Thimbleweed Park

I think this is the first time I've left a review on GOG. I felt compelled to do so with Thimbleweed Park because I love this game. I grew up on the LucasArts point-and-click adventures, and to this day, The Secret of Monkey Island is my favorite game of all time. This game, created by Ron Gilbert and Gary Winnick (of Monkey Island, Maniac Mansion, and other fame) is not a throwback to the classic point-and-clicks. It is a new point-and-click in the classic style. It is beautiful, it is funny, and it has a more in-depth story than most games did back in the LucasArts point-and-click heyday. I recommend this game to anyone who either loved those games or who never played those but is interested in seeing a modern version of the same type of game.

Yes, Thimbleweed Park is a great game and certainly one every point-and-click-adventure fan should play. But the hype elevates the game a little too much in my opinion. The style and graphics look like something you might remember with rose-tinted glasses from 1987 - and that is awesome. The verb-controls are somewhat nice but in truth, you're mainly using the right mouse-button and lot's of verbs usually don't do anything (or the same thing) when used: For example, you can't look at people, it's always talk. The humor is great - when it stays in universe. But sadly, a lot of humor is created by breaking the forth wall. A lot of people might like this, I find it distracting and it pulls me out of the zone. Also, why all the hate-jokes against Sierra and other adventure designers? Is this kindergarten? There are a lot of cool puzzles but there are also a lot that have been recycled from Maniac Mansion, which style Thimble Weed Park most closely tries to emulate. In fact, there are so many Maniac Mansion references there, that it almost feels like a Maniac-Mansion-fan-adventure. But it's probably set in the same universe. For the first half of the game, there isn't much of a narrative and the plot is mainly told through playable cut-scenes. Later in the game, however, the plot starts to gain momentum and becomes rather interesting. The game isn't perfekt, no, but it's a great retro-adventure none the less.

I really liked the game initially, the opening is great, the puzzles make sense and the narrative is entertaining. Graphics and sound, especially the music are great and create a perfect setting for the games narrative….which sadly falls apart after the first part of the game. Starting out as a murder mystery with your 2 characters you’re constantly discovering new things and clues that there is more at play here than a simple murder. However, as soon as the game starts to introduce more player characters, the narrative is falling apart. Not wanting to give away spoilers, the whole premise of the game nullifies everything you’ve done up to that point. Not only that, it’s also lazy design since so many plot threads are simply left unanswered, things I cared and was curious about while playing the first parts of the game. The in game logic is also heavily flawed since it relies on the interaction of player characters that are not connected through in game lore. These characters have nothing in common, don’t talk to each other (in one case can’t even talk to one another) but have to work together to solve puzzles. At this point the game is simply a puzzle game without any lore or story connection which ruins the whole experience for me. So, if you’re interested in solving puzzles without giving much thought to the narrative, this game might be ok for you. If you’re also interested in the story and expect a certain level of internal logic, stay away, you will be disappointed.

I backed the game back at the time and have been following the blog for... well years!! This game is all I was expecting and even more! As a big fan of click and point adventures I could not be more happy than the this, the game has the magic, puzzles and humor you would expect from Monkey Island creator! It's a must buy for any point and click afecionado and a nice first step in this magic world for all other people!