There is already a thread about adventure game puzzles we hated. I almost posted there about what I actually don't like in adventure games, but I think it doesn't really belong there: QTE and timed reaction "puzzles" (or minigames)!

While I like playing some casual (mini) game now and then, and it can be fun, I don't like certain types of minigames when they are implemented in classic point & click adventures.

For example "Pillars of the Earth" was a really beautifully crafted game. I would have loved that very much, and play it more than once. If there weren't those reaction mini games. I don't know what's the best term for describing those. For me those games felt totally disconnected to the story and gameplay, not needed at all. But you had to "play" them to continue with the story, as far as I remember. Have you played that? And what did you think about them?

It was the same with "Silence", the sequel to The Whispered World. As far as I remember, the gameplay was actually very similar to the ones from Pillars of the Earth.

Then there are games like Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy), where you have to be quick, hacking your keyboard all the time.
The game and story was exciting, I would have liked the game but stopped playing because of this kind of gameplay. I watched a walkthrough of the second half (?) of the game then, didn't like the twist with the a**** (spoiler ) anyway ...
Those QTEs annoyed me, because I wasn't able to properly follow the story when having to look at the bottom of the screen all the time to check what keys to press.

It is kind of weird, since I actually also play more action based games as well if I want to, that's fine for me (hack'n'slays like Diablo, or a rpg like Skyrim).
But when I decide to play a point & click adventure, I want to play a point & click adventure - cozy, in my own speed, thinking, exploring, reading ... not having to be "skillful" or "quick" with eyes and hands.

What's your opinion on that?

I completely avoid games with QTE since I know about them. I was happy that in Deponia, you could skip minigames, although those games weren't the worst I encountered.

We've all been there... staring at the screen, clicking on every hotspot, talking to every character again... and again... and again...

So the question is, what is the most frustrating Adventure Game puzzle you have encountered?

The frustration can come from any source. Moon logic, over pixelated graphics, control methods, glitches, goats or anything whatsoever!

For me it was Future Wars.

In the days of playing my Atari ST on the family TV there was one section where you had to place a cork board pin into the cork board at the exact right spot to open a secret door... however there was virtually no visual clue as to where the pin should go.
Literal hours were spent by my brother and I scouring every square inch of the screen to find the correct location for this naffing pin... then we would be unceremoniously kicked off the TV so the News (or whatever) could go on and the adults had control of the cathode ray tube until the next morning...

Eventually by shining my grandad's torch over the screen (in a rotation pattern) we managed to find the single pixel that we needed to advance the game...

The celebrations are legendary in my family. (Well, my brother and I remember it at least).

So what's yours?

Here I was, thinking I was playing a detective game, carefully examining everything I came across, wondering how it connects to all the other dots, trying to figure everything out..

I was doing this for 15 hours or so...... and I was enjoying it.

.......but then the game just randomly changes, and it tells me "Yeah, we're not doing that detective stuff anymore! In the face of the evidence that Chuck/Sheriff are behind the murders, we're just gonna make you frame an obviously innocent man! And none of the playable characters care about it! .....and now instead of closing the case properly, you have to go the factory to do some other dumb random stuff! And then once you start doing that the game is somehow going to become even more absurd as the meta stuff begins..............

*BLEEP* OFF!

.

Why couldn't the characters just simply acknowledge that Franklin vanished within hours of the murder of his business partner, and so it's 99.9999999% likely that the 2 events are connected!

And acknowledged that Chuck was a serious criminal (framing the manslaughter he's guilty of on the security guard victim) who certainly didn't like ideas about making toys in the factory! And that the sherif also clearly had something serious to hide!

And then they could have used these facts to refuse to frame Willy, and instead headed to the factory to investigate further!

And then in the factory, they find information that Chuck had hidden about an new android prototype that had recently escaped.... 

And then they learn of how Chuck tasked Sherif with making sure the news doesn't get out....

And then we learn that after it escaped the android heard of it's beloved creator's (= Chuck's) hatred for Franklin's ideas, and then it started to hate them too....

