Jenny Leclue 1/24/20
Jenny LeClue is a promising adventure game from a fledgling studio. On the whole, I think the game shines brightest aesthetically: the art, music, and animation are very well done. The writing and character work is also handled well. My biggest issue comes with the gameplay: instead of playing like a LucasArts point-and-click adventure, it's a sidescroller with very limited interactivity. It feels like playing a point-and-click adventure game with the hint system forced on. Making matters worse, traversal is typically boring: slowly climbing vines or ladders, the lockpicking minigame doesn't add anything, nor does the breaking of the planks do a satisfying job of creating pleasurable pacing. The game is at its best when it tells its story and lets you converse with the denizens of the town. It has a great sense of humor, and there's real character development going on here. I would really like to see a sequel embrace the more old school tenets of classic adventure games, namely actual puzzles without holding your hand. Perhaps a combination of the two styles could work. Keep the 2d movement but maybe include a full fledged inventory and allow us to solve puzzles. I would much rather prefer that than slowly climb up more ladders or vines.
In sum, not without its flaws to be sure, this is an adventure game with a lot of heart and charm. I look forward to the follow-up.
A Plague Tale: Innocence 1/29/20
Is a steal-based escort adventure game in the vein of Ico and Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. You are able to take out enemies from a distance when faced with individual enemies, but you're mostly dealing with groups. This can lead to frustrating pass/fail situations as you wait for enemies to finish their patrols and you navigate. Pretty standard stuff with some neat twists for the first half of the game. The game excels in character development and design. Aesthetically, everything here is top notch and economical. Definitely not a AAA title, but they definitely used it wisely. Music is moody and suits the general tone of despair the game relies upon. My biggest disappointment comes with its length and lack of new game mechanics. The game is simply too long and resorts to boring push/sliding puzzles, or slowly turning stationary beacons to re-direct light. Had the game been half as long, this would have been an easy standout title, as it is I would still recommend it at a discount. While the story and its characters do make reaching the end worthwhile, I had already grown bored with it mechanically long before the credits rolled.
Gris 1/30/20 DROPPED
Pretty, reminds me of the artwork from The Incal (Moebius I think). I never imagined I'd see the day a walking sim was fused with a platformer, but here it is. My experience with Gris amounted to holding down the "d" key to move the character to the right and very occasionally the space bar to jump. I was un-engaed and deeply bored through my half-hour with it. Sorry, but I love platformers for their level design and this is more 95% walking sim, and not enough platforming/puzzling.
