General Adventure Games Thread (point & click, FPP, text, artsy)

[Maximilian]

I haven't managed to find a general thread for actual adventure games, that is - point&clicks (like Monkey), FPP (like Myst), text adventures (like Zork), arthouse-type (like whatever they like on PC Gamer lately).

It's meant to mimic a similar thread from another place. Let's treat it as a general venue for adventure game news, non-obvious releases (Steam or otherwise), perhaps even opinions & recs.

___

Didn't have much fun (if any) playing Neon Hearts City lately, the Twilight Oracle guy's second release. It's under 2h long and has really minimal interaction, with just one general 'use' verb for everything and right click for snarky comments. Very simple, with very telegraphed item combinations (except maybe two or three non-obvious ones), and abstracted minigames, such as a slider puzzle I don't think it's worth your money at all. The plot's nothing to write home about either, very derivative cyberpunk fiction. Haven't had much fun with Brassheart either.

On the other hand, Beyond the Edge of Owlsgard is actually good - p long, divided into chapters, with extensive puzzling and really good pixelwork. Shame it's furry-adjacent, but it shouldn't matter to someone not yet marred by the Internet. It's also on sale for $1 right now on Fanatical, as part of a bundle with Dreams in the Witch House.

[Oyster Sauce]

I'm too dumb for Myst

[Bertram_Tung]

I've been wanting to try Old Skies but haven't tried it yet. I heard it's better than Unavowed, because maybe it has some actual puzzles (?). Maybe Dave Gilbert will sign up here to tell us about it since this is a very welcoming site to all cultures and backgrounds.

Kathy Rain 2 also recently released. I have no idea if it's any good. I remember enjoying the first one but that was a long time ago.

Honestly I haven't played a Point & Click I really enjoyed for years. The genre is so infested with wokeslop (previously mentioned included) it's sad.

The last one I really loved was Primordia. I always hoped the guy who made Gemini Rue would come back but he disappeared forever apparently.

Ron Gilbert is a faggot.

I'm just trying to kickstart some discussion, feel free to piggyback or make fun of any of the games I've mentioned.

[gerey]

I haven't managed to find a general thread for actual adventure games, that is - point&clicks (like Monkey), FPP (like Myst), text adventures (like Zork), arthouse-type (like whatever they like on PC Gamer lately).

Why didn't you mention Quest for Glory-likes you P*lish cunt?

Those are the pinnacle of the adventure genre.

Whose alt are you?

Kathy Rain 2 also recently released. I have no idea if it's any good. I remember enjoying the first one but that was a long time ago.

Oh boy, can't wait to meet the ghost of the baby she aborted again! Turns out the true horror is single motherhood.

First game was meh, just a by-the-numbers pixel-shit adventure game, just like the Excavation of Hob's Barrow, which, incidentally, also features a female protagonist that is dumb as a bag of bricks.

[Maximilian]

I haven't managed to find a general thread for actual adventure games, that is - point&clicks (like Monkey), FPP (like Myst), text adventures (like Zork), arthouse-type (like whatever they like on PC Gamer lately).

Why didn't you mention Quest for Glory-likes you P*lish cunt?

Those are the pinnacle of the adventure genre.

Whose alt are you?

Because QfG clones are technically p&cs with meta meters, and we haven't had one since like Mage's Initiation. It's time to let go man...

[Bertram_Tung]

I tried Excavation of Hob's Barrow. I got bored and stopped presumably about 3/4 way through.
Yes the female protagonist shit is getting very tiresome.

[gerey]

Yes the female protagonist shit is getting very tiresome.

Problem is that most modern adventure games are just shitty nostalgia-bait made by gigawoke faggots.

That being said, I did enjoy the two Statis games (and the free prequel thing). They're very edgy and the Cayne corporation is cartoonishly evil, but they really do nail the atomsphere.

Bone Totem is especially cool with the worldbuilding, and vastly superior to the original Statis, though it too features a completely retarded female character. At least the husband, robot bear and chad AI make up for her foid dumbfuckery.

[Bertram_Tung]

Underrated game with brooding cyberpunk atmosphere, decent puzzles, complicated inventory, and great soundtrack:

[rusty_shackleford]

Are there any QfG-likes that aren't comedy?

[Maximilian]

Are there any QfG-likes that aren't comedy?

Hard to name even one lol. Quest for Infamy tends to be slightly more adult than usual (in the HBO 'comedy' type of way).

[gerey]

Are there any QfG-likes that aren't comedy?

I don't think so. The pickings are already slim, and every spiritual successor apes QfG.

Mage's Initiation, Heroine Quest, Hero-U, Quest for Infamy, Order of the Thorne, Plot of the Druid - all comedy, unless I am missing a few?

[Bertram_Tung]

Is Heroine's Quest a comedy? I didn't play it because of the foid protag, but I remember thinking from the promotional stuff that it looked to be playing things pretty straight.

[Maximilian]

Is Heroine's Quest a comedy? I didn't play it because of the foid protag, but I remember thinking from the promotional stuff that it looked to be playing things pretty straight.

It strays towards silly and despite the high stakes, does a lot to undermine the tension.

[gerey]

While we're on the topic of adventure games, are there any modern titles that do something interesting or ambitious?

By ambitious I mean feature branching narratives, or incorporate gameplay elements from other genres (not just cRPGs), allow you to complete the objective in multiple - and logical - ways, etc.

[Tweed]

I thought Crimson Diamond was decent though certain aspects get overplayed like the geology flexing. Game expects you to pay attention and do actual detective work.

