These cats are quite possibly the antithesis of Stray

The countryside holds many secrets. And some of those are probably best left undiscovered. At least, that's what it seems like in The Excavation of Hob's Barrow, an upcoming horro??r adventure from Cloak an?d Dagger Games.

Cloak and Dagger are no stranger to horror or adventure, having explored the genres a fair bit in previous games. For The Excavation of Hob's Barrow, though, the studio is teami??ng up wi??th Wadjet Eye Games as its publisher.

Wadjet Eye was founded by Dave Gilbert and has delivered a number of stellar adventure games, like Unavowed and The Shivah. T??his pairing up seems like one to watch? for anyone who likes some creepy horror.

The Excavation follows antiquarian Thomasina Bat??eman, who's writing a book on the barrows of England. As she explores the countryside and documents the treasures she finds, Bateman is? drawn to a small village called Bewlay. Things begin to get stranger and stranger, as the locals seem wary and her assistant never arrives. And then the dreams start.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWRzaySj0MA

Don't go in the barrows

While horror games are easy to find these days on Steam, folk?? horror has a bit of a different air to it. Jump scares are easy to find, but a town with some creepy atmosphere and probably some kind of ancient ritual? That's fresh and interes??ting.

It's been quite a week for unusual and interesting horror game reveals. We spotlighted Slay the Princess, an upcoming horror visual novel about a very scary princess, earlier this week. And now Hob's Barrow is adding more incred??ible art and creepy vibes? to the mix.

Seems like it's a good time ahead for fans of indie horror games. No date's been set yet, but The Excavation of Hob's Barrow is currently planned for a 2022 launch. You can find it on Steam here.

The post Search the barrows for hidden horrors in The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow later this year appeared first on Destructoid.

Take the fantasy on the go

Wadjet Eye has been a steady publisher and developer of adventure games over the years, and today, one of its more recent stories is going handheld. 2018's Unavowed surprise-dropped today on the Nintendo Switch.

Unavowed kicks off with you waking up in New York City. You discover that you have no memory o??f the past year, thanks to possession by a murderous demon. With very few options available, the best route seems to be joining up with the superna??tural investigators that found you to make up for your misdeeds, and maybe learn more about the greater threat looming over the world.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnKAVsbNucE

It got some critical attention and praise back when it launched in 2018, and now Unavowed can go with you where you might travel on the Switch. And considering Wadjet's track record for good adventures, this is probably worth looking into if you're eager to solve some environmental puzzles and dig into?? some lore.

Plus, I bet that gorgeous art will look really nice on the new Nintendo Switch model's OLED screen. Unavowed is on the Nintendo eShop at a price of $14.99, with a launch disco??unt of 10% off running throug?h July 14.

The post Unavowed, Wadjet Eye’s urban fantasy adventure, is now on the Nintendo Switch appeared first on Destructoid.

Blade Runner up

I still, still, still want to play the actual Blade Runner adventure game, but Technobabylon is a simpler option, what with the Steam page and all.

The classic point and click has three playable characters. There's agents Charlie Regis and Max Lao, investigating a Mindjacker killing folks,?? and there's the possible next target, the agoraphobic net addict Latha Sesame. Whom do you identify with more?

Technobabylon start?ed as a free game produced in episodes by one bloke, UK-based James Dearden, before adventure game studio Wadjet came in to help turn it into a full-length game. And now it's out?? for you to play.

The post Technobabylon is a techno babblin’ cyberpunk adventure appeared first on Destructoid.

Wadjet Eye is publishing this point-and-click adventure game.

The 1920s is another one of those time periods, rich in history but still passed over as a setting for videogames. The Golden Wake is a new point-'n'-click adventure game from ??genre specialist Wadjet Eye set in Miami that spans the '20s and '30s before the Great Depression. The game's protagonist Alfie Banks is looking to cash in on the real-estate boom but with gangsters on?? his back, that might not be so easy.

The game is d??eveloped by Miami native Francisco Rodriguez who set out tell the kind of noir story that's usually set in cities like New York or Chicago. It's an interesting setting and a unique time period that offered a lot of glitz and glamor before things all seemed to go awry.

Wadjet Eye's record with adventure games is really good, so I'm really keen to play The Golden Wake when it's released in fall 2014.

The post It’s back to the 1920s in The Golden Wake appeared first on Destructoid.

Preorders start today

Through the waning and recent resurgence of adventure games, the Blackwell series has been providing classic point-and-click gameplay for the diehards. Last year, Wadjet Eye Games announced The Blackwell Epiphany, the fifth and final entry in the series that follows writer Rosa Blackwell a??nd her ghostly partner Joey Mallone.

Preorders for the finale are available now for $14.99, with a DRM-free download and Steam key unlocking on April 24. Additional preorder bonuses include exclusive interviews with the voice cast, a video tour of locations that inspired areas in the Blackwell games, and a soundtrack download. It? is a bit pricier than the previous games currently run for, but for fans of the series, it sounds like it should be worth it.

