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[KiNeMz]

This thread is win. Followed.

 

[dok1or]

Something like Firewatch / What Remains of Edith Finch ---- The Suicide of Rachel Foster

 

[ThatStupidLion]

Hi guys, if any of you got an iPad or iPhone, esteemed mobile adventure developer Glitch Games has released a great Point’n’Click (or rather Point’n’Tap in this case) game on iOS: Veritas.

got one thanks!!

linked for new page

 

[frogmeetsdog]

got one thanks!!


linking glitchgames post and codes below

I linked the site instead of copy-pasting the codes on purpose: 1. Didn‘t know if the dev would be ok with copying his post to another site and also 2. wanted to give Toucharcade and the thread a little bit of traffic, maybe finding some new visitors. They are the only real mobile gaming site left after all. Would be cool if you could just repost the link as I did or at least add it to your post.

 

[frogmeetsdog]

got one thanks!!

linked for new page

Thanks for the edit, really appreciate it.

Hope you‘ll enjoy Veritas. Played about an hour yesterday and it‘s really good, no difference to a good PC point‘n‘click adventure. Glitch is one of the last good adventure devs left on iOS, hope the game sells reasonably well.

Was a bit surprised though that (apparently) still that many codes were available - When I read the post after 6 days was sure there‘d be none left (they‘re one of the most esteemed mobile adventure devs after all - But at least gave me a chance to share the codes with you guys). Which one worked for you if I may ask, did you have to try a few first?

 

[ThatStupidLion]

Thanks for the edit, really appreciate it.

Hope you‘ll enjoy Veritas. Played about an hour yesterday and it‘s really good, no difference to a good PC point‘n‘click adventure. Glitch is one of the last good adventure devs left on iOS, hope the game sells reasonably well.

Was a bit surprised though that (apparently) still that many codes were available - When I read the post after 6 days was sure there‘d be none left (they‘re one of the most esteemed mobile adventure devs after all - But at least gave me a chance to share the codes with you guys). Which one worked for you if I may ask, did you have to try a few first?

got it on the first go. just picked the last one and it was unused.

 

[Vampire On Titus]

Awesome thread. I have been missing this genre, and almost assumed it was extinct.

Thank you for making a games topic post. Great genre and so may great titles.

This thread is win. Followed.

Thanks for the appreciation, broskis. Hopefully you found out about a few cool looking games you may not have otherwise.

World of Horror entered early access on Steam today. I played a bit tonight, and it's pretty cool so far. A strangely awesome mashup of point n click "Shadowgate" style adventure games, mixed with light rpg elements set in a Junji Ito/Lovecraft world of 80's Japan wrapped up in an 80's Macintosh package.

I really dig the look of it. I don't see many developers going for that 1 bit style but you're right it looks exactly like the old Icom Simulations MacVentures. Shadowgate, Deja Vu, Uninvited. I've only ever messed around with the NES versions, though. Reminds me that I still need to play Obra Dinn.

 

[frogmeetsdog]

got it on the first go. just picked the last one and it was unused.

Wow, really speaks to the missing popularity of (even quality-)adventures on mobile atm. The game would deserve more attention. But at least that means there‘ll probably still be a few codes available:

Just in case anyone missed it ThatStupidLion has kindly reposted a link of mine that landed on the bottom of page 2: Free codes for the great, new iOS adventure Veritas. The game normally costs $5/€5,50 but with one of the App Store codes you can redeem it for free. Seems there are still some up for grabs, so if you‘ve got an iPhone/iPad definitely check it out (link third post from the top)

 

[Fuz]

iOS

 

[frogmeetsdog]

Hey it‘s free, a great point‘n’click adventure and I‘m probably not the only (PC) gamer who has an (old) iPad/iPhone lying around somewhere. It‘s a great 5$ game for free, how often does that happen here? Just trying to be helpful.

Hope your head didn‘t get this angry red in real life though

 

[Vampire On Titus]

Lair of the Clockwork God is out today, btw. Still making my way through Ace Investigations 2 but I've got my eye on this. If the reviews and impressions are looking good I'll have to play through all the Ben & Dan games and see what's up.

 

[Siri]

Something like Firewatch / What Remains of Edith Finch ---- The Suicide of Rachel Foster

Has anyone here played this, The Suicide of Rachel Foster?

 

[frogmeetsdog]

Lair of the Clockwork God is out today, btw. Still making my way through Ace Investigations 2 but I've got my eye on this. If the reviews and impressions are looking good I'll have to play through all the Ben & Dan games and see what's up.

