This review contains spoilers
Truberbrook is a point and click adventure game developed by btf games for the Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch and for PC Launcher releases. It originally started as a Kickstarter campaign around Late 2017 I believe, with the tagline “A Nerd Saves the World”; and was formed by a collective of art students from both Cologne and Berlin, Germany who had apparently dabbled in German TV Shows like “How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast)” which sounds like my kind of watching or “Neo Magazin Royale” and before creating the Kickstarter got initial funding from (verbatim) “Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg as part of the “programme for the development and production of innovative audio-visual content”. The Kickstarter went off with a resounding success, making twice the amount of their 80,000 dollar (or Euro?) goal and a little bit more. Some of the rewards included stuff like having your name added in the credits, the hotel’s guest book, and portraits as well as releasing digital brochures with the base game as advertisement. It was released to mixed-to-positive reviews, with a lot of criticism towards the gameplay and the story but positive stuff towards the atmospheric stuff like soundtrack and art design. I had seen this game personally on some friend’s wishlists on Steam for a while, before finally picking it up on GOG as it was free for a limited time and trying to do the “beat one game per console” goal, I had decided upon this as my GOG game of the year and had streamed it for a friend.
The plot to Truberbrook is one that I can’t really tell you much about other than a brief outline/synopsis. The introduction has you playing a woman named Gretchen, stopping at a nearby gas station to fill up the tank to her motorcycle before you’re transferred into the role of Tannhauser, a physics student who has apparently won an all expenses paid trip to the small town of Truberbrook. He didn’t get into any competitions but it’s whatever, and once he ends up there his quantum physics thesis paper gets stolen by a green ghost, and from there you try to figure out who stole it and why. There’s this overarching backstory about Truberbrook’s past involving a corporation named Millenium, who bought out the local mine and took it over under the veil of secrecy, along with sci-fi alternate dimension plots and such. My problem with the story is that while it’s a relatively simple premise, I always felt that it was kind of confusing and convoluted and I’m not exactly sure how I feel about it. Keep in mind, I love it when a plot engages me while also throwing me for a loop like Twin Peaks, but there’s something about this that doesn’t really do it for me. The plot screams urgency but it doesn’t feel urgent and overall I kinda just came out of it…confused? I didn’t hate it, mind you, but I only don’t do plot recaps if the game’s story is kinda meh, it doesn’t matter or if it’s just not entertaining and the truth be told it just doesn’t do it for me. The characters are interesting to an extent, like robot Barbossa whose loneliness of being locked up in a science bunker for god knows how long is sad and relatable. One review said that they didn’t understand if it was the writing or if it was just them in terms of why they didn’t relate to the story but truth be told, I don’t think it’s the writing (or at least the dialogue). The dialogue is often interesting and helps flesh out the characters. I just never felt like the plotting itself really struck out as something interesting and unfortunately the strength of the dialogue never really saved it for me. A positive I will give is that out of context, the introduction is actually the post credits sequence flipped around for those who went in blind like I did. Overall, I kinda feel a bit sad because I wish I had more to say but I really don’t other than a shoulder shrug.
The gameplay for Truberbrook was honestly something that I don’t really feel I can comment on much. Yeah it’s a point and click adventure game, you mostly go and click around on things to pick things up, use them on puzzles, talk to people, etc. Truberbrook doesn’t do anything really crazy with the formula, nor does it need to to be honest. My first critique with the gameplay are the controls: it’s between using the controller or the mouse/keyboard combination. I went with the controller, though this time it’s not because I’m a controller dweeb who sucks at using PC controls (even though I technically am). It’s because on the GOG version, it felt legitimately better to use, more intuitive. Everytime I tried using the mouse and keyboard for some reason it would fly all over the place, though I suspect it’s because I had weird keyboard settings or something. The controller for the most part felt better, touched up and modernized a bit with a couple of wobbles here and there, like clicking one of the four buttons (A,B,X,Y) to examine, talk to, use and take or using one of the Trigger Buttons to do a fast walk. Going through most of the environments felt fine, though walking down the stairs at the Guest Room basement felt like an actual slog that I was fighting against and my advice when traveling down those stairs is to fast walk because at least you can feel like you’re not fighting against invisible walls. Keep in mind, the controls weren’t awful at all, I guess I just struggled a bit and if there was a steady mouse/keyboard thing I couldn’t get a grasp. Besides, the only true difference between the two were how you move: controllers you can move independently of your cursor that you use to click on objects, while the mouse is just you click on a spot and the dude moves to it.
