Suggestions to break my Adventure Cherry

[Chaotic_Heretic]

Bros, I would like some suggestions for Adventure Games (or adventure /rpg hybrids) to start off with, I never played Adventure Games. Anyways I am aware that there are literally tons of promising adventure games for me (including but not limited to: Kings Quest, Space Quest, Gabriel knight, Phantasmagoria, The Longest Journey, Dreamfall, Chains of Satinav)

I will start with a couple of titles, with the following preferences and story elements and themes (if not their execution)

A darker/less cartoony color palette
A serious tone/story, but Larain style humor is awesome too.
Available on Gog
Exploring more personal psychological themes and/or mental issues
Betrayal/vengeance as motivating factor in a tragic flavor
Cyberpunk/Post apocalyptic setting

None of the above are necessary, but it would be nice to start with game with many of these as possible. I'd play a classic Hero's journey game, if it is really recommended.

 

[Darth Roxor]

Sanitarium is what you seek. It pretty much fits all criteria except the last one.

 

[spectre]

Grim Fandango may also suit you... in a weird way. If I were to have that special first adventure game to pop my cherry, it would be it.

Looking at your list, yeah, Sanitarium is a logical first choice, myself I would have gone with I have no Mouth and I must Scream, for a bit moar cyberpunk you may give Beneath a Steel Sky a go.
I'm also thinking, Frankenstein, through the eyes of the Monster.

 

[SCO]

Sanitarium is good at the beginning (weaker towards end), but it's puzzles maybe a bit frustrating to a beginner. Much less Grim fucking Fandango.

How about the Shivah? (one puzzle is awful and you should spoil yourself).

 

[Darth Roxor]

myself I would have gone with I have no Mouth and I must Scream, for a bit moar cyberpunk you may give Beneath a Steel Sky a go.

Yeah, definitely And unlike Sanitarium, those two at least don't fall apart completely at the end... as much.

How about the Shivah? (one puzzle is awful and you should spoil yourself).

Do you mean Wadjet Eye's Shivah? Because if so, I have no idea which puzzle you could possibly mean, that game was very easy.

 

[SCO]

Another game where puzzles are rock hard (for the ++ending).

 

[Chaotic_Heretic]

Sanitarium is what you seek. It pretty much fits all criteria except the last one.

GOG description sounds great, and really dig the artstyle. I will start with it. Other suggestions are welcome, specially with cyberpunk and/or post-apocalyptic setting, with Betrayal and vengeance as motivating factor.
A bit more specific would be: worlds fucked up, but you don't give a shit about it and just want to get the asswipe who screwed you over and plenty of opportunity to be evil and gain power/influence along the way with possibly Faustian pacts.(somewhere between Raistlin (dragonlance) and Prince of Thorns?)

 

[SCO]

Oh well.
Bloodnet. Can't really be evil.
Blade Runner (pedophilles are evil i guess)
KGB (not post apocalyptic, but moscow sure feels like it)
SuperHero League of Hoboken (comic, rpg hybrid, 'post-apocalyptic' - also extremely well written)
Dreamweb (fits almost perfectly)

Of these, only superhero league and blade runner can be considered 'easy'. Dreamweb has some pixel-hunting and huge amount of unnecessary items, bloodnet and kgb have a time limit and a real-time clock respectively.

 

[Chaotic_Heretic]

So in summary:
beneath a steel sky/I have no name and i must scream/the Shivah/Frankenstein:through the eyes of a monster
saniarium/grim fandalgo (puzzle heavy so i should queue it later)
Will start with either I have no name and i must scream (the mindfuck stuff looks really appetizing)

of the evil revenge stuff; Bloodnet/Blade Runner/KGB/SuperHero League of Hoboken/Dreamber; think I will start with dreamweb.

EDIT: Awesome suggestions in under 40 mins bros; I am leaning towards i have no mouth and i must scream.

EDIT 2: Hmm so, i have no mouth and i must scream and Gabriel Knight:sins of the Fathers. Will start with Gabriel Knight since its just an easy purchase off gog. I will acquire i have no mouth and i must scream after i beat it
Also the pedophile spoiler in BladeRunner was not cool.