The post The Blackwell Epiphany release set for April 24 appeared first on Destructoid.

Remastered adventure game is short but worth your time

Whilst Kickstarter has been abuzz in the last year or so seemingly reviving the point-'n-click adventure genre, Wadjet Eye Games has been quietly and successfully putting out quality adventure games for a number of years now as a publisher and developer. Gemini Rue, Resonance, Primordia, and the Blackwell franchise are its most well-known titles but the studio kicked things off in 2006 with The Shivah.

Now seven years later, the game has been re-released with updated graphics and new music; it's definitely interesting to go back and see the company's first game but is The Shivah: Kosher Edition worth playing in 2013?

The Shivah - Kosher Edition [PC]
Developer: Wadjet Eye Games
Publisher: Wadjet Eye Games
Release Date: November 21, 2013
MRSP: $4.99/£3.99 

Rabbi Russell Stone has been having a bad few years; his faith has waned along with the congregation of his New Y?ork synagogue. Frustrated, broke, and bitter, his fortunes turn around when a deceased former member of his congregation leaves the Rabbi $10,000 in his will.

Stone clearly needs the money but his conscience won't let him just accept it; he needs to find out why this man lef??t him all this money. Needless to say Rabbi Stone and the dead man have history and it's this murky past that will?? lead Rabbi Stone on a personal journey of potential redemption. 

Initially conceived as a competition entry, then updated for general release in 2006, The Shivah is fairly short and simple a??dventure game. Indeed, it's more of a murder mystery that uses adventure game mechanics to propel the story forward.

Although there is an inventory, Rabbi Stone will only accrue a handful of items; there's no combining items to solve puzzles or problems. The real-world, dramatic setting wouldn't quite fit with some of t??he more fanciful puzzles you would find in some adventure games.

Instead, The Shivah is about sleuthing and dialogue. Rabbi Stone is determined to find ou?t why the dead man has left him this money and it's this determination that gets him involved in a sinister crime syndicate. Progress is made by examining clues and making the correct choices in conversations with the characters Stone will meet.

Stone has a special Rabbi Response in dialogue options, which basically means he'll answer a ?question with a question of his own (amusingly foreshadowed by an anecdote you'll see at the start of the game). Whilst it's an interesting touch, it will come in handy towards the end of the game in a unique conversa??tion which I won't spoil.

There's a number of choices du??ring the game that can lead the story in a variety of outcomes. True, most of them are serious black-and-white choices but there's more?? than one way to end the story, good and bad.

What may disappoint gamers is the length of The Shivah -- it will take maybe two hours to complete. However, that short running length stops the story from veering off on tangents. All in all, the story escalates quickly over a few hours of a single evening but The Shivah is about Rabbi Sto?ne's investigation and the renewing of his faith.

Whilst the graphics are up to the same standard of previous titles from Wadjet Eye, they're a big improvement over the 2006 edition. The Shivah will run in a low-res window, so it's not going to look great on a big monitor but will look just fine?? on a laptop. The new music score is low-key, melancholic, and fits the mood of the game and there's a nice treat post-credits where you can listen to some out-takes from the recording sessions.

Whilst I'm not familiar at all with the Jewish faith, I didn't feel like that was an impediment to enjoying the story or themes of The Shivah. Whilst clearly a once-proud man, Rabbi Stone has become broken by the whims of the world; when he h?e receives the money it's his sense of right and wrong that leads him on his path and that's something relateable to everyone.

Despite its short length, The Shivah is worth playing ??for its story and to see how far adventure games have come in th??e last few years.

The post Review: The Shivah – Kosher Edition appeared first on Destructoid.

Shivah: Kosher Edition will be released on November 21

Despite enjoying the recent Wadjet Eye Games adventure titles, like Gemeni Rue and Resonance, I didn't know anything about the studio's first game The Shivah until now. First released in 2006, the game is being remastered and re-released as Shivah: Kosher Edition on November 21. 

Costing just $3.99 for a pre-order, Kosher Edition will feature new graphics and new music and will be available on Steam, PC DRM-free, and iOS. The story centers around New York rabbi Russell Stone whose synagogue has fallen on hard times but when bequeathed a large amount of money by a deceased member of his congregation, Russell embarks on a mission to uncover the reasons behind his good luck. Wadjet Eye adventure games are some?? of the best point 'n ??click games around so I'm really interested to see where it all began for them.

The post Wadjet Eye’s debut The Shivah gets a re-release appeared first on Destructoid.

A portable neo-noir thriller

Gemini Rue, Joshua Nuernberger and Wadjet Eye's wonderful neo-noir adventure game, made its way over to iOS devices yesterday. It's been overhauled for the new platforms, featuring a redesigned combat system?, a hotspot finder to eliminate pixel hunting, and larger icons and text.

