Resonance has a lot to like. Its storytelling is solid, if not groundbreaking. Where Resonance most excels is the way story is woven into gameplay considerations. I cannot say much more on that topic without spoilers. Suffice it to say it does tweak the adventure game formula in ways old - e.g. switching between multiple characters - and new, such as a "Long Term Memory" system that provides an additional inventory of plot points. While no adventure game will send the player away without one or two harrowing puzzles one might wish had been cut, Resonance does better than most. The puzzles are largely sensible and pleasing, as opposed rubbing rubber ducks from your inventory over all the scenery. There are even a number of obstacles in the game with multiple solutions. Resonance does have its flaws. The story takes a slow pace for a good chunk of the game, requiring faith upfront that it's all going somewhere. In a more open mid-game section, the on-demand character switching can be as frustrating as it is fun or interesting, threatening to overwhelm the player with (largely fruitless) additional choices while only seeing real use in a handful of puzzles. I agree with the reviewer who noted that the Short Term Memory system is more often frustrating and a red herring than it is a justified part of the game. (The player can specifically mark items in the environment in order to bring them up in later conversation.) A single memory system that simply rewarded the player for examining important objects, rather than offering to let the player "bank" every single hotspot on screen, would likely have provided a smoother experience. I would wholeheartedly recommend Resonance to anyone who is a fan of the adventure genre. Interesting design meets a solid story. That story is a little slow to pick up speed, but it will engross you sooner or later and show you some fascinating and clever uses of the genre's tropes and mainstays as it does.
This is an excellent Sierra yarn, whose strengths and weaknesses are typical of the adventures the studio churned out in back in the day. On the one hand, Sins of the Fathers has Sierra's strengths in abundance: a solid story and voice cast backed by gorgeous artwork. I happily played the game all the way to the end because I wanted to find out where the characters were going and what would happen next. Sins of the Fathers has a much darker tone and story than most Sierra games, and I appreciated its commitment to its urban fantasy-style setting. On the other hand, this is a Sierra adventure to a T. Puzzles are frequently frustrating, requiring you to make odd leaps in reasoning, have picked up the correct random item elsewhere, be terrible to other characters to manipulate situations, or just plain old hunt for some very specific pixels. As someone who does not play adventure games for the puzzles, I happily resorted to a walkthrough at multiple points throughout the game. Ultimately, even if you haven't played Sins of the Fathers yet, I think you probably know whether it is for you. If you are an adventure game fan and like the sound of the story, dive in! But if you've had bad experiences with adventure genre puzzles before, I don't think this one will convince you differently.