Was looking forward to this one as well, thanking PhoenixTank bringing it to my attention (and the key for the first two games). Played half of the first title (Ben There, Dan That) so far and the game‘s great, especially if one likes classic Lucas Arts style adventures. Cherry on top would be voice overs but pity they were (and still are) out of the small indie dev‘s budget range.

Aware this one is a bit different compared to the first two with the platforming stuff in the mix but imo that‘s a darn interesting concept I can‘t remember having been tried much before. Anyway, so far reviews look pretty good (have to find a negative one yet), can‘t wait to give the game a try

 

[Vampire On Titus]

Was looking forward to this one as well, thanking PhoenixTank bringing it to my attention (and the key for the first two games). Played half of the first title (Ben There, Dan That) so far and the game‘s great, especially if one likes classic Lucas Arts style adventures. Cherry on top would be voice overs but pity they were (and still are) out of the small indie dev‘s budget range.

Aware this one is a bit different compared to the first two with the platforming stuff in the mix but imo that‘s a darn interesting concept I can‘t remember having been tried much before. Anyway, so far reviews look pretty good (have to find a negative one yet), can‘t wait to give the game a try

Yeah, the critical reception is looking good so far. The only other examples I can think really combining platforming with a LucasArts style adventure game would be Ron Gilbert's The Cave and Linus Spacehead's Cosmic Crusade. But when you have to go as obscure as Linus Spacehead for comparison's sake you know you've got a novel concept.



Pushing Up Roses also did a review of the MegaDrive remake of Cosmic Crusade, Cosmic Spacehead.


I miss her regular adventure related content.

 

[GreenAlien]

Just played through "Detention". It's under 5 hours and has a really nice horror atmosphere. Puzzles are for the most part pretty easy and there is almost no time consuming backtracking. It's 3.99 if you take a month of basic origin access (which allows you to play a lot of other games as well, particularly relevant for this thread are Dear Esther, Vampyr, Fran Bow, Deponia games, Book of Unwritten Tales 1+2...)

 

[frogmeetsdog]

Sooo, Wadjet Eye gave Lair Of The Clockwork God a positive review on Steam:



That’s as great a recommendation for an adventure if there is any. Suppose especially for Vampire On Titus and Fuz this is sign for a must play now

I‘ve played through about 1 hour so far. For the platforming sections I definitely feel more comfortable with a controller, alas this is a little buggy so far though. Instead of showing the correct commands on the left side like with mouse and keyboard the game writes "insert sprite here" or something in that vein for every command which is a little distracting. Also the platforming is a bit rough around the edges, a bit stuttering, sometimes a little inaccurate and glitchy like Dan falling into the floor every now and then.

The PnC section controls better with mouse and keyboard of course but as the game is completely playable with a controller they had to make some concessions here as well, so both options don’t feel completely natural.

Overall the game‘s pretty good though. The humor is definitely one of the highlights ("combining inventory items is so 90s, you gotta call that crafting now" ), puzzles are clever and get you thinking but never stuck for all too long (that’s a pretty nice feat, as most areas haven’t been too big so far). All in all the platforming/PnC mashup hasn’t completely clicked with me yet but I’ll definitely come back for more.

 

[Fuz]

I'm not really a fan of the art style. Also, the "gamepad concessions" issue is one of the things that really bother me.

 

[Vampire On Titus]

Still making my way through Ace Investigations 2 and with Beautiful Desolation coming out tomorrow that's likely to be the next game I play afterward. I will get to Lair eventually, though.

 

[Fuz]

I will get to Lair eventually, though.

I'll keep telling that to my backlog

 

[Fuz]

I also was wondering about that missing scene because I don't have it either. I even went through the game again thinking it might be some NG+ bonus thing. The game is by it's nature very linear so I'm not sure where I would have missed anything but I'm gonna try to look it up later.

Spoiler

 

[dok1or]

Beautiful Desolation is released today on Steam!
____________

Oh, ultrawide support!!!
Thank You - Thank You!!!

I must go into night shift, but tomorrow I will get into this!
Loved Stasis!

 

[Vampire On Titus]

Beautiful Desolation is released today on Steam!
____________

Oh, ultrawide support!!!
Thank You - Thank You!!!

I must go into night shift, but tomorrow I will get into this!
Loved Stasis!

Got my copy and Im going to start playing soon. Unfortunately wasn't able to finish AI2 before BD's release... but I can't wait. Gatta play this game ASAP.