The original version, released in 2011, left quite the impression on me. Although it's reminiscent of Westwood's Blade Runner, it ends up being a unique title with a complex, slow-burning narrative, well-thought-out puzzles, and a surprising amount of phys?icality. 

Gemini Rue can be picked up o?n the App Sto?re for $3.99 right now (normally $4.99), and it's well worth a look.

The post Gemini Rue launches on iOS devices appeared first on Destructoid.

Grab Resonance, Gemini Rue, and more for $5

Seems like you can't turn around these days for great videogame bundle deals. Right now, you've got just over 24 hours to save on some great adventure games publi??shed by WadjetEye Games. There's a fairly simple pay what you want ?option wit??h some cool unlockable bonuses. 

For a minimum of $1, you'll get Gemini Rue and Puzzle Bots, along with the soundtracks to four games in the Blackwell franchise. If you pay over $5, you'll also get the rather excellent Resonance and four full Blackwell games. Now that 3,000 bundles have been sold, you'll also get The Shivah included too.

Bundle deals are a great way of catching up on some games that may have passed you by. I don't know much about the Blackwell series, but I know that both Gemini Rue and Resonance? are both thought of highly by the Destructoid staff.

The post Save, sa??ve, save on this Wa??djet Eye adventure game bundle appeared first on Destructoid.

iOS release this spring

Good news for adventure fans on the go; publisher Wadjet Eye is bringing its Independent Games Festival-winning adventure game Gemini Rue to iOS devices. It's ?due for release in the spring and Wadjet promises a tweaked interface for the iPhone and iPad la??unch and it looks like we'll be able to see this version at PAX East.

Old-school point-and-click games seem a natural fit on tablets and mobile phones as your interaction with the game is really similar to using a mouse. Broken Sword II and Beneath A Steel Sky are two games that have re-appeared on iOS and worked well. Here's hoping we see titles like Resonance and Primordia coming to mobile devices soon.

The post Wadjet Eye brings Gemini Rue to iPhone and iPad appeared first on Destructoid.

And will be the darkest game in the series

The Blackwell series of adventure games have been going on since 2006, with Dave Gilbert and Wadjet Eye Games developing five spectral detective romps featurin?g writer Rosa Blackwell and her ghostly buddy, Joe. Well, four with Rosa, and one with her aunt Lauren, who also found a companion in the long dead, wise-cracking spirit. 

Wadjet Eye Games recently announced the next installment in this long-running series, The Blackwell Epiphany. Talking with Indie Statik, Dave Gilbert spilled the beans on what we ?can expect from the new title, and how far along it is. 

Unfortunately, we may have to wait a bit longer to get our grubby paws on Epiphany, Dave explains. "To be honest, it’s not REALLY that far along. I spent most of last year designing it, but wasn’t able to actually work on it much because of all the publishing I was doing (Da New Guys, Resonance, and Primordia). After Primordia wrapped up, it was full speed ahead."

However, the prologue is complete, including all the art which has been designed by Ben Chandler, who has quite a few marvelous adventure games of his own and designed the character art for The Blackwell Deception. 

Going by the screenshots, Epiphany looks like it will be a tad darker in tone compared to the previous games, and this is a shift that Dave really wanted to make. "Each Blackwell game ge?ts longer and more complex with each installment, and this one is no exception. It’s also a LOT darker in many respects, and I’m trying to step out of my comfort zone more than I have before.

"It’s been noted that a lot of the previous Blackwell games tend to be very 'middle class' (offices, cafes, apartment??s, etc -- pretty much mirr?oring my own life), and I’m making an attempt to move away from that."

There's no release date yet, which isn't surprising given that Dave Gilbert is something of a "it'll be ready when it's ready" kind of guy, but I'm just content in knowing that it's being worked on. It's been a fantastic series so far, and Epiphany will be, in Dave's words, "answering some of the questions that I feel I’ve dragged out for long enough."? Here's ?hoping.  

The Blackwell Epiphany accounced... [Indie Statik]

The post The Blackwell Epiphany is set to answer questions appeared first on Destructoid.

Adventure gamers, assemble!

Jordan mentioned Primordia earlier today when talking about the latest games approved for Greenlight and it reminded me that Wadjet Eye Games has released a demo for their latest point-and-click adventure g??????????????????????????ame, Primordia. I thought I'd mention it so you might consider downloading it if these kinds of titles tickle your fancy. Primordia is a science-fiction adventure set in a world where mankind disappeared long ago but our robotic creations carry on and continue to serve the purposes to which they were built. The concept is thought-provoking and I was pretty pumped after seeing the game's prior trailer.

We'll have a review of Primordia for y?ou next week when it releases on PC. In the meantime, has anybody downloaded the demo yet? Any impressions you'd like to share with the group?

