The game is very creepy and surrealistic, the puzzles are quite good, although maybe a bit repetitive towards the end. Overall, a very good game. That said... I have it on my mobile. It's free. I don't understand why they're charging money here.
My first Wadjet Eye game has been Primordia, who's been literally a blast to me. Then I read very good reviews about the Blackwell Bundle, so I bought it. It's a solid game, but not that masterpiece I was anticipating. In fact, Primordia is still better (at least in my opinion). I had Shardlight on my radar all along, it had the same post-apocalyptic settings as Primordia, same Wadjet Eye quality, it looked like the perfect pick, but I was held back by the mediocre ratings. I mean, Primordia has a 4.7 (which is well deserved), the Blackwell Bundle has a 4.5 (a bit overrated, if you ask me), so the 4 given to Shardlight was a recipe for delusion. Now that I've finished it, I wonder if I was playing a total different game. I mean, guys! What's wrong with you? This game is fantastic, how could you possibly give it a 4? The story is beautiful. As I said, it's set on a dystopic world where everything is basically hopeless. I don't know, maybe it's too much nihilism for the average people, I personally love that stuff. I really don't see any negative point on this game. Ok, some puzzles are meh (sometimes you get stuck only because you didn't talk - yet again - with some NPC that has a new line of dialogue for you), but even the best adventure games have some lame puzzles. In the end, I really loved the game, it's even better than Primordia (so if you liked that one, you can buy this blindfolded).
This game is definitely a classic: the SCUMM engine was developed for (and named after) this game, it started the golden age of point-and-click adventure, blabla... All this said, I can't help but thinking it was already old when I was a kid (and I'm 40 years old, so it's saying something...). I mean, most of the game from the '90s are abandonware, how can you charge 5€ for this one? What's wrong with you, Disney's? I mean, if you get Day of the Tentacle on sale, you'll spend more or less the same money and have Maniac Mansion bundled with it for free. What's the deal?
I bought this game as soon as it was on sale because, well... It marked my childhood, I had to have it. Of course, I didn't touch it for long because I already finished it almost 30 years ago (as I said, I just have to have it). Then I didn't like GOG's version of Loom and wanted to check this one too. As soon as I started the game, something felt odd: the user interface is not the original one (I don't even consider the new graphics, to me they're just b*shit), it's the update with the pictures of the objects in the inventory instead of the text. I mean, if you didn't play the game back in the days, you will definitely enjoy it, even with the new graphics (after all, it's the best adventure game ever, you have to!), but don't buy it out of nostalgia. Just don't. In general, you shouldn't buy any of the Lucas Arts's (now Disney's) classic adventures: most of the games from that era are now abandonware, but these ones they charge you money because, you know... retro-gaming is cool nowadays... I understand new graphics and such could justify the price, but as a nostalgia player I can't care less about it: I just want the original game without have to spend half a day tweaking DOSBox, ScummVM or whatever. Moreover, many of these games didn't even receive an overhaul, so why they're charging money for? They're just making profit out of nowhere. Just don't buy them. I got fooled twice, you don't have to.
I didn't play this game when it first came out (I've always been more of a Lucasfilm guy), but now that I've finished it, I can definitely see the praise it's got was well deserved. The story is really engaging, one of the best among all adventures I've played (and I've played a lot). It peeks on many common tropes but it always puts its own twist on them. There are tons of lines of dialogues for you to dive in, if you're into that kind of stuff, and they're never obvious, always giving up small clues or simply adding depth to the story. The puzzles have been more of a mixed bag to me: many are clever but some are just unfair. Some clues are really far-fetched and there is always something to prevent you from brute-force you out of the empasse. Moreover, it's not unusual to have to go pixel-hunting. I can see that some jokes are very sexist, especially by today's standards, but the game is ultimately a product of its time, plus it never takes itself too seriously, so people should take it easy or just pass.
The atmosphere is superb, the gameplay is quite simple but very well structured. The kid will die a lot and each time you will be scared by the trap, sad to see how he's killed, mad at how stupid he's been not to jump on time... But on top of all that, you'll be asking yourself: "Why?" Why the kid is there? What's he looking for (probably his sister, I believe it's hinted somewhere but never explained)? Why the other kids behave like that? Why the world is so unforgiving? It's something difficult to explain, that goes beyong being just a great video game.
The games are quite short (especially the first episode) and their stories are very intertwined (you shouldn't play them out of order) so it makes sense they come in a bundle. Moreover, the gameplay varies quite a lot, so I'll review them individually. LEGACY: as I said, the game is quite short and there isn't much to do at any moment. It's essentially an introduction to the storyline. The main characters are quite stereotypical and not much relatable, but the story itself is interesting. I didn't like the clue system, but fortunately it improves in the other installments. UNBOUND: you get to play with the aunt of the protagonist (which is a lot more cool) and I really enjoyed the story (probably the second best of them all). Unfortunately, the gameplay isn't that great. You still have to match clues in your notebook, but less often, and you have to search clues through the phone-book as well. The search is text-driven (like in the very first adventure games) and it sucks. CONVERGENCE: here things start to be fully-polished. The story is really interesting and the gameplay is smooth. The notebook is still there and now you have a mobile phone instead of the phone-book, but everything plays a lot better. In my opinion, the best of the bunch. DECEPTION: it plays more or less like the previous one, the story looks promising but towards the end becomes bland and mediocre. Still a decent adventure game, though. To conclude, I purchased this bundle because I've read very good reviews about it. It looked like it rivaled with the classic Lucasfilm adventure. It is not the case, trust me. Nonetheless, they're still very good games. In fact,I think I could safely recommend any Wadjet Eye adventure game.
Each time I play it, I learn new mechanics. Each time I die in a new, unexpected way. Really, there are so many things going on it looks like you could never finish it. Then you realize there are several DLCs that add yet more content to it and you almost feel overwhelmed. The graphics are gorgeous, the music is in perfect tune with the settings, I took the game on sale and it was the money best spent in my life. Literally. If I have to make a criticism, I don't like the combat system. It makes the game very punishing, especially because it implements perma-death. I'd prefer to just focus on the survival aspects, instead of having to fight each now and then, although I reckon it only adds more depth to the game. Surely one of the best games of the last decade available on GOG. Definitely a must-buy.