 

[Vampire On Titus]

Im about 4 hours in to Beautiful Desolation and im really liking it so far, I'm properly stuck in. The setting and visual design is biggest draw. This is a really unique, well realized world. The time really melts away while you're running along exploring, taking in all the detail. So far the puzzles have been fairly simple. Easier than STASIS, for sure. I also think that plot wise they could have done a better job establishing the primrose and how it changed society before jumping the characters into the future. I feel the trailers they put out pre-release did a better job of that. It's kinda funny that they have an in game optional mini-doc for you to watch that's basically a worse version of their story trailer.

Things pick up after the time skip, though. The plot starts going and there's a lot of interesting characters that feel distinctly a part of Beautiful Desolation's world. I appreciate all the bonding moments you get with your two companion characters as well. It reminds me of Unavowed but BD's way of handling it, mechanically, is actually a bit more natural.

4 Hours in it still feels like the game is in it's early stages so I'm expecting BD is fairly long. About to jump back in.

 

[Vampire On Titus]

Been playing more BD and this game is really something special. It's got some problems, the puzzles could be stronger imo, but (even though I hate this cliche) this game is really more than the sum of it's parts. It's been a while since I played a game like this where the hours just melt away because Im totally engrossed. They really made the hell out of this world. It's not perfect, I've run into some a few issues that did frustrate me but at about 15+ hours in now it feels like 3.

Despite some flaws, this could be a modern classic if it nails the ending. I really hope it does.

 

[Kenpachii]

Another great episode of the War Stories series. For a 23 minute video this is a very in depth look at the technical hurdles of Myst's development with some interesting early Cyan history as well. Makes me want to do a proper playthrough of it as Myst is one of those classic adventure games I've never completed. I did own the Sega Saturn version back in the day, funnily enough. Way too young to solve the puzzles at that time, though.

I miss these games.

 

[Vampire On Titus]

So I finished Beautiful Desolation and it's a great game. The ending is something I've been mulling over since I finished it and I'm finding it more satisfying the more I think on it, which is a good sign. In general it's a gorgeous, epic, and unique adventure game that may very well be regarded as a classic in this genre as time goes on.

Pros:
Stunningly gorgeous visuals.
Fully realized and unique setting. Extremely impressive work.
Varied and memorable cast of characters.
Engaging lore behind the game's world.
Interesting moral decisions.
An epic 13+ hour adventure.

Cons:
Occasionally confusing in terms of who you should talk to or where to go next.
The game's structure is too reliant on fetch quests.
A lot of lore to keep track off. The game's non linearity can make it hard to keep track of details.

Other:
Puzzles are mixed. For the most part I found them a bit too easy, inoffensive though, with a couple more engaging examples sprinkled throughout.
Learning South African curse words is educational.
There's a golden penis.

I had a great time playing Beautiful Desolation. I'd give it an 8.7/10. The Brotherhood really flexed their talent on this one and I think they've solidified themselves as an important AG developer.

 

[ThatStupidLion]

ahhhh just wrapped Kyrandia 2. ive beaten it a few times overall, but it has so much personality I just love it and always wind up revisiting every few years.

I think Zanthia is actually a great female MC too.

the third act always leaves me wanting though. its certainly the weakest.

 

[Vampire On Titus]

ahhhh just wrapped Kyrandia 2. ive beaten it a few times overall, but it has so much personality I just love it and always wind up revisiting every few years.

I think Zanthia is actually a great female MC too.

the third act always leaves me wanting though. its certainly the weakest.

The Kyrandia series is another oldschool that I need to get to eventually. I'm not super big on traditional Tolkien esque fantasy or fairy tale fantasy so it was never really on my radar but I just looked up the intro to Kyrandia 2 and it looks cool. Zanthia tying that swamp monsters tongue in a knot then saying "watch it, slime-ball!" with that 'tude laden 90s sarcasm sold me on it.

Another game to add to the list.



Video just dropped of the PAX East Adventure Games panel. The subject was the future of adventure games so it's kinda humorous that everyone on the panel makes (graphically, at least) retro style adventure games. It was a decently interesting discussion, though. Dave Gilbert drops the first small bits of info on Wadjet Eye's next game. That part starts at 27:16. Cliff's notes version is that Dave's new game is based around a female protagonist with time travel powers. He talks about the importance of designing puzzles around a character's unique abilities. Glad to see they're right back at it after the unfortunate indefinite hiatus of Technobabylon 2 due to James Dearden's health issues.



