Yesterday

Well. I'm not going to say this is a BAD game,.. But: First of, While the graphics look pretty good and stylised in the screenshots, when it comes to movement and the game itself.. they fall a bit flat.. Backgrounds using a mixture of flited photo and rendered aren't too bad and give a nice style in many places, but these doesn't quite sit well with the pre-rendered 3D which suffer from poor animation and some silted poses, They try to go for a cell shaded cartoon style to match bits like the backgrounds but often (the Shop is a prime example) the characters look like they are from a completely different world.. This isn't a killer, but it can be a little off-putting. Second: The Inventory system is a bit of a nightmare but some of that might be my issue, when you try to click and drag an object, it often just clicks on the object. There is also a thing where if you try some combinations, it'll tell you that it's not gonna work, yet other times it just doesn't let you do it.. Making it seam a little half arsed. Third: Story.. well.. It's pretty short, underdeveloped and simple. You got a little intro which ends up pretty much telling you MOST of what the 'mystery' in the game is, with hints about other stuff that isn't developed in any real detail.' Very few of the characters have any real motivation or are that likeable. If you have played the old Broken Sword, you will see a lot of the story threads from that, yet that game is over twice the size of this one and does seam far more developed. The 'PR' of release of a detective story and odd people with the scar, doesn't really relate to much that happens in the game. I have nothing against short fun adventure stories, but it does come to the 'price for quality' and.. as of writing this: full price is about £7, which isn't worth it. You can pick up many another adventure which gives more for that. At sale price of £2, it's fair enough. If this game got no attention when it first came out, its easy to see why.

Having read the "most helpful" reviews and seeing that the game was on sale I decided to give it a go. I havent played any games from Pendulo studies before but calling this "polished" is overselling it. The pros -> the artstyle and how unpredictable the game was at times. The tip system. The negative -> Honestly most other things. The game just doesnt feel finished. Audio is missing all over the place. The game was completely quite so often I thought it was bugged. I still dont know.. but why wouldnt they have a gun shot sound when guns are used? Story parts isnt there, for example suddenly a character shows up and given 1 sentence on why they decided to join you. Why not have a proper conversation or scene with them before? There are many story elements that are missing as well. The guy learn certain skills and they never shows us the process. This seems odd. They also use these skills just once so it doesnt even feel like a proper part of the character. More like a "get out of jail free card". Another example is how the characters speak about most of the story instead of us playing them. Most characters are odd at best with little depth. The story and some characters are interesting as well as certain ideas but needed way more time to be built up. The climax comes too early and is not satisfying. I bought this game and the "Yesterday origins" on a sale so I really didnt pay a lot for them. Id recommend buying on sale if you truly are desperate for an adventure game but else id sit this one out. The company has good ideas but this game needed way more time.

I really like the adventures from Pendulo. Yesterday is a very good game with a great atmosphere and soundtrack. The help function really helps you if you got stuck. Unfortunately the game is way too short. When you click on something you get a description as text. It would be so much more fun if there were a narrator like in Gabriel Knight 1. The game ran perfectly on my Win10 Notebook, not a single technical problem.

I played the sequel first and did like it better than this one. I thought this was a pretty good game and would recommend. It makes you think about solutions. Dark material, good graphics, makes you want to keep playing. I would recommend this and Yestereday Origins. I had no bugs or crashes on either.

5 stars when on sale This is one of the most unusual point-&-click stories I have ever played. Very well written with diabolical plot twists, nuanced characters, and such clever foreshadowing that I didn't pick up on it until I watched a quick replay prior to writing this review. The dialogue and voice acting are so well done that I actually looked forward to the numerous Q & A sessions between characters in the game where all you see are just two head portraits that talk back and forth. Not to mention this has one of the best villains I have seen in a game, or anywhere for that matter. The puzzles are OK. A few clever ones. A few annoying ones that I had to solve with a guide. Mostly they are the usual P & C fare that aren't mind blowing nor irritating enough to make you quit. If you are an adventure game fan, you owe it to yourself to check it out. When it is on sale, there is no reason not to. Even not on sale, a lot of adventure fans would consider it worthwhile. I would if it had better and more puzzles.