The Random Adventure Game News Thread

[LESS T_T]

Wayward Strand is a touching, empathetic narrative game, woven together from many distinct threads, all of which play out simultaneously aboard an airborne hospital in 1970s Australia.

In Wayward Strand you play as Casey Beaumaris, a teenage girl visiting the hospital for the first time. Over the course of three days, she will explore the history of the ship, the lives of its inhabitants, and their relationships to one another.

Once aboard, she can visit the rooms of the ship’s odd and delightful residents, choosing who she wants to spend her time with, and get to know. She can also shadow the staff and snoop around; or explore the ship itself, seeking to uncover the secrets of its murky past.

The hospital’s residents are an eclectic cast of characters – some charming, some eccentric, some rude – each with their own desires, goals and imaginations. They do as they wish, completely independent of the player character.

During the three days Casey spends on the ship, the characters around her live out their own stories - stories which she can investigate. Each character moves and acts of their own accord, on their own timeline - sharing news with each other, opinions; arguing; joking; gossiping - or having a chat with Casey when she comes by.

As Casey explores the airship and its many intertwined stories, she will discover that the effect of her actions can reverberate far beyond her expectations.

Key Features:

• Deep Story - Over a dozen characters, each with their own timeline and story.
  
• Living World - All stories play out in real-time, along-side each other, throughout the ship.
  
• Follow Your Curiosity - Eavesdrop on, follow, and talk to your favourite character to discover their stories.
  
• Casey’s Notebook - Follow leads, investigate mysteries and strange happenings.
  
• A Unique Experience - Choose your own path through the world as it moves around you.

Join us on Discord! https://discord.gg/KDAMU3N

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Developers like these never learn, do they?

One of numerous King's Quest 9 fan-made projects back in the day had an undertitle that sounded like "Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining" (or Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud, can't remember 100%) and they, like so many before them, sought out Activision to gain permission to release it. IIRC Activision never responded, but was clearly aware of the project. And then years later, when the project was about 95% complete, Acitivision finally responded... with a Cease and Desist letter. It's harder to be a dick than by doing this, but this is Activision we're talking about here. Fortunately the devs simply reshaped and renamed their game, called it "The Silver Lining" and released it for free as a game "inspired" by King's Quest. Said game was released in episodic content, with 4 out of 5 episodes released (and the last update dating back to 2015).

 

[DalekFlay]

Irony Curtain doesn't seem to have a thread so I'll just pop in here to say I'm really sick of "all puzzles for this room are IN this room, now move to next room" design.

 

[Baron Dupek]

https://www.denofgeek.com/uk/games/68030/blade-runner-pc-game-rescued-by-fans-playable-again

Blade Runner got reverse engineered

 

[Modron]

https://www.denofgeek.com/uk/games/68030/blade-runner-pc-game-rescued-by-fans-playable-again

Blade Runner got reverse engineered

Yeah like 7 years ago keke https://www.replaying.de/files/blade-runner-patch-windows-vista-7-8-x64/. Granted adding support for it in scummvm is probably nice.

 

[Life of the Party]

 

[LESS T_T]

Nancy Drew unexpectedly finds herself in Salem, Massachusetts investigating an arson on the Hathorne estate. The Hathorne House was originally constructed by Judge John Hathorne, inquisitor of the infamous Salem witch trials and the final home to 102-year-old Frances Tuttle, his last direct descendant. When Tuttle passed away, the estate became city property and while the mayor was seeking a manager to oversee the estate the home burst into flames. The ongoing investigation has turned up little evidence but concerned citizens have accused Mei Parry of arson and are pressuring the police to arrest the secretive teenager. As Nancy races to uncover the truth behind the arson, she discovers connections to the house’s past with the Salem trials and finds herself drawn into a struggle with supernatural events that she simply can’t explain. Nancy’s convictions are put to the test. Are the ghosts real? Has Salem’s dark history come to life, or is there someone else to blame? Time is short, and Nancy must find the answers before the clock strikes midnight.

 

[WallaceChambers]

New trailer for Blacksad. Unfortunately there's a lot of problems with it. Lines of dialogue that get cut off and overall the sound design is pretty bad. There's a scene where Blacksad has to hide quickly before the bad guys stumble in on his investigation but there's no music playing and it feels awkward as hell. Animation quality is up and down, some scenes look really good others are oddly stiff (particularly lip sync). It gets bad to the point where one character talks without his mouth moving at all. It's brief but very noticeable.