Funnily enough the subject of VR adventure games came up in the PAX panel and immediately afterward I stumbled upon this one. It looks pretty cool too. It's an adaptation of Alice In Wonderland and I like the look of Alice's design. When I think about the potential of VR adventure games it tends to be more along the lines of what Cyan is doing with their upcoming Firmament. But this sort of "peeking into a diorama" style is cool too.

The game is scheduled to release later this month on the 26th.

 

[Vampire On Titus]

New trailer for a Q4 2020 game "Lake." The trailers overall feel is reminiscent of life is strange. A female protagonist returning to her small hometown with a soundtrack of gentle acoustic indie rock plays in the background. The story seems a bit more mature and a bit more rural than LiS, though. The devs describe the Lake as combination between an adventure game and driving sim. It's got a simple but appealing cartoon artstyle, similar to Crowns & Pawns. Pretty neat stuff.

It's September 1, 1986. You take on the role of 40-something Meredith Weiss, who returns to her beautiful hometown Providence Oaks in Oregon. She exchanges her busy career job to temporary fill in for her dad, a mail carrier.

Meredith has an eventful two weeks. She meets lots of new people, gets into romances, helps prevent the construction of apartments, gets reconnected with her bff, rats or bails out a colleague, and gets pushed by her boss back home to recommit to her career job.

The player has lots of impact on how this personal story develops. A myriad of dialogue options and actions enables each player to experience the game in a unique way. The ending of the game will be especially dramatic.

• Lake is a unique game experience: a fusion of traditional story-driven point & click adventure, free-roaming driving sim and modern narrative adventure.
• Players can be part of an interactive story that doesn't shy away from slice-of-life themes, and narrative options are never presented in a black-and-white way; one choice will not feel better than others.
• Players have the possibility to shape the main character's story through refined branching narratives.
• Each player will have their own unique playthrough thanks to intricately branching narratives.
• Lake will feature 3 different endings based on the player's choices.
• Lake is a game of second chances: the main intention is to provide a relaxing experience for exploring the world and its inhabitants. If a player chooses a certain dialogue option, they will always be able to correct any 'mistakes' they may fear they have made in their choices. Lake is not a game you need to play with a walk-through in hand.
• A beautiful environment players can drive through.
• Set in the pre-digital 1980's, Lake offers a break from today's ever-connected, never- alone society.

Here's a game that I've been seeing around for a little while now but the new trailer for it got me more interested, "9 Noir Lives." It's a cat themed comedy noir adventure game with a "lick" verb that I'm sure the developers will get a lot of mileage out of.

"Wait - did you say the Knitty Kitty Club? Where all the criminals hang out?"
"Not all of them, Tabby. I’m sure some hang out in...uh, dark alleyways, and large empty warehouses down at the docks, and such."

Welcome to Meow Meow Furrington, capital city of cats, home of the world's biggest ball of yarn...and hotbed of crime. You are Cuddles Nutterbutter, feline private investigator and owner of two perfectly normal-sized paws, the doctor said so.

After agreeing to take on a last-minute case for the Chief of Police, you and your plucky assistant find yourselves investigating a murder that risks upsetting the careful balance between the city's two most powerful crime families: the Montameeuws and the Catulets.

Cuddles will need to use every skill he's learned - as well as his definitely-not-smaller-than-average paws - to poke, lick and talk his way through to the heart of the mystery...before some very dangerous cats decide to take matters into their own paws. Which, to clarify, are absolutely regular-sized.Key Features

• Play through a charming comedy-noir storyline inspired by every cat ever, with fewer cat puns than you might expurrct.
• Explore the unique and intriguing city of Meow Meow Furrington across over fifty attractive, hand-drawn screens.
• Interact with over twenty-five hilarious characters.
• Discover a whole new dimension to everything in the game by using your wits tongue. Lick first, and ask questions later. Questions like "what did you expect that to taste like, Cuddles?"
• Experience the city from two very different perspectives as you switch between Cuddles and his capable assistant, Tabby Marshmallow.
• Laugh and learn about the world of Furth with sixty thousand words of fully-voiced dialogue.
• Solve puzzles both fun and fiendish - but never unfair.

 

[Fuz]

Lake looks pretty nice.

I'll probably start Beautiful Desolation soon. Get ready for rants.

 

[Vampire On Titus]

Lake looks pretty nice.

I'll probably start Beautiful Desolation soon. Get ready for rants.

I was born ready.

 

[Fuz]

I was born ready.

I always make that joke too.
Don't make popcorns yet thoigh, I started yesterday night and fell asleep on the keyboard on the first room. Now I've got a busy week and not sure how much will I play.

