LSL3 also comes with an in-your-face "prepare to be offended, snowflake" disclaimer, which makes it painfully, exhaustingly self-aware of its own tastelessness.
Corny Miami Vice-style aesthetics and pixelated mullets are the only balm to having to play as a gung-ho cop. Oh, and the streamlined driving mechanics, less reliance on "by the book" procedure, and marginally better writing.
At the end of the day, PQ still boils down to cop cosplay trying its best to exude an earnest Yogi Bear "public service" vibe. Look, at this point in time there wasn't much going for kids' video games.
An early version of the "match misplaced objects" premise that Sierra nailed in Mixed-Up Mother Goose, but with loads of text and not much actual screen time for the characters.
It was probably cool to map out the Hundred Acre Wood, though. It's a game for kids, but with a surprising lot of text blocks… for kids. Is a parent supposed to narrate these? Another journey into straight-up sleaze with a modicum sorry of "story," as Larry is, once again, back on a very horny cruise. It's the same LSL formula, reheated with a new crew of Jessica Rabbit-esque women in the mids hand-drawn Sierra style and a running find-the-dildo mini-game they look like little phallic Where's Waldos.
You can finally see loads of tiddies, which really took a while considering that this entire franchise was made for weird middle-aged men. There's a lot more overt sex. You can shit and fart with abandon, thanks to the chaotic hybrid point-and-click system that also features a text parser. And yes, it's all still pretty sad.
On the upside, there's some cool art—the statue of Venus' toes made of dice, and the mermaid ice sculpture in the giant mouth-themed dining room are kitschy treasures. Hurray for point-and-click, and whatever the opposite of that is for the plot of LSL5. Sure, it's nice being able to play Patti, and the art style is distinctly an early '90s angular special channeling a bit of Maniac Mansion that adds a zany flavor to the typically sleazy Larry story. Still, the window dressing isn't quite enough to redeem this game from the usual pitfalls that the series is known for.
Patti also fantasizes about canoodling with "Tramp" on a yacht. Donald Tramp. Nuff said. The first videogame I ever played. It's pretty cool how simple they made the interface for kids—no text parser or even the need to manage a multi-item inventory—just one item at a time, which you had to match to the appropriate character. Later versions made it easier to get around with an overview and map, a visual UI, and new audio and voice work.
It came, it saw, it played… fine, considering that you had to use function keys to do things ugh. One of the earliest adventure games with multiple possible endings, and considering how it was marketed as a kids' game, it's interesting that you could die. I'd rather watch the film. The first of the King's Quest "find the girl in the mysterious tower" tropes, but an important step in Daventry canon.
It's pretty funny to see Graham face magical peer pressure to get married, even though the game manual tries to create a real reason for his sudden matrimonial biological clock. Dips its toe into "darker" fantasy elements Dracula, werewolves, and cults —a nice foreshadowing of Quest For Glory 4's more horror-oriented theme. Ah yes, the dreaded SCI remake. Considered by fans as the failson of the series because of its fancy new look. In retrospect, surprising no one familiar with videogame discourse, it's safe to say that people probably overreacted at the time.
Not Roger's finest moment, perhaps because of internal development drama. The writing isn't nearly as strong as SQ4 or 5, and the puzzles are dull. The environments and character designs are full of fun details, though Nigel's bedroom on Polysorbate LX reminds me of those new lo-fi girl memes floating around today with a cameo by the lovable Fester Blatz from Phleebut Space Quest 3. Bonus for the little jab at Deep Space Nine.
But for the rest of us, the simple act of getting around Shapeir was death by a thousand cuts. Reaching the money changer is a war crime without the map and game manual. The game is also rigidly structured so there's little freedom to wander around in the first one, at least you could go noodle around in the forest without much fuss. As with many other Sierra games, it's full of references to its siblings, including the bastard antwerp from the first QFG.
Even the final city's name, Raseir, is an anagram of "Sierra" as a parodic wink. No, I didn't have fun. Sierra's equivalent of Oregon Trail is a fixed linear narrative mixed with historical edutainment. Timing matters, like selling your Brooklyn house before the gold rush tanks property prices, or deciding when to head west by maniacally watching mud dry. The journey by stagecoach, which was all I could afford, is mostly a vehicle for history snippets and misery. Even in tiny pixelated form, the game's protagonist Jerrod exudes big Brooklyn hipster energy, especially when he starts off in his little striped shirt and devolves into a scruffy beardo on the trail.
Nothing to write home about, but an oft-overlooked game in the Sierra stable. I wanted to like it more, but god, it was hard to overlook… so much. From the sadistic movement mechanics to the eye-watering graphics choices, it takes a real dedicated love of the Gabriel Knight franchise to get through this one. Don't get me started on the cat mustache puzzle. On the upside, Tim Curry is back as Gabriel although Dean Erickson did great in The Beast Within , which helps make it more bearable, and Grace's strong characterization places her on equal footing with Gabriel.
The voice acting overall is superb, and the history and research put into the writing is, as with all Gabriel Knight games, really impressive. The packaging though? Not so much. A fun reimagining of the original that adds more content including a bunch of fan service and Easter eggs, along with some thoughtful changes but done true to the Sierra tone and style.
It also adds a bit more nuance to the characters, especially Caldaur Dracula and the supporting cast. You can get a quick glimpse of Connor, the hero of King's Quest 8, at the end of the game. While it was undoubtedly a big hit among men, growing up and watching a middle-aged man play it, then playing it myself was mostly just kind of sad. Even with all the jokes at Larry's expense, the game and the entire franchise leans way too hard on offensive humor for the sake of crudeness and no real finesse.
Especially when you consider there wasn't a lot else going on in —it's hard to imagine a whole lot of places would be throwing awards at LSL today just for "showing some skin. This entry also includes the VGA version. Yet another exotic environment, this time with new hybrid animal species on the continent of Fricana.
Lots of fun flavor dialogue amongst the merchants in the Tarna bazaar—and the city of Tarna itself was beautifully designed. The rest of Fricana is markedly less elaborate, and the random combat encounters were a real crapshoot. It was also rather unbalanced for a thief class character which made thieves' gameplay noticeably duller than the fighter or mage. This is where it all began, really.
0コメント