Overall the game does look pretty good but it's absolutely lacking that last bit of polish for a genuinely smooth experience. The main puzzle mechanic seems to be Sherlock Holmes esque clue sleuthing and making deductions. Along with TTG style narrative choices. The mix looks like it works well. Although, they (for whatever reason) choose to show off a pretty jarring narrative bottleneck in this trailer. The goons Blacksad is hiding from are interrogating this kid and threatening to kill him. Several times throughout the interrogation you have the choice to save him or stay hidden. They clearly wrote the scene expecting most players to try and save the kid, fail, and get captured because as this video shows (for some reason) if you stay hidden you can leave the immediate area but then quickly thereafter are spotted by a guard and get captured anyway. Being fair to Pendulo maybe there's stuff you can do earlier on to incapacitate that guard and actually make a clean getaway.

So yeah, idk. I've been fairly hyped for this game and It kinda sucks to see all this janky shit. Feels like 2 or 3 more months in the oven and they could smooth out all these rough edges. I think I'll still enjoy it when I play it. Overall the graphics look really nice and I found the interrogation scene engrossing. I can imagine many players not being as lenient as me, though.

 

[Durq]

Kickstarter for a point-and-click adventure titled Maelstrom Obscura:

https://www.kickstarter.com/project...lstrom-obscura-conspiracies-myths-and-legends

 

[LESS T_T]

Plot of the Druid, a fantasy point and click adventure where you play a druid. Inspired by Simon the Sorcerer, Discworld, and Harry Potter, made by an Israeli company called Adventure4Life.

Harness the power of nature to solve problems. Avoid awkward social situations by turning into a small furry creature. Befriend wood spirits that are very reclusive, especially when they have hangovers. Crash a radical party by the Druids Against Nature. Rescue a beautiful princess from a nasty bladder infection. And all while you’re trying to finish school. Which better happen soon, because an insanely dangerous tournament is about to start. No one’s ever won the tournament, but who cares when you’re a powerful druid, right?

Plot of the Druid is a fantasy point and click adventure game uses high-definition hand-painted drawings that capture the feel of old-school pixel art. The script has a dry, sarcastic British wit that’s reminiscent of Simon the Sorcerer, Discworld, and Harry Potter. And the wind cried Mary!

• Innovative mechanism where the player can decide whether to deal with a situation as a human or a ferocious animal. Well, maybe not that ferocious, but one with a unique skill set;

• Harness the powers of nature in order to solve puzzles (sometimes an earthquake is just what’s needed to get people’s attention);

• Beautiful hand-painted HD artwork in the style of old-school pixel art;

• Dozens of wacky characters, ALL fully voiced;

• Cool references to classic LucasArts and Sierra games;

• Two difficulty levels: Young Apprentice and Master of Disaster. Finish the game to earn a digital certificate with your name on it, signed by the Elder Druids themselves!

• Many MANY smooth 2D animations, including amusing and thrilling cutscenes;

• Over an hour of immersive, charming background music;

• A hotspot reveal option to avoid pixel hunting;

• Lots of achievements to be gained by exploring the world;

• Available in Hebrew, Spanish, French, German and Italian translations;

Older descriptions state this is an episodic, but Steam page and current website have no mention of that.

 

[Anthedon]

New trailer for Blacksad. Unfortunately there's a lot of problems with it. Lines of dialogue that get cut off and overall the sound design is pretty bad. There's a scene where Blacksad has to hide quickly before the bad guys stumble in on his investigation but there's no music playing and it feels awkward as hell. Animation quality is up and down, some scenes look really good others are oddly stiff (particularly lip sync). It gets bad to the point where one character talks without his mouth moving at all. It's brief but very noticeable.

Overall the game does look pretty good but it's absolutely lacking that last bit of polish for a genuinely smooth experience. The main puzzle mechanic seems to be Sherlock Holmes esque clue sleuthing and making deductions. Along with TTG style narrative choices. The mix looks like it works well. Although, they (for whatever reason) choose to show off a pretty jarring narrative bottleneck in this trailer. The goons Blacksad is hiding from are interrogating this kid and threatening to kill him. Several times throughout the interrogation you have the choice to save him or stay hidden. They clearly wrote the scene expecting most players to try and save the kid, fail, and get captured because as this video shows (for some reason) if you stay hidden you can leave the immediate area but then quickly thereafter are spotted by a guard and get captured anyway. Being fair to Pendulo maybe there's stuff you can do earlier on to incapacitate that guard and actually make a clean getaway.

So yeah, idk. I've been fairly hyped for this game and It kinda sucks to see all this janky shit. Feels like 2 or 3 more months in the oven and they could smooth out all these rough edges. I think I'll still enjoy it when I play it. Overall the graphics look really nice and I found the interrogation scene engrossing. I can imagine many players not being as lenient as me, though.

The whole furry thing is not that great, but why has the game a Nudity tag on Steam?

 

[LESS T_T]

They released a demo and a full beta version of Joyfess: Martin's Secret Recipe on itch : https://haridira.itch.io/joyfess-martins-secret-recipe

Joyfess Tidesman, a fearless sailor from the Caribbeans, decides to take a break from his sea adventures by participating in a cooking contest, only to realize that the most exciting of his adventures is yet to come as he tries to fetch a recipe and gather its contents.