*Very* first impression: I really, really liked the intro. Super cool. It has some sort of "retro" quality that I felt I really missed. But I don't like the pointing & clicking system, and - pet peeve - I hate not being able to change the inventory key. I'm sure I will love the game, though. So, get ready for a mix of rants and praise.

 

[CitizenX3639]

Thanks for the appreciation, broskis. Hopefully you found out about a few cool looking games you may not have otherwise.



I really dig the look of it. I don't see many developers going for that 1 bit style but you're right it looks exactly like the old Icom Simulations MacVentures. Shadowgate, Deja Vu, Uninvited. I've only ever messed around with the NES versions, though. Reminds me that I still need to play Obra Dinn.

I recommend the site Adventuregamers its probably one of the few that highlights the genre in a very simple format.

 

[Vampire On Titus]

Mipumi Games, who you may know from 2016's "The Lion's Song," came out with a new trailer yesterday. The game is called "The Flower Collectors" and it seems to be an anthropomorphic murder mystery from the vantage point of someone observing events through their apartment window. Seems like the steady flow of animal detective games shows no signs of stopping.

I always make that joke too.
Don't make popcorns yet thoigh, I started yesterday night and fell asleep on the keyboard on the first room. Now I've got a busy week and not sure how much will I play.

*Very* first impression: I really, really liked the intro. Super cool. It has some sort of "retro" quality that I felt I really missed. But I don't like the pointing & clicking system, and - pet peeve - I hate not being able to change the inventory key. I'm sure I will love the game, though. So, get ready for a mix of rants and praise.

The interface did take some getting used to but I warmed up to it after like 30 min ~ 1 hour. I don't think the typical style of dragging your mouse cursor along to investigate items would have worked well with the densely detailed, large, isometric environments. Reviewers for sure would have torn that to shreds. An option would have been nice but ultimately it was similar enough that I got used to it fairly quick.

Ready for these rants as always.

I recommend the site Adventuregamers its probably one of the few that highlights the genre in a very simple format.

Yeah I read advgamers fairly frequently. And I intend to keep reading it even though they gave Life Is Strange 2 an aggie for best writing. **Shudder**

I miss these games.

You should keep an eye on Cyan's upcoming game, Firmament, then (assuming you aren't already). It's basically a spiritual successor to Myst and it's looking quite good tbh.

 

[Kenpachii]

Mipumi Games, who you may know from 2016's "The Lion's Song," came out with a new trailer yesterday. The game is called "The Flower Collectors" and it seems to be an anthropomorphic murder mystery from the vantage point of someone observing events through their apartment window. Seems like the steady flow of animal detective games shows no signs of stopping.




The interface did take some getting used to but I warmed up to it after like 30 min ~ 1 hour. I don't think the typical style of dragging your mouse cursor along to investigate items would have worked well with the densely detailed, large, isometric environments. Reviewers for sure would have torn that to shreds. An option would have been nice but ultimately it was similar enough that I got used to it fairly quick.

Ready for these rants as always.



Yeah I read advgamers fairly frequently. And I intend to keep reading it even though they gave Life Is Strange 2 an aggie for best writing. **Shudder**



You should keep an eye on Cyan's upcoming game, Firmament, then (assuming you aren't already). It's basically a spiritual successor to Myst and it's looking quite good tbh.

THey going to release a non vr version? i saw the VR trailer and yea aint interested in VR.

 

[Vampire On Titus]

THey going to release a non vr version? i saw the VR trailer and yea aint interested in VR.

Yeah, it's compatible with VR and standard controls. The video I posted shows the non-VR gameplay.

 

[Kenpachii]

Yeah, it's compatible with VR and standard controls. The video I posted shows the non-VR gameplay.

nice instantly bought.

 

[Vampire On Titus]

The first episode of The Uncertain is available for free on Steam this weekend (starting tomorrow, I think) (actually starting right now). I've only ever messed around in the beginning of the game but I'd say it's worth checking out. Certainly for free.

CommonGames is currently developing the next entry of The Uncertain, "Light At The End." They've since ditched the episodic approach and this new game will be a full length standalone adventure. The dev has only released small WIP glimpses so far, but visually it's shaping up fairly well. I just hope the writing can deliver.

 

[ThatStupidLion]

The Kyrandia series is another oldschool that I need to get to eventually. I'm not super big on traditional Tolkien esque fantasy or fairy tale fantasy so it was never really on my radar but I just looked up the intro to Kyrandia 2 and it looks cool. Zanthia tying that swamp monsters tongue in a knot then saying "watch it, slime-ball!" with that 'tude laden 90s sarcasm sold me on it.