The post You may now test drive the demo of Primordia appeared first on Destructoid.

Post-apocalyptic adventure ready for your pre-orders

Wadjet Eye has established themselves as one of the best things going for adventure games these days, with titles like Resonance and Gemini Rue turning out damn fine. Their newest romp, Primordia, has me pretty excited, being set in a world that consists of th?e broken remains man left behind. Nothing like a good a?pocalypse to get the blood pumping.

Anyway, Wadjet Eye is expecting to release Primordia on December 5th. They're currently taking pre-orders on the title, offering the digital download at a ten percent discount as well as a limited, physical edition which will include the game on DVD, the soundtrack and other digital goodies. And they would like to get the game on Steam as well, having set up a Greenlight page in hopes of hitti??ng that ?marketplace, so you can help out with that if your interests align.

The post Wadjet Eye’s Primordia due to arrive on PC December 5 appeared first on Destructoid.

I'm told, with increasing regularity, that there are quite a few people who only play PC games they can purchase on Steam. Well, those convenience obsessed folks can now rejoice as Resonance makes its way to the platform. Wadjet Eye's latest game will be on sale through Aug??ust 1 and can be picked up for ?$8.99. 

The adventure game made quite the impression on me. It's a scientific mystery that's both reminiscent of the "good old days" of the genre and pushes forward with ambitious? mechanics. You really aught to have this in your library. 

The post Resonance now found vibrating on Steam appeared first on Destructoid.

I have a voracious appetite for good mysteries, even more so for good adventure games. Wadjet Eye Games has been keeping me plump on wonderful offerings like the Blackwell series and Gemini Rue, and now Resonance. After five years of development,? I ?was expecting -- hoping -- for this to be something special.

I was not disappointed. Fantastic interconnected stories, wrapped up in a grand mystery with four interesting protagonists. What's not to like? Well maybe a couple of things, little bumps in an otherwise sm??ooth ?road.  

Resonance (PC)
Developer: xii games
Publisher: Wadjet Eye Games
Released: June 19, 2012
MSRP: $9.99

News reports flash images of burning buildings and destruction. All around the world explosions have caused panic. Nobody knows what's ?going on. Nobody reporting the news, anyway. It's a glimpse of what's to come. Three months earlier, four people -- strangers -- find themselves brought together after a mysterious lab "accident" and an unexplained blackout. A promising young scientist, a dream prone doctor, an anachronistic cop, and a journalist who doesn't take kindly to being called a blogger; an intriguing bunch to be sure.

Ostensibly, Resonance is a science fiction mystery. A twisting one wrapped in conspiracy and a great deal of paranoia, but it's restrained. Bennet and Abbot, the at-odds cop and journalist, are laymen when it comes to matters of science,?? and they keep things grounded. It's the interactions of the characters, their attitudes and quirks, and their often amusing banter which makes the adventure such an enjoyable experience.

They work as one might expect from new acquaintances thrown into a difficult situation. There's trust issues, awkward flirting, and bickering. The voice cast is made up of voice actors from other Wadjet Eye adventures, and also that Logan Cunningham fellow that people seem to like from that Bastion thingamabob. Their delivery is generally goo?d and the consisten??t quality gives strong voices

All four characters are controllable, and lots of puzzles involve them working in tandem. The puzzles involving more than one of them aren't particularly complex, however, and the solution can be gleaned easily. It's often simple things like having one character press a button which lets their companion through a door, that sort of level of pu??zzle. Of course, they tend to be a lot more inventive than that hypothetical example. Often a character will pick up an object that they can't use, but another member of the group might. While managing four inventories could have become a chore, who can use what is often a matter of logic. Having four different perspectives makes tasks more layered and involved and demands that you look at each scene in a variety of ways.

While few of the puzzles are going to break the mold, the memory mechanic is certainly innovative. All points of interaction can be dragged to ?a characters' short term memory, where they are stored temporarily and can be used in conversation puzzles. Of course, not all will be relevant, though many set up some amusing dialogue.

Unfortunately, perhaps due to the developer wanting to get lots of use out of the mechanic, it starts to obfuscate rather than help. For instance, if I'm going? to a shop with one goal, a goal the characters have already discussed, the dialogue options should reflect this. I should not, instead, have to select the actual thing I want to talk about from another location and then select it in the co??nversation.

Long term memories, on the other hand, are employed more proficiently. C??haracters gain these automatically at key points in the game, they are then accessible permanently. The memories can be replayed, used in dialogue, and are key to solving the mystery. Anna, the doctor cursed with several family tragedies, finds herself beset by unsettling nightmares. Withi??n these nightmares are real events, memories that she can recall upon waking. The dream sections are frantic, haunting and a wee bit disturbing and yet offer solutions to problems in the real world. Psychologists rejoice!