[Maximilian]

While we're on the topic of adventure games, are there any modern titles that do something interesting or ambitious?

By ambitious I mean feature branching narratives, or incorporate gameplay elements from other genres (not just cRPGs), allow you to complete the objective in multiple - and logical - ways, etc.

Talos Principle is probably the only game to fit the bill for me, but it's essentially an FPP puzzler. I was let down by Whispers of a Machine, offering a branch that is really just a weaker and less ambitious version of the branch from the Fate of Atlantis.

[Cedric]

On the other hand, Beyond the Edge of Owlsgard is actually good - p long, divided into chapters, with extensive puzzling and really good pixelwork. Shame it's furry-adjacent, but it shouldn't matter to someone not yet marred by the Internet. It's also on sale for $1 right now on Fanatical, as part of a bundle with Dreams in the Witch House.

Nice! You had me at furry-adjacent.

I thought FoxTail on steam was very nice, a Kyrandia-like with several choices on how to solve puzzles. But unfortunately it's made by a Ukrainian who keeps whining about the "Ruzzians" so I can't recommend it.

[rusty_shackleford]

Favorite adventure games that don't involve heavy trial and error or use moon logic?

[asf]

Underrated game with brooding cyberpunk atmosphere, decent puzzles, complicated inventory, and great soundtrack:

good ambiance but the plot is meh

[asf]

all good adventures have moon logic for some reason

[Maximilian]

Favorite adventure games that don't involve heavy trial and error or use moon logic?

Primordia probably, or Memoria

[rusty_shackleford]

what about THE DIG?

[asf]

that contrived ratcatching in the dig, typical lucasarts moon logic

[gerey]

Favorite adventure games that don't involve heavy trial and error or use moon logic?

Full Throttle?

I don't remember all that much moon logic at play in the game.

[Maximilian]

I've finished The Legend of Skye (2024). Plenty to like about it - it's probably one of the few Monkey-likes that really deliver on the Monkey experience, in fact it's somewhat derivative at times (including the bad guy's theme song, oddly reminiscent of LeChuck's). It's long, broken into a few chapters (without literal chapter cards, though), with a lot of little goals adding up to contitute bigger goals, up to three per chapter. The puzzles are mostly inventory-related, but the way you use stuff is actually rather hard at times, veering into the realm of moon logic. While Skye telegraphs to an extent what the items can be used for, she does not comment at all on the puzzles proper - like Guybrush? The game was made by one guy, so she doesn't have as many funny negatory lines as Guybrush, the game itself also does not boast the breadth and scope of LucasArts Entertainment Company. Quite a few timed segments are included, probably around ten.

What I don't like is that the mood is almost Monkey-like, but not there yet. Monkey was very much a parody of overcommercialised piratey experience for tourists (driving the point further in the sequels), while Skye kinda just stopped at the stage of being this medieval fantasy world which inexplicably includes modern technologies and concepts. It's not yet the level of Stan peddling used ships and Guybrush collecting t-shirts to prove he's beaten Pirate Trials, but not far from it. It's not as fantastical as Simon either - it kinda found its own niche? Maybe so, it's just that I'm not a big fan of this niche. The protagonist herself (don't run) is rather mild-mannered and subdued, so it's really not an in-your-face girlboss experience games like Kathy Rain or Hob's Barrow sometimes are. She's... much like Monkey 1 Guybrush, really. I guess dev chose to make her a girl just coz he likes girls, or something.

It's not a super-expensive game (and happens to be on sale on GOG now), and IMO it's worth its price point, length-wise.

[Cedric]

I've played a bit of that Owlsgard game and I can tell you that even though it uses animal characters, it isn't furry at all (unless you'd call Quest for Glory or basically any Sierra game that, too). It's basically something like Legend of Kyrandia 2 with a more complex UI. Everything is really charming and well done. And it was written in German so it's nice to play a game in a different language for a change.

[Maximilian]

I've played a bit of that Owlsgard game and I can tell you that even though it uses animal characters, it isn't furry at all (unless you'd call Quest for Glory or basically any Sierra game that, too). It's basically something like Legend of Kyrandia 2 with a more complex UI. Everything is really charming and well done. And it was written in German so it's nice to play a game in a different language for a change.

Yeah played it in German myself despite my limited German language competence lmao. Sounds fun except maybe for Jerrick whose clenched teeth drawl gets dull soon after it becomes comedic.

[gerey]

Right, completely forgot - Dreams in the Witch House - is a QfG-like, in the sense that it combines RPG elements with adventure mechanics.

You play a student that is working on his math thesis, but the room he is renting is experiencing (Lovecraftian) supernatural phenomenons, the story being based on The Dreams in the Witch House. It's up to you to decide how tackle things - do you focus on your studies, do you start researching the occult, do you just ignore all of it and fuck around town?

You also have to pay attention to your budget and health.

[Xenich]

Would like to see adventure games go back to chat based interface. With AI, all the obstacles of the past concerning that input style is less of an issue.

I used to be really big into adventure games back in the 80's and early 90's, but once they all started moving to "hunt and peck" style, they became boring.

[Maximilian]

Would like to see adventure games go back to chat based interface. With AI, all the obstacles of the past concerning that input style is less of an issue.

I used to be really big into adventure games back in the 80's and early 90's, but once they all started moving to "hunt and peck" style, they became boring.

Did you buy Thaumistry a few years ago
Or The Crimson Diamond