Inherit the Earth

Inherit The Earth: Quest for the Orb takes place in a world in which humans have disappeared and animals are left behind to interpret our legacy. After an artifact known as the Orb of Storms is stolen, Rif and his companions must venture forth to recover it. The journey takes them though a beautifully rendered world full of rolling hills, open plains, forests, mountains and other such vistas. Halfway through the game you're tasked with fixing a broken lens from a telescope. You're lead to a ferret village of builders who marvel at it and wonder how it could have been built. They consult an artificial intelligence, who they simply refer to The One Who Knows All, on how to build another. It's a world in which mankind is remembered for our seemingly magical technological and artistic achievements, and not that of destruction or cruelty. Don't look at the score above and think you'll enjoy the game as much as I did, but it's really hard to overstate just how much the wholesomeness and naivety of the animals contributes to the enjoyment of this game.

Just as I remembered! True to the original! Thank You!

So, we'll get one thing out of the way early on. I played Inherit the Earth when I was a young boy of 7 or so, I played Inherit the Earth when it was released. I have been quite fond of the game ever since, and I'm glad to see it available here. We'll bypass all of the Furry nonsense here. This game may have been adopted by that community, but it's not essential to the story in any way. Inherit the Earth is actually a post-apocalyptic piece, set in a future where mankind has gone extinct, and the only remains of their civilization are tantalizingly enigmatic ruins, and the Morphs; uplifted, genetically engineered animals. The story behind ItE:QftO is nothing special...it's a generic 'Clear your Name' trope, but the worldbuilding done along the way is outstanding. It's a shame to think that this game could have been so much more without the executive meddling that damned it to obscurity. For the price, you could do a whole lot worse than Inherit the Earth. It's a short, sweet little adventure game, and it takes you to a world that few other settings have dared.

so you played all the sierra adventures? and the lucasarts ones, too? and you didn't know what else was out there? well, allow me to introduce you to a wonderful game that has a fantastic setting, interesting characters [for the time] and an intriguing story: that game would be inherit the earth. inherit the earth starts with an introductory movie explaining that the humans have left the earth, but they sentient animals in their wake. sentience brings the ability to use hands and speak much as the humans did. it also brings curiosity and an interest in what might have happened to those self-same people who left them behind. culture and the like develop for the animals, but they're somewhat reliant on human tools, most notably a collection of orbs that have various functions: one to tell the seasons. one to give instructions on how to build things and various others that we do not meet during the course of this story. the story itself concerns the "season-telling" orb, known as the "orb of storms" by the animals. this gets stolen by a dastardly thief during the course of a faire. naturally, everyone assumes the fox did it. and it is that fox whom we play. his job, naturally, is to solve the mystery. this is done in typical point and click style with the verb interface made famous by lucasarts. most of the puzzles are logical, but there's some bad, bad downsides: the 3d is all isometric and awkwardly implemented. the designers felt the 3d was a good excuse to throw mazes at the player, too. the sound design is adequate, but musically, the tunes are too short [a relic of a bygone era, though.] - having said all this, the graphics are wonderful. should you buy this? absolutely. there's a care for lore here that's not often seen unless it's an rpg. it's a wonderful story that has it's faults but is worth your time. a warning, for those that find this sort of thing frustrating: it does cliffhang, but the story is carried on the official website.

This furry adventure is delightful, though I needed a guide because I got lost super quick. This game doesn't hold hands, and may need a little notepad at times so you can remember things like how to get through a labyrinth and how to leave it too. If you started getting into adventure games, retro gaming, or looking for somewhere to start, then this is excellent for that. I would have loved to see more in this world.