Randal's Monday

Full Video Review - http://youtu.be/von0Q9yPRA8 In Randal's Monday you play, as you would expect Randal and yes, it's Monday. Randal himself is a very dis-likable character, take a lazy, borderline alcoholic smart ass. Then add some kleptomania and finally make them a sociopath and there you have Randal. As with many point and clicks, Randal's Monday is filled with puzzles, these take the form of finding ways to acquire items and achieve your goals. Randal being a kleptomaniac will often have to steal items however usually someone is around watching you so you'll have to devise creative ways to distract them. This usually involves using other items you've 'acquired' sometimes you'll even need to combine items in your inventory to form new items. One of my biggest dislikes of the game is the inventory. The inventory is done like a comic book which while it is aesthetically pleasing, in terms of functionality its a pain. To combine items you have to click on item on the inventory and then click the one you want to try and combine it with. However if it doesn't work both are then deselected, this means that say the item you want to experiment with is on the second page of the inventory and all your other items are on the first pages, you have to keep moving back and forth between sections to try and combine items. It makes the whole notion of trying ideas out laborious. The characters, story, culture references and breaking of the fourth wall all make for a very enjoyable experience. Randal's Monday is certainly an enjoyable point and click adventure and its well written dialogue and nods to video games and movies alike make the play through well worth it. If you enjoy point and clicks or games that are packed with humor and fun then I certainly would recommend picking up Randal's Monday. It has a few frustrating problems but nothing that detracts from enjoying the experience overall.

At first I was going to rate this at 2 stars and felt it would be unjust. And it would be. I've played what I believe to be 3/4 of the game and came to a halt. The art, design and most voice acting are great! Creative home screen, clever nods to gaming and movies past. Neat. Love it. I simply could not get in to the head of the main character. I thought it wouldn't be hard to play as a clueless guy, somewhat of a loser and a little rude. It seemed like a nice alternative and I was in for a good laugh. However the main character is just an awful person. Just mean. After a while it became difficult to be this guy. Some of the puzzles require you to think like an awful person. This is simply my experience. I'm sure others may not have the same issue. In which case give it a try. It is clear the team put a lot of work in this game and deserve praise. I certainly will give them that.

I'm very positively surprised by this game. I've read several reviews that said that the game isn't funny and that the main character is completely unlikeable. But I had a great fun with Randal's Monday. Almost every scene is a reminiscene to a movie, computer game or comic book and I had to laugh out loud many times, because of the funny dialogues and bizarre situations. And Randal isn't unlikeable at all. He might be kleptomaniac sociopath (isn't every adventure game character one?) and he does awful things to his friends, but he regrets his deeds and tries hard to make everything right again. For me he's much more likeable than Rufus from the Deponia games (who is just a narcisstic asshole). Game isn't perfect though. The last chapter was a little too long for my taste. I've also encountered a bug where no dialogue options where available and I had to reload (it happened twice). And while the voice acting is very good, there is a problem with the speech volume (which varies a lot). Puzzle design is good most of the times, but I still had to use the internal hint system (a walkthrough that only reveals a little bit when you click on it) several times, because I've missed a certain item or had no idea what to do next. And even if I did so, it took me about 15 hours to complete this game (which I consider quite long for a modern adventure game). All in all this is my new favourite Daedalic game and I can recommend it to everybody who likes geek/nerd humor.

My full review at Hooked Gamers: http://www.hookedgamers.com/pc/randals_monday/review/article-1364.html There’s a lot to like about Randal’s Monday, from the excellent writing to the pleasant visuals, and there are a good number of laughs throughout as you guide Randal through his own personal hell, tearing everyone else a new one as you go. Look past the surface, though, and the picture isn’t quite as pretty. The gameplay is too slow, the pop culture references too many, and the puzzles too obfuscated. When it comes to the fundamental elements that make up a point-and-click adventure, Randal’s Monday gets a lot right, but also makes some disappointing mistakes. Fans of Kevin Smith or of comedy adventures will want to at least give this one a shot, but make sure to have a walkthrough on standby – I assure you, you will need it. Pros: * Very funny throughout. * Excellent characters and voice acting. * A lengthy story means you get a lot for your money. Cons: * Too many unfathomable puzzles. * Lots of backtracking and lengthy dialogue. * Relies too heavily on pop culture references.