Lamplight City

Game itself is very interesting an reminiscent of Gabriel Knight 1. However there is a huge problem at the moment that you can get stuck in the game (apparently if u dont say the exact required thing) unable to progress with no notice whatsoever. you have to reload a previous savegame. you dont even necessarily notice that you cant progress unless you watch a playthough on youtube. if it wasnt for this problem i'd rate it 8/10. as it is now, im uninstalling and hoping for a fix.

As other reviewers have said this game blocks you from reaching the correct solution if you have chosen an incorrect dialogue choice earlier in the case. To proceed you need to select an obviously incorrect solution, or replay the case from an earlier save. This isn't apparent until much later in the case, and is apparently intentional to make it as difficult as possible to achieve the correct solution. If the game was more entertaining then replaying an entire case might be more of an option but listening to the deeply annoying "side-kick" character for a second time is a deal breaker for me. I gave up after case 3..

Overall I liked this. I found it a bit dull at the start, but ultimately I'm glad I gave it a chance and played to the end. It does, however, have some problems that make it difficult to give it a high rating. I'll join the chorus in saying that the lack of interaction and heavy focus on dialogue makes gameplay a bit tedious. I'll also note that the game bears a very striking resemblance to Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers. And by resemblance I mean it comes very close to crossing the line between homage and ripoff. The visual style, several of the locations, the moody protagonist in the long coat, some of the story themes; anyone who has ever played GK1 will find it impossible not to notice the similarities. Another problem this game has, that has been mentioned in other reviews but not really addressed in detail, is its rather tedious commentary on modern social issues. I don't enjoy it when my entertainment tries to preach to me, and I particularly don't enjoy it when it does so in an asinine manner that is inconsistent with the story and world. The problem is that this game has a very obviously Victorian setting, yet all of the "good" characters inexplicably have very modern, cosmopolitan worldviews, and spend a fair portion of the game tut-tutting at other characters who don't share the same level of enlightenment. The Bill character is particularly annoying about this. What this game does have going for it is a very richly detailed and well-thought-out setting. The developer clearly put a lot of thought into this alternate history timeline, as well as the city of New Bretagne; in fact the backdrop of the city and the events going on in the background tend to be more interesting than the game's actual story. The musical score is also quite impressive. Overall, this game doesn't quite stand on its own, but the world is complex enough to be reused as a setting for future games, which could hopefully overcome some of the shortcomings of this one.

I've been playing adventure games literally since the days of Colossal Cave on a main frame. I've seen more inventory based puzzles that I can count... as well as endless variants of things like Towers of Hanoi or puzzles involving colors or sounds or sliders or chess pieces or twisty mazes.. so I love coming across adventure games that rely more on story telling and dialogue - as long as the setting, characters and story capture my interest. And this one did. Intersting setting. Solid graphics, voice acting, music and story telling. Enjoyed it very much. Looking forward to what they come up with next.

There are some harsh reviews here but I love this game. The gameplay suits me well. Captivating story, great dialogues. Despite the absence the inventory there are still some interesting puzzles to solve. And no action or timed scene. I look forward to their next game.