 

[Insane Psychic]

SCO, you're being evil. KGB is murderous, and I remember Dreamweb as being a bit of a bitch to get through as well (although it might have been because of a bug or something).

The recommendations here are very nice, but I'd also like to suggest Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers. It has much of what you seek (apart from the setting), and is not as unforgiving as some of the other classic Sierra games.

 

[SCO]

Oh, KGB is very hard. It's the real time clock you see; those games (i only know of The Last Express, varicella and Facade for others) tend to be very hard, because you have a schedule to do stuff in and events move on without your participation.

Superhero league has nothing to do with revenge or 'evil'. It's a comic rpg-adventure with a silly 'post-apocalyptic' setting.
Blade Runner has nothing much to do with revenge, but it's very cyberpunk (duh).

 

[Darth Roxor]

The recommendations here are very nice, but I'd also like to suggest Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers. It has much of what you seek (apart from the setting), and is not as unforgiving as some of the other classic Sierra games.

Gabriel Knight, while really great all in all, has a FUCKTON of asinine pixel hunting. I wouldn't recommend it as a beginner's adventure game.

 

[Chaotic_Heretic]

Ahh, So I have no mouth and I must scream wins. I will eventually play them all (though only this at first, then shadowrun returns/DC; then another title till i pick up WL2/D:OS)

 

[SCO]

Problem is, your 'parameters' didn't really leave a open field for easy adventures. IHNMAIMS can be really hard too (and IS really hard if you want the best ending).

I think you should relax and play some 'baby's first adventure' like Loom, qfg series, the Shivah or something. They can be still very good.

 

[Javier23]

Sounds like you're looking for something very much like "The Cat Lady"

Recommended. Mind you, it's not without its faults, but overall it's a thoroughly enjoyable and interesting indie adventure. Superdepressing though.

Check Gemini Rue too. Great game. And it is too relatively easy.

 

[Insane Psychic]

Gabriel Knight, while really great all in all, has a FUCKTON of asinine pixel hunting. I wouldn't recommend it as a beginner's adventure game.

I don't recall being swamped in pixel-hunting in it, but it might be because I was a relatively experienced adventure gamer when I first played it. I had surprisingly few gripes with it, perhaps because of the storyline, which was a nice departure from the usual Sierra fare at the time.


On another note, I'll second SCO's recommendations of Loom and the Quest For Glory series as well.
Loom is a decent little game, with a story that is somewhat dark. It is also relatively easy to play and complete.
The QFG-series would actually have been my personal recommendation for a first adventure game (series), but it doesn't have many of your preferences. Still, it is a decent series of Adventure-RPGs that are not punishingly difficult, nor does it (despite featuring actual combat) kill you again and again like many other Sierra games.

 

[Chaotic_Heretic]

Hmmm, The cat lady looks promising. ANd the shivah with the rabbi stuff sounds intriguing. But, the art style of IHNMAIMS gives me a boner. So I will stick with that. If i get a bit too frustrated with it, will switch to QFG. So, in QFG which one should i start with the first? and are they required to be played in order for maximum enjoyment?

 

[Insane Psychic]

Well, I'd recommend starting with the first one as some characters show up in several games along the way, and you might miss some of the references.
However, if you only want to play one of them, or don't have time for more than one, you could probably go with any one of them and still follow the plot with no significant difficulty. If so, I'd go with QFG4, which is set in a Dark Eastern European-like setting a la Dracula. However, the first and third one are relatively short easy games, so you can probably complete the whole series relatively quickly.
And one final piece of advice, in QFG3 & 4, you should save often and in different slots, as they can sometimes bug out.

 

[Darth Roxor]

I don't recall being swamped in pixel-hunting in it, but it might be because I was a relatively experienced adventure gamer when I first played it.

I played it for the first time last year, so my memory is still fresh. I remember the two most criminal offenders were "take some clay from the lake ground" (I mean, fucking seriously?), "one of those multiple patches of identical grass is clearly contextual mein herr, now spam your fucking magnifying glass on it" (that was like pixel hunting in pixel hunting), taking hair gel or the books needed to solve the old clock puzzle. And there were prob even more horrible things that I can't remember now, but I kept getting stuck on inconspicuous scenery that ultimately turned out interactive all the friggin time.

