Torin's Passage

I suspect that nostalgia is an important factor in enjoying this game, because there are several issues I would've overlooked if I had played it when I was younger. The tone is wildly inconsistent. Is it a serious fantasy adventure? Is it a pun-filled slapstick comedy? It's jarring to keep shifting between these two extremes. The puzzle design is also inconsistent—sometimes it's the traditional Sierra style of exploring your surroundings and finding creative solutions to your problems, but other times it reaches Myst levels of abstract thinking. There's a good variety of puzzles, but not always enough guidance to get you thinking about how you should approach them. Earlier Sierra games let you touch, taste, or look at everything around you, but Torin's Passage only lets you click on very specific objects. The type of interaction (eg, talk, operate) is predetermined, so if you need more information about your surroundings to solve a puzzle (or figure out what the puzzle is in the first place), you're out of luck. Fortunately, there's a built-in hint system that works well. I found myself using it rather often—when there's only a handful of things I can click on, I run out of patience pretty quickly. Most of the time, the hints told me to click on things I tried unsuccessfully to interact with before, because I didn't click on exactly the right spot. That's just irritating. The game offers some unique mechanics, such as being able to scroll your view when in a large area, and having an animal companion who can transform into various objects, but these mechanics (particularly the latter one) are grossly underutilized. I'm not a big fan of the art style, the soundtrack doesn't stand out to me, the humor is really hit-or-miss, and most of the characters annoy me, but your mileage may vary. It's also worth nothing that color-blind players may have trouble with one or two puzzles. If you like King's Quest VII, you might like this; otherwise, I wouldn't recommend it.

Torin's passage is a pretty unique adventure game that tries to tell a Disney-style animated tale which can appeal to both kids and adults. The main strength of this game is in creating an imaginative fantasy world, with different layers of existence which are traveled between via crystals. The denizens of this world are hilarious and quirky, and this game isn't afraid to go over-the-top with characters and environments. The voice acting, sound and music are all quite good and fit this melodramatic/comical tone perfectly. If you're looking for a colorful game that will delight and surprise, this is it. The story, always important in an adventure game, starts very strong, with a majestic tale of Torin setting out to find his parents after they are mysteriously taken by a sorceress who may have ties to his past. However, the story is not developed consistently throughout, and the plot remains mostly static until the final encounter. There are lots of interesting side encounters Torin has which seem promising, but none ever play into the bigger picture. And the finale itself is rushed and disappointing. The gameplay is a mixed bag. The game offers a nice hint system is you are stuck on a puzzle, and you will use it often because some puzzles are surprisingly counterintuitive. The game breaks its own rules (such as only highlighted areas can be interacted with) a few times, which adds to the frustration. There are some very good puzzles, but they are unfortunately few and far between. Boogle, your shapeshifting pet, is very poorly used, he has little personality and most of his forms can only be used once. But overall, I would highly recommend Torin's Passage to an adventure fan who's looking for something a little quirky, lighthearted and fun.

Unlike Al Lowe's other games, Torin's Passage is a game the whole family can enjoy. It's like King's Quest 7 if Al Lowe had designed it. Similar graphics and similar interface. The artwork is gorgeous. The music is very good. There's lots of unique and mostly goofy characters. There are a few frustrating puzzles at the end of some chapters, and there's a couple of mazes that I don't care for, but most of the puzzles are good. The story is the best story you will find in an Al Lowe game. The voice acting is solid. The biggest negative is the humor. The game is unfunny, and when it tries to be funny it's just painful. But all in all, it's a game that every adventure game fan should play. P.S. I got a special message from Al Lowe at the end. Didn't you?

Fun, short, unpolished point-and-click game with weird, unique humor and storytelling. As others already stated, the game feels kinda rushed, especially the later worlds; it doesn't diminish the fun, though. Puzzles are medium to hard at times (musical notes and lemming positioning), story is short but enjoyable and the whole game lasts for 5-6 hours. I'm probably biased by nostalgia, but I give it a whole 5/5.

Despite the critical reviews this game gets on occasion, I can say it's worth playing. The game is almost identical to the 7th King's quest game (princeless bride) as far as graqphics go. If you liked that game, you will like this one seeing it's so similar. The game does have a lot of corny jokes, but the abundance of them is part of what made the game so funny. I would say this is definitely a game for younger gamers, but it's still fun for adults to. I am currently playing the game with my kids and it's a blast so far. I haven't had much trouble with the puzzles. It's your basic Sierra point and click adventure game. I'd recommend it for gamers who want something more family friendly. Great game!