I have no issue with inventory and item puzzles, but being able to use less tangible things like memories to progress through a game is an absolute delight. The characters experiences become solutions, and the environment is used in a more meaningful way. But that's not to say that there isn't a great deal of physicality in Resonance. There's climbing, liftin??g, fleeing, hiding and even a spot of frustrating electrical rewiring. It can be as tactile as it is abstract.

Although there are lots of avenues for investigation open at any one time, the characters give plenty of direction. When asked, they will nudge the player along by hinting at the next location they should visit, or what they need to do to move on. It clears things up and it never seems unnatural. It's one of the better integrated hint mechanics that I've com?e across. Abbot also keeps a record of his personal goals, which usually reflect the goals of the whole group, on his phone. Again, it makes sense and yet is extremely helpful.

The world is pres??ented in a way that should have broad appeal. Aventine is a downplayed sci-fi city brought to life with subtle touches like flickering lights and panels, and well-animated NPCs displayed in polished pixel art. Behind them lies detailed backgrounds with a hand painted aesthetic that contrasts with the characters pleasantly. Though it's still in keeping with its indie sensibilities. All in all it's rather gorgeous, but in a way that isn't immediately noticeable. 

The high stakes of the adventure -- end of the world stuff -- aren't overplayed, but things move a?t an appropriately swift pace. There's no reason the game can't be completed over a weekend or a lot quicker. Puzzles are common sense, but remain infinitely satisfying when the solution is discovered, so it keeps you constantly progressing. 

You really can't go wrong by spending some time with Resonance. While at first glance it may hark back to games like Beneath a Steel Sky, it's a fresh, modern mystery. It's set the bar rather high for other adventure game developers, and not just indies, though they really drive the genre right now. It might have been over all too quickly, but it was undoubtedly worth th?e five year wait.

The post Review: Resonance appeared first on Destructoid.

Independent point-and-click adventure game Resonance ??seems like on?e to watch. Knowing that Wadjet Eye Games is attached to the project (in collaboration with xii games), I'm sure many of you already do have this on your radar. It'll be available on Tuesday, June 19 and pre-orders are now being accepted.

GOG.com has you covered for the digital version. Bonuses include the soundtrack, a digital poster and wallpapers, and some developer diaries; you'll also save 10% by pre-ordering. For dedicated fans, Wadjet Eye is offering a limited-edition boxed copy of Resonance for $24.99.

This collector's edition comes with a Steam key?? for the game that purchasers will get on June 19, a printed poster, the soundtrack, and other digital content. Truth be told, I can't remember the last time I got a PC game that wasn't distributed digitally. There's something to be said about indie studios who give customers the option to buy a physical copy.

The post Resonance all set for June 19, pre-orders are now ope??n appeared first on Destructoid.

Point-and-click adventures are one of my favorite genres, simply because they usually expect you to think about what you're doing instead of just plodding along from point A to B. Resonance doesn't see??m to be an exception to this rule, and from what I have played so far, it will seriou?sly challenge you to think.

So far, the game promises a dark and complex story, interesting characters, and maybe even some romance. After playing the demo, Resonance can't come out soon enough for me.

Resonance (PC)
Developer: XII Games / Wadjet Eye Games
Publisher: Wadjet Eye Games
Release: May 2012 

Resonance opens with a mystery, showing news of a terrible, world-wide event. Twelve locations across the planet have been attacked, and there is no real information on what happened. The most you get are shots of various locations with sections removed from them. You are then taken back 60 hours and introduced to Ed, a young-ish mathematician who works for a Dr. Morales. After a phone call from Morales in which he expresses concern over his research on Resonance, fear of being followed, and intent to destroy all of his work, ?you are taken to a screen showing four time pieces with different times on each.

In the very first introductory segment, you are given the chance to familiarize yourself with some of the game mechanics (and there aren't many, though the adage "quality over quantity" comes to mind). The left mouse button allows you to interact with people and objects as well as to move, while the right mouse button is used to examine your envir??onment. So far, everything is typical point-and-click fare, but here's where it gets interesting. Instead ??of having just an inventory to hold items (and maybe your notebook for notes and clues), you also have STM and LTM, which stand for short- and long-term memory.

STM is useful for using the environment in conversation. You get three slots in this section, and anything you can examine can be placed in a slot. During conversation with another character, you have the chance to click on any item in your STM and bring it up in dialogue. Not all items in your short-term memory c??an be used during a conversation with every person, but there are some points where you will need to use STM items to progress in the story.

LTM is similar in that you can recall something from your long-term memory during a conversation. You don't need to drag and drop anything into your LTM, however. Items or events of note will be placed in there automatically during your adventures and cannot be removed. Not only can they be recalled during conversation, by clicking on them at any time, you are given a sort of mini-flashback that ?allows you to go over certain key pieces of information, in case you missed anything before. This brief explanation of short- and long-term memory doesn't do them justice, but it seems to be a huge mechanic in the game.