And then after a little bit more investigating we fully confirm that it's hatred of the ideas eventually led it to stalk Franklin, and then even kill him and Boris after it learnt of what they were doing......

And then; Case Closed!

And the credits roll without and meta crap!

(That would have been way better!)

Is there a word or phrase for those occasional times when you get stuck, and have (you think) tried every possible action, in every possible room, with every possible item or permutation or combination of items?  And you're just wandering around repeating things, looking for something else to try?

You are tempted to think that this must be a bug, but you know you're wrong; you're just pre-rationalizing the inevitable decision that's bubbling up to look at a walkthrough.  The shame of knowing that others (many others) have figured this out is beginning to loom on the horizon.

It's not a good feeling sometimes.  It's these times that I most wish point and click adventure games were not so constrained.  I guess good "smart" hint systems can help here, but that can be equally unsatisfying.

Anyway, I was wondering if there was an industry term for these... ditches?  Valleys?  Ruts?

Welcome To Oakhaven  - a hot and sultry land where bayous twist like secrets, cypress trees rise from still waters, and Spanish moss drapes the branches like whispers from long ago. Here, storytelling isn’t just tradition—it’s a way of life.

This is a lovingly remade version of the original 2006 game, now featuring professional voice acting, some enhanced graphics, and new animations. Step back into the golden age of point-and-click adventures.

You’ll follow the story of two cousins, Daphne and Dominic, summoned by a mysterious letter from their Grandmère. She calls them home to Oakhaven with an urgent message—and a challenge. Each must solve a series of puzzles scattered across the estate. As they unravel clues and confront the past, they’ll uncover a tragic family history long buried beneath the moss and memory.

Average playtime - 5 hours depending on how deeply you explore the environment, solve puzzles, and immerse yourself in the narrative
A Traditional Point and Click Adventure Game
Hand Painted Digital Graphics
Professional Voice Actors
Beautiful Southern Style Rooms to Explore
Southern Style Music
Solve Many Puzzles
Ride a Boat through the Swamp
Meet the Beautiful Animals that Live in the Swamp
Learn About Bayou Voodoo and Meet a Swamp Witch
Get a Tarot Card Reading
Discover Dark Secrets from the Past

https://store.steampowered.com/app/39934..._Oakhaven/

Is anyone else going this year- and what are you looking forward to most?

https://www.adventurexpo.org/

I think there are still a handful of tickets left, and it looks like it'll be good. The Dark Room live action video game has me particularly intrigued...

I'm curious how people experience adventure games. 
I'll break the question down in three forms of appreciation, but feel free to take any approach that works for you.

1. Adventures work on your senses and imagination. What is pleasing? Can a puzzle be pleasant? 

2. Role immersion. How does a game make you want to engage with its world - and how does it fullfill that desire? What makes you feel content playing a game?

3. Gratification. What makes you feel like your actions pay off? Is a good puzzle difficult - and what makes it so? Are all forms of difficulty equally gratifying? Does it matter how a puzzle is embedded in the game? And are there other gameplay elements in AGs that can give you this feeling of accomplishment and reward?

In the Windows 11 upgrade thread we had a divergence regarding Publisher/Affinity where I noted that you couldn't buy Affinity at the moment due to "Creative Freedom" coming and no-one was sure what this meant and whether Affinity would become subscription based. Well, not only is not subscription based the whole package is now free.
As an Affinity user (Photo) I registered to keep up to date with the developments and yesterday downloaded the new, complete, package. Haven't had any free time to check it out nor to view the released video announcement about this which you can watch here: Affinity Release Announcement

This may prove good news for very many creative people here. Time will tell of course 

Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader is my absolute favourite game definitively. Its greatest strength being how masterfully written the dialogue and story are. Small pockets of polished and refined elements exemplify this throughout the journey. Such as the word temerity being used instead of the common term audacity, and Joan of Arc’s protective spiritual guardians referring to her as their pious child. I tend to favour games that don’t talk down to their audience, instead imparting beautifully-expressed language like the above examples.

