#BROKEN AGE STICK PC#

It revels in asking the player to traipse from one side of its world to the other, through screen after beautiful screen - the art is unquestionably gorgeous - in order to obtain a sliver of information that might come in handy all the way back at the other end of the world. Heck, 'adventure game logic' is a concept in its own right, and it’s not one that is often used as a compliment.īut Broken Age wears its inspiration as a badge of honour. Noire, Life is Strange and most of Telltale's titles, for example - have come up with ways of crafting satisfying puzzles without demanding the player bash their head against the game for hours on end. It's simply not enjoyable, and plenty of games – L.A. There is a reason that few games nowadays include the ability to use every single item on every single object in the environment, let alone require it. In their attempt to recapture the glories of adventure gaming's past, Double Fine might have gone a little too far.

If a new old-style game were to come out, I thought, I'd be all for it! Now, having finished Broken Age, I know I, at least, was wrong.īroken Age isn't a bad game. But I, like many others I know, believed that it was simply a lack of games in the older adventure style vein that was to blame for my focus shift. The style of adventure games I play now - namely the Telltale brand of story-focused, puzzle-lite experiences - bear little resemblance to those aforementioned titans of the genre. Sam and Max: Hit the Road remains indelibly woven into the tapestry of my childhood with its sheer off-the-walls craziness.

#BROKEN AGE STICK PC#

My memory tells me that I loved the classic adventure games back when they were the cornerstone of PC gaming. It's just too bad it had to be an adventure game. What had been pitched as a small labour of love exploded into a media sensation, paving the way for countless publisher-unfriendly projects to follow on in its crowd-funded footsteps. Fans clamouring for a return to the neglected genre threw their money at the project, signalling their support to the record-breaking tune of US$3.5 million. By his own admission, CEO Tim Schafer had hoped for, but not expected, at best a warm reception. Makers of the critically-lauded Psychonauts, Double Fine is headed up by Tim Schafer, the man behind a number of the genre’s true classics, including Maniac Mansion, The Secret of Monkey Island, Grim Fandango and Day of the Tentacle.įor those who did not follow the runaway Kickstarter success of Double Fine Adventure (as it was initially known), the project began with a relatively modest goal of raising US$400,000 to develop a game that harkened back to the adventure games of yore, focusing on witty writing, fiendish puzzles and bucketloads of charm.

I recently became keenly aware of the flaws of my own memory while playing through Broken Age, the Kickstarted point-and-click adventure game from Double Fine Productions.

It’s unfortunate then that the lustre of our treasured memories doesn't always hold up under the harsh light of reality. While this has always been an inescapable limitation of the human mind, nostalgia remains an effective marketing tool. But memory doesn't work like recorded video it changes over time, and the things we think we remember may be nothing more than figments of our imagination. The joys and pains we experience during this formative time become the memories that stick with us to the very end. For many people, this period encompasses their transition from childhood to early adult life - that blissful interlude where opportunity outpaces responsibility. Part II of Tim Schafer’s ode to the genre he helped established has arrived, and it should have come with a pair of rose-tinted glasses.

Broken age stick