Thimbleweed Park

I really enjoyed this game, right up until the ending. I know a lot of people didn't have a problem with the ending, but it honestly left me feeling almost wishing I'd not spent the ~18 hours playing. Very unfulfilling. Maybe that's the point - I dunno. Still, the puzzles were fun, the humor was appreciated (I'm a fan of Lucas* adventure games) and the art is great.

Playing Thimbleweed Park for the first time felt just like playing some of the great classic Lucasfilm/Lucasarts Point & Click games. The characters and other designs look a lot like Maniac Mansion which is one of my favourite P&C games and even though there are several flaws I really enjoy playing the game. The only thing I would change is the actual story and the ending which is a big let down and it feels just lazy. Like something you would come up if you were running out of time or ideas and the ending is also a very overused trope in fantasy storytelling just like amnesia or being the chosen one. Another problem with having this story and ending is that it ruins any 4th wall breaking jokes and things like the Maniac Mansion in-universe references. It's a shame they didn't stick to a simpler down to earth story or tried to expand the game word instead of just "flipping the switch"

Monkey Island was the first game I ever played, and it even helped my little brother learn how to read. I played every Lucas Arts Adventure game that was made thereafter and I still think Monkey Island 2 is the pinnacle of adventure gaming. I wanted to love this game, but it was just ok. The graphics and the music are top notch (though the locales are slightly uninteresting). The updated character movement and scrolling struck the right balance between keeping the nostalgia but keeping pace with our 21st century internal clock. Also, if you've seen twin peaks, it does a decent job of capturing that feel. The bad? The tone of the game is all over the place, neither funny enough nor containing enough depth. The characters are mostly one-note, unlikable, or uninteresting. And as has been noted in other reviews, the breaking of the fourth wall is distracting, and lazily tries to patch up holes in the plot that would have been better served actually being written well. But the absolute strangest part of the game is controlling 5 different characters who are working together but don't know that they're working together because you're just controlling them. Adventure games have always had a unique conceit. You ARE Roger Wilco, Guybrush, Manny, or Graham. But you're also not those characters, perhaps you're just a part of their brain so when you try and combine two things they can tell you (or that part of themselves) "That doesn't seem to work." But with multiple characters moving and handing each other things for no good reason in their world, this feels especially strange. Maybe this won't bother you, but it was distracting to me. If it's on sale, worth a purchase if you're feeling nostalgic, but not a new classic by any stretch.

Great concept in theory, nice graphics, some fun throwbacks to vintage times, but ultimately ruined by too many characters, not a central protagonist, and a feeling of "why am I doing this?" At around the 15 hour mark, I gave up and quit, as I was frustrated, bored, and just didn't care to see the end, which I had heard was 'meta', whatever that means in the context of this game, I guess I'll never find out. I liken this game to Slender Threads and Return to Monkey Island, two similar games with disappointing endings, which while I did finish those two games, they also were lackluster experiences. If you like classic point and click, this game has some value in that it shows a great amount of potential, but ruined by simply trying to cram in too much, and lacking a real overall cohesive story and a 'why'. If I am going to devote 2 or 3 hours a day to a game, I want it to pay off, and while those who finish the game may feel it does, unless you are a serious gamer, I can't see the casual gamer wanting to invest the time or energy.

The story started out a bit slow and had trouble captivating me, but I kept going. The story grew and there were more characters, items and locations involved... in fact too many. When I actually completed the game, the game felt hugely incomplete. In a way, I like that the unexpected unexpectedness caught me off guard but I also feel like there were a lot of annoying holes, intentional or not. Overall I was entertained and it was worth the purchase, and I hope they make more games like this, so they have my support.