Medieval settings can sometimes seem a bit run-of-the-mill in PC games. It would’ve been so much cooler if the developers had decided to create an alternate history during the crusades, chucked in a few historical figures, then topped it off with original creatures like Feralkins, Sylvants and... wait a minute, they totally did that and pulled it off magnificently!

The game has this almost supernatural charm about it, which seems appropriate considering the player chooses one of three spirits to inhabit their body. They chime in with commentary and advice at pivotal moments in the plot. From both a historical standpoint and spiritual perspective the overarching narrative in this world is profound. You start off in the atmospheric and richly-detailed Barcelona, which is where your friend Leonardo Da Vinci has his workshop in this surreal alternate timeline.

The game features a robust custom character generator for the protagonist, stunning isometric 2D visuals converted from 3D models in real-time, excellent portrait artwork imbued with personality of the people you will meet, four intriguing factions to potentially join, branching dialogue options, choices & consequences that feel meaningful, an invisible karma meter, spells galore, multiple endings and numerous other fine merits.

Obligatory secrets are hidden throughout, the kind that CRPGs are renowned for. (Secrets in a CRPG, what is the world coming to? I’m as shocked as you are). 

Keeping spoilers minimal in my review, so that you can truly be immersed as much as I was when I first played Lionheart. It was a blind buy. The best blind buy of my life, which makes it a tad ironic that it enhanced my perception stats. You see, I played the Spiderweb Software games as my initiation into CRPGs. The first two in the Geneforge series still come highly recommended by me. They had vision but lacked production value, then I discovered a game that managed to combine both attributes and I was instantly hooked.

Compositional brilliance by Inon Zur gets showcased with an orchestral score blended harmoniously alongside acoustic guitar that brings the game vibrantly to life.

[-1 CHA for engaging in name-dropping of famous composers]

Erm... please ignore that momentary distraction, let’s get back on focus. 

I identify more with words than numbers, but maybe I can convince you to play the game by rolling a natural 20. The things is... this isn’t actually a Dungeons & Dragons game. Fun fact: It’s the only game outside of the Fallout series to use the SPECIAL system for skill points.

I’ve had a closer look at the game files, and it’s staggering how there are a total of 1573 voiced lines (some of which aren’t even used!) spread evenly across 32 immensely prominent voice actors. That accomplishment alone is worthy of praise for a CRPG originally released in 2003.

Overall, 159 dedicated professionals worked tirelessly on this game’s development, and I, for one, appreciate those efforts.

Flawed masterpiece is probably a fitting summary, as I am now delving into some even-handed criticism regarding Lionheart.

In my eyes, a computer role-playing game must provide an appropriate balance between finding different solutions in any given situation. Whether it be using charismatic diplomacy or resolving things with some good ol’ fist fighting! For the most part, Legacy of the Crusader gets this balance right, though not perfectly.

The mandatory combat sequences in this game are tedious even for CRPG veterans. Winning this game from start to finish, I’ve only ever achieved that twice. Don’t let this aspect alone deter you from playing the game, because you can still complete about 70% of the game without encountering hardcore difficulty, provided you have some prior CRPG experience. Using stealth, combat or a silver tongue, this game is flexible enough to allow varying tactics.

It’s available on both GOG and Steam for purchase. My personal recommendation would be to download it from GOG. Thank you so much for reading my review! I’m very passionate about this game, and I even own a big box edition, small box and digital version. Share in my enthusiasm, won’t you? Then you also can become a scion of Lionheart. 

https://www.gog.com/en/game/lionheart_le...e_crusader

https://store.steampowered.com/app/59506..._Crusader/

A new Simon the Sorcerer game has been released - "Simon the Sorcerer Origins". It is a prequel to the Simon the Sorcerer games.

Have you played the other Simon the Sorcerer games? What do you think about the series?
And do you plan to also play this new one?

There are a few things I can say about this series, but I want to have a simple and unbiased thread introduction, so let's begin.  

Simon the Sorcerer Origins on Steam:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/19398...r_Origins/