Shardlight

I own almost all the games Wadjet Eye has produced and this is probably my second favorite (the Blackwell series has to be number one). The story is very good, especially if you like the post apocalyptic setting (which I do). I liked that the main character, Amy, does not have everything going her way and, in fact, is suffering from a serious disease. Amy is voiced by a very fine voice actress - the best in the game. I'm not a great fan of difficult puzzles, especially if they don't seem to fit into the story, but that wasn't the case here - the puzzles are not terribly hard and are well integrated. The highlight of the game, however, is Ben Chandler's art. Every screen is a treat. I love the ever-present green shards that liven up the somewhat depressing landscapes and give the game world a unifying element. I enjoyed Shardlight very much and I'm looking forward to the next release by the Wadjet Eye team.

Yeah, I m writing this in the midst of the Global Corona Crisis - So a postapocalyptic game that has a respiratory uncurable disease in it was a obvious choice to play. Music, Sound, World Builiding, all very promising, the guys from Wadjet Eye normaly deliver solid stuff. Unfortunately, the cool ideas dont get used at all. Puzzles, story, all so incredibly boring if you play adventures in general and read the one or other good sci fi book. A very forseeable ending included. Im giving 3 stars because I liked the world and the sound and music and I dont want to create the impression I m here to bash on the guys. But if you like playing these type of games - just try maybe another one?

As with many Wadjet Eye games, "Shardlight" is a streamlined adventure game that has clearly built on the struggles and technical limitations that bogged down older adventure games to produce a very easy game experience. The interface is simple and intuitive. The backgrounds are rich and well-suited for the world context. The ambient noise and soundtrack are subtle but very effective in creating atmosphere, and the voice acting is generally believeable and well-delivered. There is nothing really *wrong* with this game, but... The puzzles are extremely easy, and as other reviewers have noted, sometimes the difficulty comes in having many obvious solutions to a puzzle yet being constrained in finding the one object that is meant to be used to solve a puzzle. You often know what needs to be done, and the solution is straight-forward, yet the game creators allow only one solution. The lack of options and the ease of the puzzles don't lend a very satisfying puzzle experience. Because of how few meaningful choices you can make throughout the game and the illusion of choice in the dialogue menus, in the end the game feels more like an interactive story than a real adventure game. The world building also needed some refinement. I know all games (especially those set in fundamentally different worlds) require suspension of disbelief, but I just couldn't do so enough to really feel immersed in the game. The internal logic of the post-apocalyptic world didn't seem fully coherent. Why after 20-some years after a disaster would people not have arrived at some viable livelihood choices and still rely on scavenging? (It's so strange that after 20 years, there are still products in a bombed out supermarket...). The plot is also ham fisted at times, with obvious parallels to historical events and evils--this is not a subtle game. As an adventure game enthusiast, this is absolutely worth your time. But don't expect too much of a challenge.

To start with, this game is made in AGS, which is essentially a clone of the engine Sierra used to make their games in the early/mid 90s - and it shows. The game is rendered at 320x200, which on a modern display doesn't look the greatest. I don't personally mind that much, but I feel like this would put off anyone who didn't play those games back when they were new. I will say that most of the backgrounds are nice, but the character sprites range from “fine” to “snigger-inducingly bad”. The backstory of Shardlight is that, 20 years earlier, the country you're in (which seems to be Australia, though it's never stated) is nuked for their resources. (This in itself makes little sense to me: Why would you irradiate the resources you want to acquire? Wouldn't that make it much more difficult to acquire them?) The story starts with your character, a car mechanic, and her attempt to eke out a living in the post-apocalypse. This in itself is a fine premise, but the story is pretty by-the-numbers from there. There’s also a pretty big problem with the world of the game: It doesn't feel lived-in. Probably the worst example of this is a protest that occurs at a certain point in the game, which consists of a grand total of five people - seven if you count the two guards outside the building. The most active part of the game is the Market District, where there are half a dozen regular characters who barely have anything to say, and a few random passers-by that you can't talk to. It gives you the impression that this whole city has maybe a hundred people. On the subject of the characters: They are all voice-acted. Unfortunately, the voice acting ranges from “okay” to “goddamned terrible”. I will say that I liked Tiberius’ voice actor, but I'm a sucker for a hammy villain. It also bothers me that the huge portraits that come on the screen when someone is talking does not have any kind of speech animation. It gives the impression that all of these folks are ventriloquists. Finally, the puzzles. A few of the puzzles are interesting (the chalkboard one actually gave me a bit of trouble, because I misunderstood what it wanted me to do), but most of them are ridiculously easy. Moreover, there's a bit of laziness to them: I’d say half a dozen or more have the solution of, “Shoot your crossbow at this thing that is out of reach.” While it's not a terrible game, there's just not enough here for me to recommend. I wouldn't bother unless you're either a diehard fan of the genre or it’s on sale.

Another gem from Wadjet Eye, "Shardlight" is let down only slightly by a couple of script issues. It's not *quite* as good as their best work, but if you're in the mood for an adventure game that goes well with a nice spot of tea, pick it up. Are there dead ends? No. This is in the LucasArts/Telltale (well, also Wadjet Eye) style, not Sierra. You can't get stuck. Are the puzzles logical? Yes, mostly. There are a couple that are insane, though. One becomes less insane in retrospect, once the story develops. Is there pixel-hunting? In two cases, yes. Did I have to look at a walkthrough? No. Is the writing good? Yes, mostly, although I wish it were more informed by history/how these things actually work, and it borrows a bit from comic books in a way I found jarring. The worldbuilding is top. The acting is good too, especially Abe Goldfarb, Felicia Hudson, and Shelly Shenoy. Is it funny? Only when it wants to be, but in general it's quite grim, actually. Especially in the age of COVID-19. I'm down to *one* Wadjet Eye game. Sad. I love their work.