After the initial introduction to each of the four characters (Ed, Anna, Detective Bennet, and Ray), you will get a chance to control more than one, switching?? between them via a panel at the top left of the screen. During the demo, only Ed and Detective Bennet were controllable at the same time, but each one brought different strengths and weaknesses to the table. The Detective is more brawny and did some of the heavy lifting, while Ed was smaller and could fit into tight spaces that Bennet, with his larger girth, could not. Each also had a different way of approaching other characters, and it was amusing to watch how each of them handled the same conversation with the same person. With Ed, you are given the chance to move the conversation along or let the person ramble, but with Bennet, no such option is presented. He keeps the person on topic and to the point.

One last thing that should be noted is the point value system. Finding information, exploring, and solving puzzles get you points; dying loses po?ints. In the demo alone, there were three places where death was a possibility, and once you reach zero points, it's game over. One of the deaths was completely avoidable (and dying there took the most points), but two of them were less easily dodged. For those, not many points were deducted, and once the points were, the option to rewind to redo that part was presented, instead of having to start over from the beginning of that section.

The demo for Resonance promises some pretty incredible storytelling and gameplay, and I am eager to see if the rest of the adventure will be as much of a thrill as the first three chapters. Between the suspense, mystery, and puzzles, this should be quite the tale. Everything so far serves to draw you into the story, from the expressive voice acting to the mood-setting music and even to the environments (which were downright creepy at times). Anyone who enjoys this genre should be looking forward to Resonance, since I thi?nk XII and Wadjet Eye hav??e a real gem here.

The post Preview: Flex your mind muscles in Resonance appeared first on Destructoid.

_{Check out the first part of the feature, here!}

The last few years have b??een an interesting time for the adventure game genre. After a decade of disappointment, fans finally started to see more and more titles appear and most importantly, become successes. Big changes in the industry, such as the rise of digital distribution and the popularity of episodic content created a more favorable environment to cr??aft these games in. More opportunities for indie developers started to appear as well.

In this, the second part of the feature, I'll be taking a look at what impact these changes have had on the developers and their games as well as what we might be able to expect in the future (hoverboards, hoverboards, hoverboards.) Providing us with words of wisdom are: Al Lowe, creator of Leisure Suit Larry; Dan Connors, CEO of Telltale Games; Dave Gilbert, creator of the Blackwell series and founder of developer/publisher, Wadjet Eye Games; and Josh Nuernberger, creator of Gemini Rue.

I was something of a late adopter when it came to digital distribution. I clung to my boxes and physical media for as long as the world let me. Everybody has a price, though. It turned out that my price was the complete Space Quest collection on Steam. Imagine my surprise when I noticed that it was far from the only example of a classic adventure game on the platform, indeed, there were plenty of new ones as we??ll. Steam already had a massive user base and it offered a great space for promotio?n. 

Telltale Games is no stranger to digital distribution; its games can be found on all manner of digital platforms, including those of the console variety. CEO Dan Connors explaine?d, "Digital distribution allows independent publishers to reach the customers without taking on the costs associated with building and marketing a retail title." Telltale sells directly to their customers via their own site, as well. "We're going to be relaunching that soon, because we've learned a ton and we're really going to start making that a big part of our mission again, to get a community there and get people excited and offering them things they can't get in other places. It's a way you can test experiences, try new things, message however you want, position product however you want, provide information on products, and let people participate."

Along with Steam, indie bundles have been a massive boon to smaller adventure game developers. The first three titles in the Blackwell series and Gemini Rue were both featured in indie bundles, last year. Those games were the work of Dave Gilbert and Josh Nuernberger, respectively. Dave told me, "It was like launching the games all over again. I think more people have played Blackwell in the [week since it featured on the bundle] than they have in the last five years. My inbox and forums have exploded since the Indie Royale launch, and the association also gave Blackwell the final push it needed for Steam to accept it. We’ve been trying to g??et the series on Steam for two years but they always said no. So we’re very grateful for that."

One of the largest problems for adventure game developers in the years since the golden age of the genre was publishers' lack of faith in the products. When they were willing to invest in such a game, it was lazily marketed and rarely got the support it needed. Wit??h promotion and dire??ct access to players, developers have been able to show that there's a healthy audience out there, which will hopefully lead to more publishers investing in these types of titles.

Better tools have also made it easier for small developers to make a finished product. Adventure game studio (AGS) is a free development kit inspired by Sierra's interface for its adventure titles and it's been used to create a vast number of games, including many commercial ones. Most of Wadjet Eye's catalog used AGS. "The creation of third-party tools like AGS enable idiots like me to make these games, so more of them are being made every day." Although AGS games frequently favor a retro aesthetic, that's a design choice rather than limitations imposed by the software. Dave explained, "It’s a big misconception that AGS can only handle low-res games. It can actually go as high as you want, just most people prefer not to. So the decision to use AGS has nothing to do with aesthetic choice, but it has everything to do with money and time. Right out of the box, it has everything you need to make a point-and-click adventure game. N??ot having the experience or knowledge to make an engine of my own, it was the most logical choice."

