Wadjet Eye is alway a good reference when it comes to point and click adventures. I liked the general story, the characters. The pixel hunting can be avoided by highlighting the hotspots. What I DIDN'T like was the missing voice acting for the main protagonist. Yes, I know, there are two genders and some unique lines which depend on the profession you chose. But the other characters also respond to that, so it can't cost THAT much. Later in the game you could say that it 'creative style' when it comes to possession. Still ... I like to hear my characters talk. After setting the graphics for the game I always experienced crashes. Every time after that I had to find the ini file (not the one in the game directory) and to reset some sound card parameters. But then again I didn't do that very often, it was just annoying. The amount of achievements is just ridiculous. Basically you need to play the game around 15 times to get them all. It would be 24 if it was not a basic requirement to always include one of the main protagonists.
First of all: I'm not much of a cyberpunk fan. I enjoy the setting once in a while, but I don't share the passion for it that other people have. So my opinion is mostly based from a point and click players point of view. For what it's worth, I DO like the setting. The main characters come from different social environment. One has all the goods, another one lives basically in a garbage can and mostly only has old outdated tech available (which she prefers anyway) and she brings along a good amount of cynism. She tries a little too hard to make sure, the player knows she is a notorious drunk, but that's just a minor detail. Gameplaywise it can compete with the better games from the past, it's as old fashioned as they come. It also shares some of their weaknesses (different forms of "can't do this right now"). The hot spots are big enough and can also be highlighted. I was a bit fed up by all these games in pixel look, but in Born Punk's case it fits. I had to get used for the mousewheel having two functions, one direction brings up the inventory, the other one a datapad where you can find more background information, unlocked by examining certain items in the world. Most of the time the puzzles so far are not all too difficult, in some cases there are multiple ways to solve them. You should not get stuck for all too long and lose the pace. The characters are believable, including the voice acting. And there really is a lot of it. Some bystanders don't have much to say, but the more important characters talk about stuff that's not always plot related, deliver more background info. In my opinion the datapad was not the best way to describe the world they live in, but it's does it's job. And of course there are some hommages to the classics, like the chainsaw fuel and an actual use for a red herring. There is a lot of contextual references in the game, everyone will find something to recognize.
I love the game (even if the music WAS changed from the original version) and would really like to buy it on GOG But until today the GOG version did not get the color update which both Steam and Epic version got. So no ... not even for a discount.
I am not all too thrilled about the game offering this content as additional DLC. Who wants to see the game in its full glory, needs this DLC. It would be all too easy to rant against the developers for such a rip off. But ... while they DID cut content from the original game, at the same time they sell the base game for a lower price than the full uncensored version on other platforms like itch.io Meaning: You have no disadvantage when you buy here, base game + DLC cost the same ... and without installing the DLC you can show the game to your Mom and friends. "Look what a fun adventure game about a bunch of crazy people this is!" I have no idea what would be a good rating for the explicit content, since I never played the game without it. So I gave it the same as the original game minus 1 point for being a DLC.
I owned this game on the PS4 pro, it's an open world that's not stuffed with activities. I loved the story and gameplay. Sure, the game had (and still has) some technical issues, like some invisible walls and sometimes very strange behaviour when it comes to lights (you can activate and deactivate sunlight or spotlights by stepping forward and back in certain places) and if you are used to games like Assassin's creed you have a hard time to comprehend why you can't climb in certain places. Climbing works completely with hotspots here. The story is good and compared to other games the text messages you find really add to understand what it was like for the persons involved. The main story talks about the big guys in charge, while the messages mostly are from people who suffered the consequences. So sure, I had to buy this game and I finally came to play it again on the PC and ... it's even better with mouse and keyboard than with gamepad, due to the higher precision. Also the game runs in high fps, currently I play in 4k with DLSS and except the one time after a driver crash I never had any fps drop. Also the short loading times (on a PS4 without SSD it could easily take one and a half minute to get to Meridian) add to the comfort. One could argue that in such a "early" society people on the one side are religious fanatics, but on the other side are very politically correct by modern standards when it comes to gender roles. In a society like this the main focus would be to get as many children that they can possibly feed. You just have to roll with it. All in all ... great game.
After the very disappointing third part, this sequel shines again. Solid puzzles, good narrative, good voice acting. Can't say much about the story without spoiling it. The controls work fine (other than in the previous game), but not all weaknesses have been eliminated. For example the hotspots are still quite small. If there is a large object, you can't just click anywhere on it. Instead, once you hover the mouse over it, the hotspot will appear, where you need to click the object. This can become annoying if the object is only partially visible on screen and the hotspot is offscreen. In that case you need to move the camera before you can see that the object is clickable. Also - again - the voice of Kate Walker sounds very different from all the voices, as if it was recorded with some smartphone or voice recorder. Why isn't it possible to get the voice actress to the same studio as the others or at least send her a decent micropone? Sokal's adventures have their own style and this game follows their spirit. If you liked the first two parts, you will also like this one and probably dislike it if you didn't like them.
After the disappointing third game this one shines. The controls are good, the puzzles are just what you expect, the voice acting solid. Can't say much about the story without spoiling too much. Sadly, also this time the voice of Kate Walker sounds completely different than the rest, like it was done with a mobile voice recorder. I don't know why they can't manage to bring her voice actress to the same recording studio as the others or at least send her a good microphone. It still has some of the weaknesses of earlier games, like the hotspot locations. If there is a large piece of paper, why can't I just click anywhere on the area? No, there is one specific point on that piece of paper that needs to be clicked. At least that point is marked now when the mouse enters that object. This becomes annoying when part of the object including the hotspot is off camera. If you don't like Sokal-Adventures, you should not touch this one, it's made in the same spirit, even if some of the weaknesses are gone. You got to like that style, otherwise you will be disappointed. If you didn't play them already, grab Syberia 1 and 2 first, they can often be found discounted or for free. This game has many references to the previous games. Also this way you can see if you like the narrative style.
I didn't know this game before, bought it spontaneously. It has a nice pace, plays just like most others adventures of it's era. So far I haven't enountered any fance riddles. I still prefer LEC games or games like Simon, but if you played them all already, go and grab it. But do yourself a favor and enter the sound options. You can get there by exiting to DOS and then launch install.exe. It's set to Soundblaster in the default settings, you should use "Sound Blaster Pro" instead, if you don't have a Roland emulator. The music with of SB Pro sounds way better than the original Soundblaster.