In this 2D point-and-click adventure game, you will control Joyfess Tidesman to help him gather the recipe's contents and get back to his ship in time, overcoming any surprises that might be thrown his way by those who don't want him to succeed.

Finally you can roam the Caribbean as a fearsome… cook! Yes, really! Who wants to be a pirate in the Caribbean when you could be a cook? Take a refreshing break from a lot of the gore-fests and ultra-serious games out there. Join Joyfess as he cuts his tomatoes in half, chops those parsley leaves and chops those onion heads. Unleash the terror upon your table. Well… but this has to wait until you recover the recipe from the native tribe. Good luck with that. You’ll surely need it!

In this hand drawn, fully voiced point-and-click adventure, you help extreme adventurer Joyfess Tidesman revitalize his boring life by doing something fresh; away from his kraken-slaying routine. As he stumbles upon a cooking contest due the next day, it would fall upon you to figure out how to become a chef overnight. Work your way through a flow of logical puzzles to obtain a recipe, collect its ingredients and arrive for the cooking contest in time (and in one piece).

• Immerse yourself in a hand-drawn world where every character is animated frame by frame in full HD glory
  
• Meet a memorable cast of characters with 1.5 hours of riveting voice acting
  
• Experience the familiar Caribbean island setting through the fresh perspective of an aspiring cook (formerly a full time kraken slayer)
  
• Roam an island through 15 beautifully painted locations that pop out with parallaxes & visual special effects
  
• Challenge your wits by taking notes, collecting items and piecing together clues to unlock the story's mysteries & proceed to the final cooking contest

 

[LESS T_T]

Phoenix Tales, QfG-inspired adventure RPG with photo-realistic graphics:

Released on itch: https://divon.itch.io/phoenix-tales

Coming soon to Steam:

Something strange is happening in the land of Rydanthia. You arrive in the town of Northern Cross and quickly discover things are not what they seem. Merchants tell stories of nearby towns that are deserted. There are frightening creatures lurking in the forest. Can you solve the mysteries surrounding this threat? Can you live to tell the tale?

A CLASSIC ADVENTURE GAME
At it's core, Phoenix Tales is an adventure game. Modeled after classic point-and-click style games of the 1990's, you'll have to use your wits to solve the puzzles.

RPG ELEMENTS
Gain experience and level up your character as you progress through the game. With individual stats and several weapon / armor upgrades to find, Phoenix Tales is an RPG-lite experience too!

A UNIQUE COMBAT SYSTEM
While you'll need your brain to solve the mysteries plaguing the town of Northern Cross, sometimes a little brawn comes in handy too. Master a unique combat system that requires both timing and strategy!

MULTIPLE PLAYABLE CHARACTERS
Sometimes being a hero requires help. Along the way, you'll meet a companion who will prove to be quite helpful on your quest. He has his own play style, attributes, and attacks.

A FULLY IMMERSIVE AND DETAILED WORLD
Using real world locations and motion capture actors, which are then "cartooned" into a unique art style, there is plenty to see, do, and explore.

 

[WallaceChambers]

Roki's stage demo at EGX Berlin. Looks like an extremely well polished indie. Art style gives me Studio Ghibli vibes. If the game is half as good as it looks it could be one of the best adventures in a minute.

 

[Modron]

LucasArts fan game, huh?
...
Secret of Monkey Island - check
Back to the Future - check
Loom - check
Ghostbusters - check
Zak Mackraken - check

Tons of other small references - check!

Get it here

Figured this would be relevant here as well.

 

[LESS T_T]

Mira, a Slavic themed point and click adventure set during WW2, from Polish developer:





Featuring child Darth Roxor:

Mira is a point and click adventure game about the magical journey of the titular heroine. From destroyed during world war II city of Cracow, she travels to a world of slavic myths and legends.

Will she find the true meaning of her destiny and endure among creatures forgotten long ago by history? Learn where were hiding water nymphs, imps and drowners? All this player will discover while traversing through the mystical world of Navia. Which, thanks to hand painted art, and unique music may be closer than ever before!

 

[Durq]

The Secrets of Jesus got released today.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1142230/The_Secrets_of_Jesus/

 

[HoboForEternity]

The Secrets of Jesus got released today.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1142230/The_Secrets_of_Jesus/

can you make jesus punch pontius pilate in the throat?

 

[jfrisby]

The Secrets of Jesus got released today.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1142230/The_Secrets_of_Jesus/

can you make jesus punch pontius pilate in the throat?

