I've recently finished Syberia 3.
The story is not good, with many of the plot points and dialogue being at best cliche and at worst truly awful. The english voice 'acting' for the vast majority of the characters is terrible too.
The environments looked like they had some effort put in them, with some noticeable attention to detail such as seeing the occasional hanging physics object which reacts to Kate as she moves past, but that doesn't avoid the fact that the locations are still mundane compared to the otherworldly dreamlike ones from the original games. To be fair, the story involves the modern world clashing with the traditional/old, as well as Kate starting to hear of the repercussions of her journeying from back home, so perhaps this was a deliberate choice.
The puzzles are for the most part easy and obvious - a few require just a little bit more problem solving compared to the rest.
I'm now playing the next game in the series: Syberia - The World Before.
The story is not good, with many of the plot points and dialogue being at best cliche and at worst truly awful. The english voice 'acting' for the vast majority of the characters is terrible too.
The environments looked like they had some effort put in them, with some noticeable attention to detail such as seeing the occasional hanging physics object which reacts to Kate as she moves past, but that doesn't avoid the fact that the locations are still mundane compared to the otherworldly dreamlike ones from the original games. To be fair, the story involves the modern world clashing with the traditional/old, as well as Kate starting to hear of the repercussions of her journeying from back home, so perhaps this was a deliberate choice.
The puzzles are for the most part easy and obvious - a few require just a little bit more problem solving compared to the rest.
I'm now playing the next game in the series: Syberia - The World Before.
Finished the 2 Nairi games and overall it was a nice experience. The games have uneven difficulty with more puzzle-ly segments that can become quite elaborate and more story oriented segments. I think that didn't work so well in the first game because the story segments could become a bit mundane with tedious fetch quests and backtracking that felt a bit like a sore at times on contrast to the interesting puzzle segments with a plethora of interconnecting puzzles and satisfying exploration. The second game was a big improvement for me, because the story segments became more interesting and dynamic with more puzzles and a way to fast travel. puzzles segments retained their character from the first game with the "elevator" section notably being superb and my favorite part of both games. Thus the uneven difficulty worked nicely on the second game and offered a mix of a strong and more relaxed gameplay that I liked. A combine mechanic was also added in the second game that i found pointless at first but added a nice flair later.
Now I am playing a game called "A Sceptic's Guide to Magic" from the creator of The Deed and The Space Pilgrim Saga for a change of pace. It's a relaxed gameplay experience so far with a blend of mystery, supernatural and crime setting.
Now I am playing a game called "A Sceptic's Guide to Magic" from the creator of The Deed and The Space Pilgrim Saga for a change of pace. It's a relaxed gameplay experience so far with a blend of mystery, supernatural and crime setting.
I'm at the final scene of Cease To Breathe. This game is true retro - and not of the Golden Age-nostalgia variety either. It has no regard for your quality of life.
The MacVenture interface offers a range of actions usually reserved for text adventures (INGEST,) otherwise it's fairly limited. Some familiarity with the system helps - using OPEN to look through pockets, for example. Even this only goes so far: the game gives you a limited amount of clues, you're mostly left to your own devices.
The bottlenecks are mainly design choices. There's a light source mechanic. You have one infinite resource, but it doesn't work in every room. The alternatives can become a limiting factor, to the point you (reasonably) can't finish the game. In some instances, the game will require a non-standard command, there's one off-screen exit and a nasty pixel hunt. The final set of puzzles: barely more than one overlapping and elaborate fetch quest.
So is anything good? Yes. The writing is to the point, I liked the way it delivered the horror and the jokes. I appreciate it didn't go for anything too [i[psychological[/i]. You get a great sense of agency, sliding around a haunted house, playing by Collis Huntington rules.
It was less than a buck. I believe this was someone's first release. I'll be honest, it was a pallet cleanser for me. Cease To Breathe is full of mortal sins of AG design that the Wadjet-Eye generation laid to rest. It's rough around the edges, but it has possiblities. You can take nearly everything - you decide which objects might be of use. You can try whatever you want; in some cases you will die. No autosave, no repeat.
