Comedy writing is tough. Stand-up and comedy films work because of a combination of written and visual humor and comedic timing. When you take out the human element and are forced to rely on the writing, it can be a crapshoot. How many books or games have made you laugh out loud solely based on dialogue? This game does. Sam and Max is REALLY funny. That alone makes it unique among point and clicks. And I don't mean just a chuckle here and there. There were times playing this game where I nearly cried laughing. Add to that a bunch of well designed puzzles and an intriguing story, and you can't get much better. Seriously.
If you want an early FPS that doesn't seem like a doom or quake clone, you could do much worse than Realms of the Haunting. A unique setting with a refreshing emphasis on story, character and atmosphere. You have a lot of "find X key for X door" puzzles, but it doesn't become un-fun. Where the game drops the ball somewhat are the maze-like levels, some of which are horribly dark and nigh-impossible to navigate. It was forgivable in doom and heretic when you had levels made entirely of the same few textures, not so much here. Still worth a look.
I don't mind difficult games that don't take the player by the hand: one of my favorite PC games is the original Pathalogic. However, this game just doesn't have very much to recommend it. I don't mind repetitive games if the main gameplay loop is fun, but it's very underwhelming here. The fact is, exploring samey environments gets boring fast, and there is very little motivation to keep trying. What story there is just comes off as pretentious. People are super defensive when you criticize this game, but I really just don't see much here worth playing. Hard "No" from me.
This game is brutal, depressing, and not exactly easy on the eyes. And I absolutely love it. The fact is, if a game is still fun even when you are doing horribly at it, it is doing something right. From what I've heard, the sequel is much more accessible, but the original Pathalogic is something special indeed.
I was hoping for a unique FPS with a fully fleshed out plot and characters, and exciting gameplay. What I got instead was a FPS that constantly took me by the hand. Honestly, it feels like you are on rails the whole time, and simply being led from one set piece to another. Sure the world "looks" interesting, but you don't really get a chance to explore it much. And rather than create an immersive world, the supporting cast just talk "at" a silent protagonist as if they were talking to the player, but it seems horribly unnatural in context. I suppose the actual FPS gameplay is functional, but that is an experience you can get just about anywhere these days. I'll pass...
I wanted to love this game so much, but visual flair will only take you so far. It's troubling that modern adventure games still fall prey to the same issues that plagued Sierra adventures and their ilk: inconsistent puzzle design and lack of internal logic. Even with all the new and unique worlds that we can create in modern point and clicks, something is lost if you are just simply clicking on everything to get through the level. Even when you do solve the puzzles, they are mostly an unsatisfying lot. I gave the game an extra point because I listen to the soundtrack sometimes while working. Otherwise, not worth your time, unfortunately.
There was a time back in the 80s and 90s when these games were churned out to a ridiculous degree, and looking back on it, many point and clicks from the era seem mostly like cookie-cutter copies of one another. This is not the case with LOOM. Lucasarts were simply geniuses when it came to creating original game worlds, and matching it to unique and inventive puzzle gameplay. It is a very short game, but even now there is nothing quite like it. A masterpiece.
These sort of stylized indie-platformers have become critical darlings the past few years, and to my knowledge, LIMBO did it first. The game involves a child platforming through a dark and scary world, but the story is told pretty much completely in-gameplay, and doesn't go too in-depth with plot or background lore. This is fine; there are still plenty of mysteries to unravel, some humerous bits, and even a few moments that might play with your emotions a bit. Gameplay-wise, everything works like it is supposed to: you jump around and solve puzzles. When you die, it is usually because you screwed up and mistimed a jump or other action. Like many early indie games it is somewhat short, and the set pieces lose a bit of their charm on subsequent replays, but this is still an undoubtedly great game.
Whenever talking about games such as these, the question always pops up: Is this an actual game? Having enjoyed FMV games on the Sega CD and such as a kid, perhaps I give these sorts of things more latitude than I should. But lets look at what Her Story does right: it is well written, reasonably well acted, and does have a certain replay value (assuming you don't cheat and just watch it like you would a movie). For a game such as this, that is all you can expect. The "gameplay" involves simply putting search terms in a computer. It works as such, and the main themes and setup are inventive, but the game as a whole is rather small in scope. The fact is that there is so many essential games on GOG that are more worth your time, but it's worth grabbing on sale as long as you keep your expectations in check.
What can I say? This game is a classic, and still holds up! Do yourself a favor, and avoid wasting too many points in swimming.