Dave's own games have a distinctly retro look and thematically they are similar to the much-beloved Gabriel Knight series. Playing the Blackwell series instantly transported me back in time to the days when Sierra were still blowing my mind with new adventures. It's a wonderful feeling. "Blackwell is very much me trying to do Gabriel Knight. The story of Joe Gould and Joseph Mitchell was my Jenseni?an attempt at merging real-life historical people with supernatural events."

As Al Lowe reminded me, these smaller teams using AGS are a lot like the teams that developed adventure games in the '80s and early '90s. "I think that's great because it brings back the small team concept of one or two people w??orking closely together on a project and actually putting their own personalities into it. I think that so much of what we see that's wrong with games today, that there is no key personality that comes through."

While cost is obviously a concern, I do think that there's a tendency for adventure game fans and developers to be incredibly nostalgic and thus gravitate more towards retro design. I'm guilty of this, myself. My love of the genre classics means that I'm immediately more interested in titles which are inspired by those particular art styles or certain mechanics. In Telltale's case, Dan defends nostalgia, believing that older franchises still have much to offer. "Well I think that for us, with having Sam & Max as our flagship, we looked at the content as being so rich and relevant in the modern day... [It] needed to be brought up now. Having Sam & Max in 2004, and 2010 and all the times we've been able to use them as characters ... I mean they're just great character??s and it's a great franchise. So for us introducing that content to? a new audience was a huge thing."

Expanding into new markets such as consoles and handhelds has also increased the userbase. Adventure games used to be pretty much a PC only affair, with the occasional shoddy console port. While PC is still the focal platform, titles like Phoenix Wright, Ghost Trick, and 999 made the DS a must for lovers of strange adventures and interactive stories. PSN and XBLA have also seen their share of adventure ports, most of Telltale's games can be found there, for instance. Fans of the genre can even get their adventure on with their phone or tablet. Machinarium on iOS is fantastic and ?might be even better?????????????????????????? than it was on PC, thanks to it becoming a more tactile experience.

Dan seemed to be willing to embrace new platforms and technology. "It can bring more?? imagination to how ??you interact with the characters in the world and how you experience the story." He acknowledges the risk of doing that when it comes to traditionalist fans, though. "It moves away from traditional stuff and is a bit risky. So you have to be pure adventure game or you're in this vanguard story game type of place."

When I recall playing most of my favorite adventu??re games, I remember pouring countless hours into them. Getting stuck on a puzzle meant that I was going to be doing a lot of trial-and-error experimentation, exploring loads of areas, doing a lot of pixel hunting and then finally leaving the computer to go and contemplate it elsewhere -- maybe in a dojo or on top of a mountain. Failing that, I'd pester my friends.

Now there's a strong temptation to just go onl??ine and find a walkthrough, even if you've only just been stuck for a couple of minutes. It can ruin the pacing of the game and rob the player of their satisfaction at being able to think of a solution. In an effort to keep gamers immersed, or at the very least to stop them alt-tabing every time they get stumped, many modern adventures contain an in game hint system or simply less taxing puzzles. This can certainly frustrate old fashioned players, like myself, but one cannot deny it has lowered the bar for entry and possibly increased the genre's fanbase.

Dave doesn't think this is really anything new, however. "You often hear that gamers are less patient these days. I’m not sure if that's true. Back in the '80s, I would spend several months playing the latest Infocom game and never think of ordering the hint book unless I was desperate. But then I got the game Enchanter, which mysteriously ?shipped with the hint book. I finished that game in less than a week. If I got stuck for maybe ten minutes I'd reach for the hint book, because it was so accessible. The only thing that has changed since those days is that we all have instant access to that hint book via Google. There's no reason to force hard puzzles on people, because everyone can solve them. So the trend has moved away from difficu??lt puzzles and more towards making the experience of playing an adventure game more enjoyable. It's a very hard balance to strike."

The importance of story in adventure games cannot be overstated. It's what drives the exploration forward and it's the motivation for completing the puzzles. One of the positive aspects on these titles not relying merely on head-scratchers is that there's even more effort put into the narrative. Josh Nuernberger's Gemini Rue contains one of my favorite stories in the genre of late. It's a tale of loss and identity set in a bleak neo-noi?r f?uture. Even though it's an understated adventure built using AGS, it's gained a lot of attention and you'd be crazy for not checking it out. 