Playing Kathy Rain 2, I felt I was being nudged along some guard-railed path. One tense scene that ended badly for Kathy just looped until I got it right. It was player-friendly to the point of being too facilitating. I'll give it another shot. Maybe this experience will help me appreciate its considerate design.
The MacVenture interface offers a range of actions usually reserved for text adventures (INGEST,) otherwise it's fairly limited. Some familiarity with the system helps - using OPEN to look through pockets, for example. Even this only goes so far: the game gives you a limited amount of clues, you're mostly left to your own devices.
The bottlenecks are mainly design choices. There's a light source mechanic. You have one infinite resource, but it doesn't work in every room. The alternatives can become a limiting factor, to the point you (reasonably) can't finish the game. In some instances, the game will require a non-standard command, there's one off-screen exit and a nasty pixel hunt. The final set of puzzles: barely more than one overlapping and elaborate fetch quest.
So is anything good? Yes. The writing is to the point, I liked the way it delivered the horror and the jokes. I appreciate it didn't go for anything too [i[psychological[/i]. You get a great sense of agency, sliding around a haunted house, playing by Collis Huntington rules.
It was less than a buck. I believe this was someone's first release. I'll be honest, it was a pallet cleanser for me. Cease To Breathe is full of mortal sins of AG design that the Wadjet-Eye generation laid to rest. It's rough around the edges, but it has possiblities. You can take nearly everything - you decide which objects might be of use. You can try whatever you want; in some cases you will die. No autosave, no repeat.
Playing Kathy Rain 2, I felt I was being nudged along some guard-railed path. One tense scene that ended badly for Kathy just looped until I got it right. It was player-friendly to the point of being too facilitating. I'll give it another shot. Maybe this experience will help me appreciate its considerate design.
This post was last modified: 12-27-2025, 07:45 AM by BobVP.
More a dark Phoenix Wright style of a game than a typical point n' click, but Of The Devil is really good thus far. Great characters, writing, world-building, style, and sci-fi setting.
(12-26-2025, 06:04 AM)Jen Wrote: I bought Blue Prince a while ago and didn’t get very far due to real life. I will definitely go back to it soon. It seemed to me to be more of a giant intricate puzzle than an adventure game, but I like giant intricate puzzles.
Right now I am just about done with Dad’s Monster House 2 on my iPad.
Oh its an adventure for sure, it uses what i would call some risky alchemy. It invites you in for the rogue-like engine builder, and then slowly transforms into more and more exploration and adventure-thinking. The risk is someone gets hyper focused on the engine builder aspect and is turned off from discovering more. I think the room where it first clicked for me
I'll start with “Memento Mori,” which I last played nine years ago. I hope that my Steam review from back then is no longer valid and that the game isn't completely buggy.
Addendum: The total crash occurs after two minutes. Too bad, I had fond memories of the game.
Addendum: The total crash occurs after two minutes. Too bad, I had fond memories of the game.
This post was last modified: 12-28-2025, 01:43 PM by Wild Boar.
(12-26-2025, 06:04 AM)Jen Wrote: I bought Blue Prince a while ago and didn’t get very far due to real life. I will definitely go back to it soon. It seemed to me to be more of a giant intricate puzzle than an adventure game, but I like giant intricate puzzles.
What Zane said.
I'll add: Don't get too focused on Room 46. It's a goal, and an important one, but there is so much more to discover puzzlewise. Pay attention to details.
Finished Cease To Breathe. I think I got the good ending, but not for lack of trying.
After inhaling deeply I played through Azazel's Christmas Fable - delightful.
I've also started playing Betrayal At Club Low with Kota. It's arguably an RPG, it wades into immersive sim territory, but it feels like a surreal adventure game with tabletop mechanics. I'm embracing the chaos, let's see where it leads.
After inhaling deeply I played through Azazel's Christmas Fable - delightful.
I've also started playing Betrayal At Club Low with Kota. It's arguably an RPG, it wades into immersive sim territory, but it feels like a surreal adventure game with tabletop mechanics. I'm embracing the chaos, let's see where it leads.