Another game to add to the list.

thats funny because i adore the fantasy genre. so maybe you wont like it i guess....

that said I think the first 1/2 -2/3s of the game is definitely must play worthy

the game is actually broken into bite sized scenes, so that every new "area", your inventory kind starts empty again. i have mixed feelings on this aspect of the game. its tied in very well to the story, but in some regards its makes the game feel compartmentalized and simpler, as you only have to work within each small section rather than an entire game world. it limits the amount of aimless trial and error to a handful of screens/items/spells you need to focus on though. i mean you can look at it as a blessing and a curse. the game does have "death" solutions which I always appreciate in my PnCs, yet it prevents game halting dead ends (almost positive on that). The writing and humor are great. the production is great. I love the aesthetic and art direction. the puzzles have a bit of lateral thinking involved which is nice. there are some items to pick up that are a bit obtusely placed though....

Anyways check it out - it can be had pretty cheaply on GoG.com

 

[Vampire On Titus]

thats funny because i adore the fantasy genre. so maybe you wont like it i guess....

that said I think the first 1/2 -2/3s of the game is definitely must play worthy

I'm not fundamentally opposed to playing fantasy games, it's just not my go to genre. I've still enjoyed plenty of fantasy adventures, though. Book of Unwritten Tales, King's Quest 6 & 2015, Simon The Sorcerer,etc. There's a good chance I'll like the game.

the game is actually broken into bite sized scenes, so that every new "area", your inventory kind starts empty again. i have mixed feelings on this aspect of the game. its tied in very well to the story, but in some regards its makes the game feel compartmentalized and simpler, as you only have to work within each small section rather than an entire game world. it limits the amount of aimless trial and error to a handful of screens/items/spells you need to focus on though. i mean you can look at it as a blessing and a curse. the game does have "death" solutions which I always appreciate in my PnCs, yet it prevents game halting dead ends (almost positive on that). The writing and humor are great. the production is great. I love the aesthetic and art direction. the puzzles have a bit of lateral thinking involved which is nice. there are some items to pick up that are a bit obtusely placed though....

So basically it seems like how many of the newer indie titles are designed. Wadjet Eye stuff, Kathy Rain, etc. Broken Sword 2 had a similar design too. There's pros and cons to either approach. I can certainly appreciate an open ended Ron Gilbert style adventure game but a more linear game that keeps the story moving at a consistent pace can be good as well. Technobabylon is like that and it's one of my all-time faves.

Kyrandia will probably be the next classic era adventure I play. The last was ToonStruck and man that game kicked ass. If Kyrandia's even close to that level, I'll love it.

 

[Fuz]

Kyrandia will probably be the next classic era adventure I play. The last was ToonStruck and man that game kicked ass. If Kyrandia's even close to that level, I'll love it.

Yeah... get some squared sheet and pencil ready.

 

[ThatStupidLion]

Yeah... get some squared sheet and pencil ready.

Kyrandia 1!

Thats triggering for people.

 

[Fuz]

Thats triggering for people.

I still have nightmares. Fucking mazes.

 

[Vampire On Titus]

Cool Full Throttle animated short done by a studio called Red Knuckles. It's sort of like the intro and ending of the game colliding with one another. Pretty neat.

THIS EPIC TRAILER IMAGINES WHAT CULT CLASSIC GAME
‘FULL THROTTLE’ WOULD LOOK LIKE IN 2020
Animation studio Red Knuckles pays homage to the 90s classic
with a hypothetical trailer for modern gamers


London, 27/02/2020 – Ever wondered what your favourite video game from years gone by would look like if it was released in the present day? Rick Thiele and Mario Ucci, creative directors and founders of animation studio Red Knuckles, decided to do just that. Using the latest animation technology, the duo brought 90s cult classic Full Throttle to 2020 with an epic hypothetical trailer.

The original 1995 game follows Ben, the leader of a biker gang who is framed for the murder of a motorcycle manufacturing mogul. Red Knuckles’ modern-day vision for the trailer, directed by Rick and Mario, immediately throws viewers back to the original’s opening sequence. It begins with the sun setting on an empty road, reflected in the goggles of Ben. As he rides along the road on his motorbike, we hear him explain ‘when I’m on the road, I’m indestructible, no one can stop me.’ The camera then pans out, however, to reveal a suspicious object blasting along the road towards him – soon revealed to be a rocket tearing down the road. As Ben revs his engine and speeds towards the oncoming projectile, the camera cuts, revealing the Full Throttle logo.

