A Collection Aside

The line between old and new blurs this month, when retrogames properly return as better designed, more beautiful versions of themselves, and new games, that look old, get more content. MEGHANN O’NEILL thus has more chances to drag her kids through both h

THIMBLEWEED PARK DEVELOPER TERRIBLE TOYBOX PRICE USD$ 20

thimbleweedpark.com

■ Early in Thimbleweed Park, we had wilted lettuce, a can of non-trademarkinfringing Poopsi and various other bizarre miscellanea that were forming some kind of vague, almost-plan in our minds. The nine year old, who we now refer to as, “the rememberer of important details,” wanted to continue ruminating. The seven year old, who we now refer to as, “the noticer of important things,” wanted to see what was coming next. Me as, “the knower of the adventure genre,” unexpectedly found a way to progress, without Poopsisoaked lettuce.

I played a lot of adventure games in the ‘80s and ‘90s. I played what was available in the ‘00s and I play a lot now, reflecting all budgets, genres and verbs. I can tell you that reviewing Thimbleweed Park is the best experience with an adventure game I’ve ever had, at least partly because playing with my kids, who are at an age when I used to play with my dad every morning, was a special experience. When it was over, my kids mimed putting Eric’s Eye Magic Drops into their eyes, crying, “All we wanted was to play this forever.” Yes.

Certain personal preferences aside, this could be the best adventure game, full stop. So I’ll raise my one reservation first; is it possible to include too many red herrings? I do love items that have, or appear to have, no purpose. They obfuscate puzzling, stimulate imagination and engage curiousness about the world you’re exploring. There were occasions when we were convinced we were close to solving

a puzzle, but then it lead nowhere, leaving us desperately unsatisfied, even though we did find different uses for the Poopsi and individual items.

It’s because these (presumably false, although I’m not entirely sure) leads felt like actual quest objectives. It gives the impression that content was planned but not realised. Amazingly, the narrative provides some insight into this process. And the final game is an excellent size and scope, we just wanted to solve the puzzles we were perceiving, as well as the ones that existed. With that considered, I know that “best adventure game, full stop,” is a big call, so I’ll outline why I believe this and you can make your purchasing decision accordingly.

People have their preference for interface and you could certainly dislike superfluous verbs in your adventure game. (I guess.) What if, however, you could rely on actually using “push” and “pull” meaningfully? Good, right? Can’t be bothered always pointing and clicking on verbs in the left corner then back up to objects? My 7 year old learned how to use the keyboard shortcuts in a few minutes and right mouse to skip to the most likely verb, by context. As with everything in the game, designers combine hardcore, nostalgic and, most importantly, considerate.

Casual mode, in which some of the more convoluted puzzles are pre-solved, is another way designers welcome new players, and you know what else (supposedly) sucked about adventure games? Mazes. Not any more they don’t, but I’m not spoiling this further. Also, pixel hunting. Annoying waste of time, right? Just imagine these aspects as hilarious, meaningful or clever, and my raising them will seem less ridiculous. Is this a game where you can die? Let’s just say that designers won’t give you cause for deathrelated anger, and this is an important point.

You see, I could write an essay on dying in adventures, but for any aspect of adventure game design you or I could write an essay about, the designers could write ten. Very quickly, I knew to trust that my time, history and understanding of the genre was being respected. Interestingly, this was also true for my children, who were approaching this as very different players. They knew their objectives as

detectives, as well as how to switch between characters and interact with the world without any assistance from me at all. And the jokes successfully tickled all of us.

Certainly, you could love or hate aspects of the plot, humour and ending. Personally, I usually prefer serious, enigmatic, modern adventure stories, like in Shardlight. But it’s very hard to find fault with the game’s (relatively nonlinear) narrative structure. It’s delightful how both one story and five stories unfold together. And I don’t know why strings of bleeped out expletives are so funny, but Ransome, the irritable clown, had my kids and I in stitches. The voice actor hits a perfectly incredulous, “What the beep?” when you transfer an item to Ransome.

