Rosewater

This is a great game. The puzzles are few and simple and the game itself straddles the point-and-click and visual novels genres with the focus on the narrative much more than a typical point-and-click. Thank being said, the story and dialogues are very well written and engaging, the characters interesting and the voice acting top notch. I can only recommend it.

The trouble with being over half a century old is, I KNOW what all the old classic point and click adventure games look like, and I've played most of them. I've got very good at spotting these god-awful try-hard "we're being really retro here cos we can't be bothered doing proper artwork" feeble efforts. Rosewater is NOT one of these. I've looked at trailers for the previous games from this developer but they look very much like they were working up to this game. Rosewater manages to mix the older cartoony style with a few modern effects, which is a VERY tricky balance to pull off. But Grundislav Games have definitely done it. This game will NOT remind you of "classic LucasArts games" - which is a go-to of anyone who only ever played what PC Gamer told them to play. What this game looks most similar to is the equally great Jack Orlando. Rosewater has the perfect blend of what appear to be hand-drawn backgrounds, with just the right amount of character animation, great voice acting, good special effects techniques, and the lack of fuss in the scenes helps me focus on the actual story. What I really enjoy is the fact that when they're going through the dialogue, the character movements actually change per line of dialogue when they're talking. This is a really nice thing to see over the often 1 single animated movement throughout dialogue. One thing I am not a fan of is the use of the middle mouse button - this is not a great mechanic for a point and click adventure game. But it's just not a big enough downer to bring my score down. This is a really nicely done point and click adventure, with all the graphical techniques perfectly balanced. I love it. It should be great for anyone who is new to this genre too, as it's very easy to pick up, without being TOO simplified (though it has been compared to the likes of, say, Sanitarium). Perfect game for a wind down after work. I can't wait to see what this developer does next.

Rosewater is a wonderful Wild West Adventure point-and-click game. Great story and characters. Voice acting was on point for all the different characters. Your choices do matter for the outcome which is nice so you have a reason to replay it. The puzzles makes sense not like in some of these type of games. Enjoyed it all the way to the end.

I hate to rate this a 4 because of how much I loved about it. Don't get me wrong - this is a genuinely phenomenal piece of work in terms of art and presentation but I think most seasoned adventure game vets will find this a bit disappointing because of how easy it is. And I hate to dock this marks for that because of the sheer scope of presentation on display but I want my 4/5 to speak towards the abject quality of Rosewater. The art is phenomenal and the work that has gone in to this is unquestionable but in terms of gameplay, I have to admit that it feels like I'm largely sleepwalking through the puzzles. And if you play adventure games for the puzzles, I don't know if you're going to love this. I'm relatively early into the game (about an hour or so) but so far, I haven't experienced a lot of the classic point & click adventure game experience. That being said, there's a ton about Rosewater that absolutely is worth picking up for. I've previously mentioned the art and the work that's on display here is palpable. This is an absolute testament to how far you can push AGS if you try. Overall, the voice acting is extremely competent. And this is a minor complaint but I kind of wish our heroine may have had an accent that was more in line with the western theme but overall, very solid all around. Again, I hate to rate this lower than a 5 because of the sheer work that is on display here. but as a game, so far I'm not really feeling my experince. Don't get me wrong - the story that's here is enjoyable and if that's more of what you're interested in, don't hesitate to pick up a copy. If you love westerns, grab a copy. But if you grew up with adventure games and expect to bang your head against the wall for months at a time trying to guess the next step in an obtuse 16 step puzzle, you may come out of this a bit disappointed. But even if you did, I think there's plenty otherwise to enjoy here and I would wholeheartedly recommend that you experience this for yourself.

The usual, excellent Grundislav game. Great graphics, good story line, multiple paths to choose from, nice soundtrack and music.