Rick and Mario were inspired to create the 21st century homage as original players and die-hard fans of the game. After deciding to do a revamp of a classic childhood memory, they settled on one close to their hearts that also reflected the spirit of the Red Knuckles studio.

Taking a well-known character and transporting him to another medium was a familiar task for Red Knuckles, who had previously worked with Gorillaz to create the original 3D version of the beloved 2D characters with Jamie Hewlett. Full Throttle was a similar process, as Rick and Mario worked to find a balance between the more stylised 2D world from the original game and the semi-realistic look they wanted – without losing the character’s spirit.

Rick and Mario comment: “When a character is successful, it is simple, clear, charismatic, and you get the essence of that individual straight away. The hardest part was to take the essence of the character so perfectly defined by its original appearance and update it without losing any of its soul – and more, adding to it. I think we’ve managed to accomplish this feat here.”

The duo used a range of software to achieve the high-end look, including Pixologic’s Zbrush, Allegorithmic’s Substance Painter, Autodesk’s Maya using Pixar Renderman, and Adobe Photoshop.

Rick and Mario add: “The technology is secondary to the incredibly talented artists that helped us complete this project during the studio’s downtime in between projects.”

For more information pertaining to the press release or resources contact Phoebe Siggins phoebe@lbbonline.com
For more information about Red Knuckles contact Rick Thiele: rick@redknuckles.co.uk

Credits
Directors: Rick & Mario
Animation Studio: Red Knuckles
Character and Prop Artist: Leonardo Viti
Character Animator: Giovanni Braggio
FX Artist: Lucas Boutrot
Generalist: Ning-En Chang
Sound and Grade: No.8

 

[Fuz]

So I finished Beautiful Desolation and it's a great game. The ending is something I've been mulling over since I finished it and I'm finding it more satisfying the more I think on it, which is a good sign. In general it's a gorgeous, epic, and unique adventure game that may very well be regarded as a classic in this genre as time goes on.

Pros:
Stunningly gorgeous visuals.
Fully realized and unique setting. Extremely impressive work.
Varied and memorable cast of characters.
Engaging lore behind the game's world.
Interesting moral decisions.
An epic 13+ hour adventure.

Cons:
Occasionally confusing in terms of who you should talk to or where to go next.
The game's structure is too reliant on fetch quests.
A lot of lore to keep track off. The game's non linearity can make it hard to keep track of details.

Other:
Puzzles are mixed. For the most part I found them a bit too easy, inoffensive though, with a couple more engaging examples sprinkled throughout.
Learning South African curse words is educational.
There's a golden penis.

I had a great time playing Beautiful Desolation. I'd give it an 8.7/10. The Brotherhood really flexed their talent on this one and I think they've solidified themselves as an important AG developer.

Been playing it (just found the Caecus) and I 100% agree with your points. The story in itself so far is nothing to write home about, but the world and the characters are amazing. I really hope they're gonna use the setting more, it's extremely fascinating. Puzzles so far are... not even puzzles. The game is closer to a Disco Elysium without stat rolls than a P&C game. Also, lots of "where the fuck am I supposed to go now?" moments, a few solved with logic but mostly just with randomly going to locations.

Oh, still hate the game interface (not the UI, which is excellent).

 

[Vampire On Titus]

Been playing it (just found the Caecus) and I 100% agree with your points. The story in itself so far is nothing to write home about, but the world and the characters are amazing. I really hope they're gonna use the setting more, it's extremely fascinating. Puzzles so far are... not even puzzles. The game is closer to a Disco Elysium without stat rolls than a P&C game. Also, lots of "where the fuck am I supposed to go now?" moments, a few solved with logic but mostly just with randomly going to locations.

Oh, still hate the game interface (not the UI, which is excellent).

The way I feel about the plot reminds me a lot of Mass Effect & other Bioware RPGs. The main story kind of takes a back seat to each new area's sub plot, the companion stories and the world building. In fact the initial story, in a sense, gets put on pause while you're gathering the things you need for it to start again. What you do while you're gathering that stuff is the real meat of the game.

They do manage to incorporate the overarching story of the Penrose and what happened to Mark & Don again more toward the end, though. In a way that ties in a lot of the world building and makes it relevant to them directly.