By contrast, young Officer Reyes’ earnest, “I love carrying stuff,” has made my kids more helpful around the house. (So they can quote the line.) A game with five characters relies on each having their special qualities and some content being character-exclusive, but great voice acting definitely adds value. I most love how the characters blatantly ignore what they should and shouldn’t know about each other as you solve increasingly interlocking tasks. Ridiculous? Yes. Good for puzzling and player? Definitely. Does this make any sense? Surprisingly, kinda.

As I said, trusting that these designers understand their genre is pivotal. Characters in Maniac Mansion had no idea why they were doing things. In any other context, I’d complain. But, do you really want to walk the detective over to the ghost to give him the instructions he needs to solve her problem when you can just do it, and it’s funnier that way? My kids particularly loved how the game made us jump through hoops to get a map, then pointlessly rewarded us with fast travel maps for everyone. Again, it’s always considerate like that.

I mean, Stair Quest wouldn’t exist if players didn’t want to feel that ‘80s angst, but then Thimbleweed Park only gives you exactly as much “nostalgia” as you need. This partly also explains my reluctance to give you more information about plot and puzzles; you don’t need more. In a nutshell, you start out investigating a murder. Characters are added via vignettes of backstory and you have to consider who can do what, when solving puzzles. Otherwise, it’s listen carefully, look at everything and combine items. Oh, and enjoy ThimbleCon.

There were moments that surprised me with their touching honesty and I’d like to make sure you know some of the small, personal connections I have with the team. I still chat occasionally with David Fox after writing a flashback on Zak MacKracken, years ago. Emily Morganti is a funny and attentive PR person who I deal with a lot. I follow Jenn Sandercock’s edible games and industry commentary with interest. Obviously, Ron Gilbert is an industry legend and, if you follow his blog, you’ll know how thoughtfully he approaches design. So, I know people a little.

When I last previewed Thimbleweed Park, my angle was that I didn’t want to be spoiled by any details. In retrospect, I was also reluctant to really believe in this game. I didn’t want to be disappointed, given my fond memories of playing adventures with my dad. But, if anyone could make a game uniquely for me and my kids, at exactly this point in our lives, it was this team of people. They didn’t disappoint me. Is this the best adventure game, full stop? Apart from a few red herring moments, I was delighted by how its design exceeded every other one of my expectations.

Thimbleweed Park only gives you exactly as much “nostalgia” as you need

DEVELOPER JACOB JANERKA PRICE $ 15

www.paradigmadventure.com

■ So if I just argued that Thimbleweed Park may be “the best adventure, full stop,” I’m a bit concerned about what this might adversely imply for this page’s Paradigm review. Remember in the ‘80s and ‘90s, you had your outlier adventures, like Eternam or The Last Express? I don’t know about you, but I loved them as much as the Monkey Islands, just in a different way. They were often unusual, told an unexpected story or experimented with some clever mechanic. Paradigm is the suspicious, but delicious, processed meat between slices of Thimbleweed Park.

I feel as if I should begin by saying that designer, Jacob Janerka, is known for his unrelenting, absurd humour, except that (incredibly) Paradigm is Janerka’s first game. There’s something about the exhausted, ribs-aching-from-laughing feeling that reminds me of how TV shows like The D Generation developed increasingly ridiculous characters, week by week, through a lens of familiarity. I feel like I’ve been laughing at Janerka-jokes my whole life, even though it’s only been a matter of hours. That’s clever comedy.

Paradigm is like watching, with sick fascination, as someone entertains themselves with a sexy puppet show that is getting way out of hand. I nearly didn’t submit this review on time because I was too busy trying to flirt with a water cooler that has a face arranged out of macaroni on a plastic plate. There is always one more line of humour to find. After you’ve listened (in detail) to how your character would like to make a blanket fort out of a cardboard security guard, you get a quiet, resentful, “No girls allowed,” and your laughing begins again.

The puzzles are cleverly crafted. As well as finding, combining and using a range of bizarre objects, like the Krusz Army Knife (which is actually a serrated spoon), my favourite puzzle included simply listening carefully, after I knew what I needed to hear. There’s an arcade influenced

minigame where you learn skills that are hilariously implemented later, and “push button to X” moments that made me smirk. There are also interactions for look at, use, pick up and talk to, for all of the world’s objects, even if it’s just, “Hello, empty bottle.”

