LOOM™

Loom is game that did not reach its potential Having played other LucasArts adventure games, I had an idea of how the game would play. However, it's only vaguely similar. Unlike other adventure games of the time, your interactions with the game are limited to clicking on things and getting a name and description of what you clicked on. Everything else is done via "drafts", or short songs you play. The songs are the main mechanic in the game. What songs you can play and what they do is for the player to discover. I thought this mechanic was well implemented and it was satisfying figuring the songs out. However, the game does not keep track of the songs you learn, so it's basically mandatory that you take notes; There are songs you will learn well before you can play them, and you won't be able to go back to where you learned them. I would like the game more had it kept track of this for you. Not that it matters much in the end; The game is rather linear and short. The (in-game) story has just enough narrative to allow you to track what's going on, but the rest is vague and underwhelming. Some of those songs you learn you'll only use once, if at all. Compound that with a disappointing cliffhanger ending, and you get a merely adequate game. If you have a few hours free, don't mind taking notes, and don't care too much about he story, give it a shot. Otherwise, this game isn't really worth your time.

Finished that with my 7 years old daughter!

Note: the game is short. Proabably not more than 4 hours. I still recommend it, though. Loom is an enjoyable light puzzle game that challenges just enough to be interesting and entertaining, without being very frustrating. The setting is a unique world with its own magic system and compelling lore - even among all the games that have come and gone in the 30+ years since this one (a great sea of undifferentiated pseudo-medieval fantasies), its creativity stands out and feels fresh. Unless you have a particularly good ear for musical notes, don't bother with expert mode. This game is about enjoying a story more than it is about defeating the mechanics. I wish there would have been more - a longer story, or sequels, or more opportunities to learn more about this world - but there can be a certain kind of beauty in a short and wonderful thing, which is what I would call this.

I am not typically into point and click games. I watched a bit of Brian Moriarty's GDC talk on this game and wanted to play it, so I bought it here. I listened to the audio drama first (check it out on YouTube). I'm not ashamed to say it made me cry. The voice acting is very good and it got to me. The game itself is great. The puzzles are intuitive, and there's a revealing moment in the gameplay which was really cool. The game does a great job of teaching the player how the system works while not overloading you with tutorials or text. The story is good. The ending is unusual, but it works.

This is a fantastic adventure in a broad universe that is left open ended. Whatever adventure lay beyond the game is left open to the imagination, but the story hints at so much that is left open to the player. It is a product of it's time - point and click from 1990 - but beyond that, or perhaps because of that it has a robustness that is worth a play or replay even in 2025.