Pak Watch Deluxe: Point-and-Click Adventure games

This is a Deluxe edition of Pak Watch because it features 4 games instead of my usual one or two.  I recently completed 'Six Days a Sacrifice, and I wanted another taste of the point and click adventure genre.  It appears that this genre is thriving on the internet;  when I started looking, I just kept finding new and interesting information about the genre, least of which is the Adventure Game Studio community.  More on that later, for now, some games:

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Shardlight

Developer:  Ben Chandler and Francisco Gonzales
Publisher:  Dave Gilbert of Wadjet Eye Games

Shardlight is a post-apocalyptic game, that I can find minimal information about, and the same four images over and over again.  But I really like what I see, and I'm very interested to see how it works out.  I love the post-apocalyptic genre, and the 'world of junk and ruin' aesthetic looks solid here.  I can't speak for the story, but here's hoping.  

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unprintable MAGENTA
Developer: Fitz
Publisher: (Unknown) 

Another link I got from Indie Game News.  Unprintable Magenta has a strange, low-production visual style that piques my curiosity.  It looks to take place in a modern, superhero setting, and has plenty of room for silliness.  I appreciate that.   

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Thimbleweed Park
Developer: Ron Gilbert and Gary Winnick
Publisher: Kickstarter, kind of.  
 
Maniac Mansion is back! Or at least, the creators of that classic game are back, with a very successful kickstarter for a new game called Thimbleweed Park.  Viewing the promo video for said kickstarter, I think we can count on a true retro delight.  There are hilarious referential jokes all throughout the kickstarter page.  Have a look if you have any interest at all. 

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Project Scissors: Nightcry 
Developer: Hifumi Kono and Takashi Shimizu
Publisher: Playism games

And one more game with celebrity developers: a horror game from the makers of the Clock Tower series and the director of JuOn (the grudge).  That was enough to get my attention.  Then I got scared after viewing some of the images.  Maybe I don't have the guts to play this game.  Do you?

-D

Trilby's Notes

This image is fan-art, but I think it gets the point across

Trilby's Notes is the third volume in the game series: the Chzo Mythos by Yahtzee Croshaw.  These games are indie in the truest sense of the term, in that they were all put together by teams of one or even two people. As a result, the production can be somewhat lackluster if a player is accustomed to playing much larger productions.  I have been trying to keep an open mind and subdue my biases when playing these games, and I've had a good time with the Chzo Mythos.  I think they are worth the time investment.  This review may be best read in context of the other two games:  Five Days a Stranger and Six Days a Sacrifice.

Trilby's Notes featured a significant increase in production value than the previous games, and was more generously gory throughout.  This resulted in a much higher 'creepy' factor.   However, unlike the first two games, Trilby's Notes was not a point-and-click adventure.  Rather, movement was controlled with the keyboard, and actions were input using the keyboard, such as "touch painting" or "talk to man about book" or  "wipe butt with lampshade".  

I think that this mode of gameplay has it's merits- it is certainly interesting coming up with commands on my own. And I appreciate the willingness to try something new.  When it comes to solving mysteries, I found it more frustrating to come up with the proper typed phrasings,  on top of my guesses.  I couldn't tell if my solution was wrong or the syntax was wrong. Alternatively, in a point and click adventure, I can just click on everything I come across.   Perhaps I am tiring of the series in general, as this one took the longest, and I used a walkthrough most extensively.

That said, the writing is still pretty darn good, even if I didn't care for the gameplay.  Yahztee seems to have a good grasp for dialogue, and also creepy mythological nonsense.  In addition, the cinematic elements in this game are stronger, with interactive flashbacks and cutscenes used to good effect.  The overall concept for the Chzo Mythos comes together in this game, as the story is expanded beyond the limited plots of the first two.  

All in all, I think this game is more potent than the others, in terms of my player-response throughout.  But it wasn't as much fun to play.  Still, I notice that there is a fundamental difference in playing a game and having a story unfold, as opposed to simply reading a book or watching a movie.  

Only one game remaining in the series:  Six Days a Sacrifice.  I'm happy to report that Six Days returns to point-and-click form.  I'll certainly be playing that one and reviewing it here.  


-D

Currently Playing:
Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP
Sim City IV

Chzo Mythos: 7 Days a Skeptic

Happy Halloween.  And today actually is halloween, so I guess this is the last time I can say that for another 11 months or so. 

7 days a skeptic is the second game of the Chzo Mythos, and sequel to 5 days a stranger.  It is a good companion to that game, and has many similarities, including theme, plot and gameplay elements. 7 days features a tightened up interface, which helps the sense of game flow.  Both games draw their strength through atmosphere and character.

Generally I find that the atmosphere comes from the writing, and the flow of the game. There's a bit of isolation, even though there are other characters available to talk with.  Also, the sense that anything could happen at any time helped to keep fresh my experience of the limited environment.  I was driven to progress the storyline.

Both games take place in a series of rooms, each contained in a single screen.  Over the course of the games progression, the player is free to walk through any of the available rooms and the plot will require a lot of walking back and forth.  I haven't played a lot of point-and-click adventures, so I don't know if this is common to the genre. It can definitely be frustrating at times, and I fully endorse the consultation of a walkthrough when that frustration moves in.

I think that both 7 days and 5 days really work with the limited space given:  5 days has about fifteen screens and 7 days has maybe twenty.  Part of the atmosphere of the game comes from the experience of being trapped in a limited space, which adds significance to every new screen that is revealed through play.  In addition, when an event takes place in a screen that was, up to that point, relatively inert- that screen gains a new characteristic and emotional response from the player (me).  Still other screens may never have anything significant in them, but they still reflect the potential of something happening.

The atmosphere is edgy in 7 days.  Solving a mystery in a very dangerous-- and sometimes horrific environment.  Yahtzee does turn the horror dial up a notch in this game, which I appreciate.  I wouldn't say the game itself is generally gratuitous, just occasionally gratuitous.  It definitely startled me a couple of times.

The music is also little bit better in 7 days.  It was actually written for the game, rather than stolen. And it seems more consistent -  the music in 5 days seemed to just kind of drop off sometimes like it got confused and just wandered away.

I enjoyed playing 7 days a Skeptic, and I recommend it to anyone who has played 5 Days a Stranger and enjoyed it.  You can play it on its own, but it really is best to start from the beginning.  Solid, Amateur, Point and Click, Horror.  What's not to love?   Happy Halloween.

-Dr. Potts

P.S.  I have continued on with the progression of the Chzo Mythos and started the third game (of four) Trilby's Notes.  With this game, Yahtzee has changed up the formula.  Instead of point and click, the character is now controlled using the keyboard, and actions are controlled by typing phrases like "type review of Chzo Mythos" or something more simple like "turn on light."  I've played through the intro sequence and a few minutes into the main story and it looks like the horror is ramped up yet again.  Along with the production value.

Also, though this is the third game in the series, it is more of a direct sequel to 5 Days a Stranger.