The art is incredible, detailed and difficult to describe. It’s aiming for garish realism, where ugliness is accentuated. The Butt Monument, which takes itself very seriously, is even adorned by a gigantic, dirty bandaid. (Having travelled in Eastern Europe myself, I can attest that Janerka’s reworking of these monuments is irreverent, but faithful.) Character portraits, close up when you’re talking, are mesmerising. Janerka has a flair for drawing lips, in particular, and the pimples should probably win some kind of game art award.

Similarly, the character’s main objective, apart from saving the world, which is really more like a side quest, is to make “phat beatsies.” The music in Paradigm is perfectly polished in every instance. My husband, a high school music teacher, was practically rolling on the floor with laughter as the sentient eggplant beatboxed increasingly enthusiastic and complicated rhythms. Then a kitchen appliance started rapping! Music is mostly delivered in a diegetic context, but these little moments organically create their own soundtrack as the game progresses.

I imagine a game like Thimbleweed Park, so clearly harking back to adventure gaming’s roots, would be a must play for many. I do want to convince you that Paradigm is equally worthy of your time, money and attention. Think of it as the unapologetic, weird, sexy adventure your Eastern European cousin sent you in 1988, only with much better graphics and music. It’s the game your parents wouldn’t let you play when you were 9, because of all the drugs and dialogue like, “Hey kid, want to hail some Satan?” Now’s your chance.

I nearly didn’t submit this review because I was too busy flirting with a water cooler

DEVELOPER JUMPSUIT ENTERTAINMENT PRICE $ 15

caterpillar.solutions

■ I mean, I couldn’t not play a game called She Remembered Caterpillars, could I? What an amazing name for a thing! I’m not sure what I was expecting, but my brain sure got a workout. For something so sweetly presented, with hand drawn art and sad narrative vignettes, it’s really very difficult. You’re moving little blue spheres, red cubes and yellow pyramids, as well as orange, green and purple combinations of the 3D shapes, around an isometric game board, trying to get to helipads. And everyone’s wearing high heels!

There are coloured bridges and you can cross if you are the same colour, or if you are made up of one of the colours, so red, orange and purple shapes can cross a red bridge. Then there are coloured barriers which prevent your passage if you are the same colour, or if you are made up of one of the colours, so blue barriers will prevent blue, purple and green shapes from passing. Thankfully, yellow is only introduced in Act 3, so there’s time to practice with less colours. And, there’s no brown. Brown would have broken me.

I solved puzzles by seeing a solution, which was great, and also by experimenting with what I knew I could and couldn’t do, which was even more satisfying. I wouldn’t recommend this to the people who aren’t great at discerning colours. I imagine this is why the characters are also distinct shapes, but wow, seeing purely shape-based solutions would be hard. The story is lovely, if not always connected explicitly to play, and this provides suitable incentive to progress, if you’re up for the cognitive challenge.

DEVELOPER MASCHINEN- MENSCH PRICE FREE

curious-expedition.com

■ As you may snow, I have a penchant for games set in freezing tundra. This is the only reason anyone would be mad enough to play RimWorld on an ice sheet, after all. Imagine my excitement to learn that The Curious Expedition, one of my favourite games of 2016, added an Arctic Expanse, and it’s free. Reskin or meatier content pack? Mostly the first, but enough of the second to warrant a long replay session. You can’t travel exclusively to the new areas, still jostling for position with the other explorers, but it’s nonetheless an ice experience ( Cool - Ed).

On my second expedition, I headed north. I’m actually glad I went after I had money to buy snowshoes because the region’s unique, insanity-producing terrain, deep snow, is plentiful. It’s harder to get around, but you can take dog sleds between stations. Instead of approval being the currency used for staying overnight and recharging sanity, you have to buy tickets for both sleeping and sledding. There are some additional, but similar, animals to avoid as well, but most temples, locations and events are identical to those on the original maps, only whiter.

If The Curious Expedition was something you enjoyed but then left behind, consider all the precious relics Ada Lovelace is collecting right now, while you sit on your comfortable behind. If you’re worried about deep snow, there’s a perk for these things. You should be more worried about the arctic wolf who ate my nun, frankly. If you haven’t played The Curious Expedition at all, there’s snow time like the present. It was already an exceptional roguelike, exploration experience. Now it’s even cooler.