The puzzle solving is one area where you can really feel that The Brotherhood are (by and large) a two person team. A lot of them are very "matter of fact" for lack of a better term. You're told, or it's indicated somehow, that you need to do a thing and you just do it. Often with no lateral thinking, memorization, trial and error, or any of the mental challenges you'd typically have with a puzzle. There are various exceptions to this, but not as many as you'd wan't from a game as large as Beautiful Desolation.

 

[Vampire On Titus]

Westwood's Blade Runner is getting a full blown HD remaster by Nightdive Studios, the people who previously remastered System Shock. There's already a separate thread for the news but I figured I'd throw it up here for anyone subbed to the thread who may have missed it.

In other news, initial details of Ragnar Tornquist's new game "Dustborn" have been announced/leaked incidentally by the film institute (NFI) that has given Red Thread grant money for their prior games. There's some concept art and a brief description on their page.

The year is 2030, three decades since the environmental disaster that changed everything and created a new subclass, 'Dustborn'. You play Pax: prison bird, petty criminal, outcast - born with superhuman powers she never asked for and which is as much a burden as a gift. With the help of a group of supportive revolutionaries, she must smuggle an important package past the fascist regime that is chasing her.

Dustborn is a third-person, single player, future-western; a road trip across a divided country; a politically charged adventure with a stylized cartoon aesthetic in a colorful dystopian vision of a world not miles from our own.
About the company:
Red Thread Games is a development studio for games for PCs, consoles and mobile platforms. The studio was founded in the fall of 2012 by Ragnar Tørnquist, creator of The Longest Journey and Dream Fall, and one of Norway's most experienced and well-known game producers and directors. Red Thread Games is ready to launch with the fjord noir adventure Draugen, and is also working on the polar punk role-playing game Svalbard. Both have received grants from the NFI.

Seems like Ragnar is turning his fantasy writing in the direction of political allegory. Something that he also did in Dreamfall Chapters, although it was more of an overt subplot than an allegory. Ragnar is a talented writer, penchant for overcooked dialogue notwithstanding, so here's hoping he pulls it off. I'm also hoping the gameplay is more involved than Draugen. Which was a decent but ultimately fairly forgettable experience.

 

[Wolfgang Jr]

Hey guys, if you're interested in some old school LucasArts/Sam & Max stuff, I have some here.

 

[Vampire On Titus]

Completed Miles Edgeworth: Ace Attorney Investigations 2 a few days ago. It was a great game, honestly one of the best adventures I've ever played. They handled the overarching theme of Miles deciding his "prosecutors path" a lot better than the theme of the first game, which was kinda fumbled at the end. I love how many different puzzle mechanics they included in the mix. Along with series standard courtroom battles there's logic chess, clue combining, deduction and the occasional forensic sequence. A very engaging game. I breezed through the last two cases despite them being around 5+ hours each. Ace Investigations 2 is one of the best at doing the "ace attorney thing" where it's funny but dramatic or tense in equal measure.

AAI2's plot is incredibly complicated, there's so many interwoven mysteries, twists, betrayals, time jumps, etc. It's almost a miracle that Capcom managed to give satisfying conclusions to 90% of the insanity they established. Dogen randomly happening upon Gustavia and Dover's children and deciding to save them being the most notable exception imo.

Also spoilers for the most hilariously easy puzzle I've ever encountered:

Since beating AAI2 I've started playing the final Sam & Max game, The Devil's Toybox. I'm up to episode three right now and so far I'm really enjoying it. The writing is as great as I've come to expect from the series. What's really cool is all the new ideas they're trying out. Giving max all these psychic abilities and every episode seems to have a new mechanic to it. The 3rd episode started out with this long, film noir styled, dialogue puzzle where Sam is going around as a hard boiled detective shaking people down for info. It's hilarious and super fun. It actually reminds me a lot of the Logic Chess sections from Ace Attorney Investigations 2.

It's strange to thing that, only years later, a team with so many new ideas would eventually stagnate and decline the way TellTalle did.

I do take issue with some of the changes they've made to the controls, though. The Mass Effect style conversation wheel is fine but the fake analogue stick you need to manipulate to move Sam around is a pain. These games don't require high precision movement or anything but there's just no benefit to it over the traditional P&C movement. Even the wheel from ToMI was better. It feels like a weird concession to gamepad controls on M&KB.

 

[Vampire On Titus]

An updated look at ENCODYA that chaosmonger studio put out today. It shows off some new locations and noticeable visual improvements. The animation and cel shading have been improved. I think the weather effects are better than in the KS demo as well. Overall, the atmosphere is coming together well. I just hope they back off some of that 4th wall humor from the KS demo (or all of it).