Josh advocates the importance of tel??ling the story through gameplay. "What I'd really like to see is games that make these complex stories your experience in the game -- e.g. you are hunted by a mysterious oppresso??r, or you must face your alternate personality in physical form. Many games today are unfortunately sequences of simplified gameplay strung together by cut-scenes that provide context for your actions (see many first or third-person-shooters). Great games tell stories through their gameplay -- you understand the world and the story by the way you interact with them as a player."

Gemini Rue also has several action sequences: cover-based gun fights. "Although in adventure games you can't always go the route of totally removing all cut-scenes, you can at leas??t integrate other aspects of gameplay so they don't just turn into quick time events. I knew when incorporating combat I wanted it to be meaningful? and to work on its own as a mechanic. The ultimate goal is to give players a unique experience and a quick time event doesn't really capture a gunfight in the same way that a developed combat system does." I personally think that the integration of interesting mechanics is something the adventure genre desperately needed to continue expanding its audience and I think we're starting to see a lot more of that.

A great example of a game that does this is Double Fine's Stacking. It was built around the delightful premise of controlling a matryoshka doll and jumping inside larger ones to gain their abilities and overcome puzzles and obstacles. It was incredibly inventive and its unique gameplay mechanic really made it stand out. Double Fine seems to have had more success with the downloadable market than it did with Psychonauts or Brutal Legend. Their use of Kickstarter ?to fund their latest project seems to have paid off, as well, with fans almost throwing money at the company. It will be interesting to see the long-term impact of Kickstarter on independent developers as more start to use it to secure funding.

Along with shorter downloadable titles like Stacking, episodic adventures have become increasingly common in recent years. It has always struck me as a perfect fit for the genre. Most classic adventure games can be completed rather quickly if you know the solutions to the puzzles. The games' lengths were augmented by the challenge of solving the puzzles yourself. It also meant that each episode could fund the next one, making it financially more viable. It's far from an automatic route to success, however, according to Dave Gilbert. The Blackwell series has been going since 2006 and contains four games, but not all episodic series are so fortunate. "The most obvious thing that can go wrong is that the game flops. What then? Do you forge on ahead and finish the series, knowing that the first one didn’t do well? If you do, then you run a much greater risk of the sequel doing just as badly. If you don’t, then you lose a lo??t of faith and goodwill and that is hard to get back."

Episodic games require a big investment from players as well as developers. Dave continues: "The main problem with episodic games is that isn’t a lot of faith in the format yet. Only Telltale has managed to pull it off successfully and gained the trust of the consumers. While opinions on their games vary, nobody doubts they will finish what they start. By this point, the gaming public probably has a bit more faith in my ability to deliver than most, but I still get a lot of emails from people saying they don't want to get invested in Blackwell not knowing if it will e??ver be finished. I can totally understand ??that."

It's not just independent developers and publishers working to bring adventure games to a new audience, though. Quantic Dream's Heavy Rain, an interactive thriller that reminded me a lot of FMV titles from the '90s, made some big waves a couple of years ago. While it enjoyed both commercial and critical success, it also got criticized for being more movie than videogame. Our own Jim Sterling is far from a fan. However, its success may lead more publis?hers to take risks on games with such a strong focus on story.

The now-defunct Team Bondi made quite the impression last year with their investigative adventure (and driving simulator,) L.A. Noire. It made an even bigger impres??sion with its implosion, some might say. The game itself, if not the treatment of the people that worked on it, still deserves praise, however. Before the genre started to have problems, it was ahead of the curve when it came to ?animation, so it's good to see so much effort being put into making believable game worlds and characters again. If you'd asked me, back in 2005, if I ever thought big studios would be designing AAA adventure games again, I would have laughed. Now it doesn't seem nearly as absurd.

I'm not?? going to be dramatic and suggest that we're seeing an adventure game renaissance. I wish I could, but it's simply not true. We're definitely seeing it making something of a comeback, though. There's a lot more faith in them, both from publishers and players and that's gone a long way to start bringing them back into the mainstream. The fact that the market is growing at all is a massive step forward and looking back just five or six years, we can see how far the genre has come. There are ??a lot of talented developers out there bringing us more and more experiences to enjoy. It might not be a renaissance yet, but that doesn't mean it won't happen.

The post The grand adventure: Making a comeback appeared first on Destructoid.

Fans of old-school adventure games need to sit up and pay attention. Joshua Nuernberger has created a brand new game that feels just like the classics. Gemini Rue, published by Wadjet Eye Games, is a point-and-click adventure that follows the story of an ex-assassin. It almost has a Blade Runner vibe, and it's definitely dripping with a noir sense of st?yle. 

It originally released back in February for $14.99, but you can pick up this dark sci-fi tale for just $8.49 on Steam right now. I haven't played it myself yet, but I will certainly be picking this up. For that price, how can I skip this charming-looking game? And did I mention that it looks like Blade Runner? It totally looks like Blade Runner.

The post Indie adventure game Gemini Rue is on Steam a?nd 15% off appeared first on Destructoid.