Bought this

 

[LESS T_T]

Another old Spanish only adventure game re-released by Erbe Software:

 

[Boleskine]

BAFTA-winning British developer Dan Marshall is creating his first adventure game in a decade. In this talk, Dan looks at how games (and players) have changed since the "golden age" of adventure, and tells us why Lair of the Clockwork God breaks point-and-click conventions.

 

[LESS T_T]

Uncover the secrets of a mysterious cult in The Secret of Hutton Church of England Grammar School: VGA Edition!

This is a modern 90's remake of the much beloved AGI classic*, The Secret of Hutton Church of England Grammar School: AGI Edition!

Story:
After a night of rigorous cleaning, you discover a mysterious cult has been operating at the school. After 25 years of cleaning up rubbish, you're about to come across a whole bunch of trouble.

Now featuring:

• Beautiful 320x180 VGA graphics!
  
• Point and Click interface!
  
• Music!

Credits:

• Created and designed by Tom Simpson
  
• Background art by Nathan Hamley
  
• Character art and animation by Nathan Hamley
  
• Banner art by Juanga Jaén
  
• Music by Petteri Aartolahti
  
• Voice acting by Edwyn Tiong

Original: https://tomsimpson.itch.io/the-secret-of-hutton-agi

 

[CryptRat]

No real news but a quite hypey gif :

 

[CryptRat]

An interesting bundle of drm-free shovelware comedy adventure games is currently (it ends tomorrow) taking place on itch.io : https://itch.io/b/389/scabb

Spoiler

Captain Disaster : Death has a million stomping boots

this one I've played and enjoyed

Captain Disaster takes a job delivering a package from Acturus-1 to Proboscis Major - not realising that he is actually transporting something that will put the entire galaxy in danger! Though just getting the package in the first place is quite a challenge in itself...
Our intrepid nitwit investigates interesting peculiar people, puzzling places and panicky problems along the way to saving the day, once he finally realises that something is wrong. Expect lots of laughs and head-scratching dilemmas before you reach the shocking conclusion and find out what all this "Million Stomping Boots" business is actually about!

The beard in the mirror

this one seems to have deaths which is already a big +, I've not played it yet though'

What do you want to be when you grow up? Paul thought his life would be set after college, but at 22 he's toiling away in a job he doesn't like and coming home to an empty apartment every night. He doesn't know who he is, where he's going, or how he fits into his world.

But then on one dark and stormy night, a mysterious woman appears to him, and everything changes...

Legend of Hand

this one got recommended here, there's a combat system on top of the classic adventure gameplay

Your masters have put their trust in you to find the mythical Grandmaster Hand, an enigmatic figure who disappeared many years ago. He is the one man capable of stopping the gathering unrest that is threatening your world. To find Hand you will need to travel through four mysterious islands, finding clues and challenging their infamous masters - the so-called Fingers of Hand! The masters are experts in martial arts and finding them will be not always be easy.

Your quest will take you on an epic adventure across unique islands and weird worlds where you will meet amazing friends and terrifying foes. So many distractions await but do not forget your aim - find Grandmaster Hand to save your world and its inhabitants!

Yet Another Hero Story

A noble lady has been abducted and only a hero can save her. That hero shouldn't be Martin McNish but life has an odd sense of humour sometimes.
It is your task to help Martin, become a hero.

Trails and Traces : The tomb of Thomas Tew

In 1695, Tew and his fellow pirates pursued a Mughal ship. His ship, The Amity, attacked the ship, the Fateh Muhammed. Tew was disemboweled by a cannon shot, and died instantly. Or did he?

Present day. Private Detective James Labbett takes a missing persons case, which unexpectedly leads to an adventure of discovering the truth of what happened to the pirate Thomas Tew, but he isn't the only one who has an interest..

Clam Man

judging by the demo this one may unfortunately not be much more than a walking sim

is the story of the Clam Man. Intriguing, isn't it? Yes, it's true - he is a clam and yet also a man. This is not a topic of debate, it is fact. We've confirmed it while working on this game. Using science.[...]But to be more specific: This is the story of a man, recently promoted to junior sales representative, enjoying the comforts and leisure of lower-mid-level office work. However, things suddenly take a turn for the worse, and the Clam Man is cast into an adventure full of danger, suspicion, and mystery. Join him, as he unravels the conspiracy behind the tragic event that befalls him, and fight to restore CLAMMY JUSTICE to the world of Snacky Bay.

The adventures of Bertram Fiddle

In a quirky take on a Victorian London inhabited by mysterious, strange characters, self proclaimed leading explorator, Bertram Fiddle, finds himself in a bit of pickle. Help him follow the clues and track down the elusive serial killer known only as Geoff the Murderer before he strikes again.

 

[Zann]

Legend Of Hand is fun.
I've played & finished Beard in the Mirror but can't remember a thing about it right now (including any deaths), make of that what you wish.