 

[MRY]

Rise of the Dragon, although it's (a) an absurd rip-off of Blade Runner and (b) very difficult, hits a lot of what you're asking for.

I do second the suggestion people are making to start with a less demanding game like Loom, which has a great story, great visuals, good characters, etc., but is a joy to play. The other games on the list are unpleasant in all sorts of ways: Sanitarium combines very slow walking speed with deliberate ping-ponging across the map masquerading as "puzzles" (get item A in the northwest corner to use on puzzle B in the southeast corner to obtain item C which you then bring to character D in the northwest, etc., etc.). There's a lot good about the game, but if you're not into adventure games I could imagine reacting by just giving up on the genre.

You can't really go wrong with BASS, which is free and hits a lot of your criteria, but I still think Loom is overall the better game and better introduction to the genre. I would hold off on indie games until you're immersed in the genre since (a) I don't think any indie adventures are yet at the level of the top 10 adventure games and (b) indie adventure games are often riffing off themes that the classics established, and I think you'll get more out of playing the indie games down the line.

 

[Ulminati]

A darker/less cartoony color palette

Beneath A Steel Sky

A serious tone/story, but Larain style humor is awesome too.

Beneath A Steel Sky

Available on Gog

Beneath A Steel Sky

Cyberpunk/Post apocalyptic setting

Beneath A Steel Sky


Also - doesn't fit any of your criteria - but dig up a copy of Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. IJatFoA, Monkey Island 1+2 and Grim Fandango (and Sam&Max + DoTT to a lesser degree) are what made LucasArts great before the decline.

 

[PlanHex]

I'm surprised only one person mentioned Gemini Rue, it fits the specifications pretty well.

 

[Insane Psychic]

I played it for the first time last year, so my memory is still fresh. I remember the two most criminal offenders were "take some clay from the lake ground" (I mean, fucking seriously?), "one of those multiple patches of identical grass is clearly contextual mein herr, now spam your fucking magnifying glass on it" (that was like pixel hunting in pixel hunting), taking hair gel or the books needed to solve the old clock puzzle. And there were prob even more horrible things that I can't remember now, but I kept getting stuck on inconspicuous scenery that ultimately turned out interactive all the friggin time.

Hah! Yeah, I recall that now. I was a bit damaged from Adventure games at the time, no doubt. That clock puzzle took me forever to figure out.

 

[tuluse]

*A darker/less cartoony color palette
Loom, The Dig, Blade Runner, Gemini Rue
*A serious tone/story, but Larain style humor is awesome too.
Loom, The Dig, Blade Runner, Gemini Rue
*Available on Gog
Gemini Rue
*Exploring more personal psychological themes and/or mental issues
Blade Runner, Gemini Rue (Loom and The Dig fit this to a lesser extent. The Dig is mainly a straight sci-fi adventure. Loom is mostly about exploring the world, but you do have personal reasons for everything you do)
*Betrayal/vengeance as motivating factor in a tragic flavor
Blade Runner, Gemini Rue (and to a lesser extent Loom)
*Cyberpunk/Post apocalyptic setting
Blade Runner, Gemini Rue (Loom would kind of fit, it's implied that society is in decline, sort of post-apoc without ever having an apocalypse, but technically you don't know if things were ever better)

Note that Loom is clearly written primarily for children, but touches on some dark stuff. It kind of camouflages it so you wouldn't have gotten it when you were 8. It's one of those enjoyable for all ages stories IMO.

Also, no Lucas Arts adventure games are on gog, but they are on Steam.

 

[Sceptic]

So, in QFG which one should i start with the first? and are they required to be played in order for maximum enjoyment?

Yes and yes. You import you character from one game into the next and he maintains ALL his abilities (except in very special cases where skills are merged - I think only 5 did that though). If you like CRPGs and are trying to get into adventures QFG is ideal, though it'll frustrate you later on to find out nothing like it really exists.