How about the puzzles? Are they okay? I’ll be honest, I used a guide through it so I can’t say anything about this section other than the guide is down there, but I will say that some of the complaints I had heard were: “You don't have an inventory, you do pick up things but there is no way to see what you have”. This is true yet untrue at the same time. There is an inventory, in which you can press Tab on your keyboard to see what it is, it’s just you have no clue how to identify it and it’s kind of annoying. “The puzzles are so obtuse that moon logic is not even enough to describe them sometimes.” Honestly? If I hadn’t had a guide, I probably wouldn’t have figured some things out anyways. Would I have been able to figure out how to use the trophy to scoop up the moon rock on my own? Probably not, but sometimes the inventory puzzles straight up give you the answer, only showing what items would work in that certain situation anyways. So either it feels like it could be kind of confusing or it would hold your hand, but again I used a guide so it’s kind of just whatever in this case. That being said, they’re often fine for the most part, sometimes confusing and baffling but otherwise straightforward. I don’t know, I was more focused on the controls felt at times but that was just my take on the whole thing. The only other things I can really note is that the longest chapter is Chapter 4, in which you’re kind of released back into the world and are given a Postcard in which you can fast travel to previous places that you’ve been, though you won’t need to visit most of them I don’t think. There’s also Chapter 5, which has a boss battle at the end with strange mechanics involving shooting your Quantum gun and teleporting into stuff that kind of felt out of place for a point and click game but it is what it is I suppose.
However, Truberbrook’s art design is what I personally feel is the most unique portion of this game period end of discussion. While the character models were obviously created on a computer (though at time does straight up look like a handmade model), the environments around them are astounding and feel like a strange combination out of a Wallace & Gromit mixed in with Wes Anderson (or at least, what I’ve seen on TV Commercials) style that truth be told feels like it could be this clashing yet connective element of isolation and feeling like I’m at home mixed together. Granted my home isn’t rural Germany, but even when the location takes place in late 1960s post Cold War, it never really felt like it was stuck. It feels whimsical, trapped in a time period yet timeless at the same time, filled with comfortable greens, nature with rocky mountains and soil covered hiking trails and woodlands, warm though I don’t know if I would stay there for an extended period of time. If I could compare this to any sort of vibe whatsoever, think of this: have you ever had parents that talk all the time about retiring to any place that’s isolated, alone with nature but with a small knit community filled with quirky characters surrounding them that feels supportive? Maybe there isn’t bum fuck to do in this town, maybe there’s a little bit of business in the center of it, or maybe the nearest city is an hour in a certain direction. Truberbrook feels like it could be that, the sort of place where one would retire when they’re done with life, when they’re nearing their end game and just want to live out sidequests. It’s a nice place, a place that one wouldn’t want to go to while they're young due to the lack of opportunities one would have if one were to stay there.
This feeling is strong enough though that it doesn’t really feel like there’s a threat in terms of the plot; like yeah, I know that the world could end and all if Gretchen goes through the portal but like it doesn’t really feel like there’s any life-altering stakes. I don’t really know if that’s more of a plot thing, a cozy environment thing or both but at the same time it leads to the same thing: the atmosphere benefits while the plot is just kind of there. Some of the inspirations that it listed off were “Inspired by Twin Peaks, The X-Files, Stranger Things & Star Trek” on the Kickstarter page, but the truth of the matter is that it feels so much like it’s own unique thing that I could barely see most of them in there EXCEPT maybe Star Trek with it’s sci-fi portal stuff later in the game. The environments (along with the lighting) were handmade according to the Kickstarter page, before later being digitized using big words like “photogrammetry” and “retopologized”, which is their way of saying they made it appear in game and with a huge amount of polygons that make it feel seamless with the character models made digitally. I can’t say much about this sort of style except I love it, it definitely feels like the most effort went into making all of the models work and it’s a beautiful game for it, plus I’m a sucker for unique/old retro styles and this stuff harkens back to my old nostalgia days.
To be honest, I’ll have to take back the “not inspired by Twin Peaks much” thing because dear god does the soundtrack reek of something that could come from the town itself. The vibe that was set was deemed “Tranquil doom jazz” on Kickstarter (inspired by the likes of quote: “Tom Waits, Angelo Badalamenti, Mark Lanegan, Timber Timbre or Bohren & der Club of Gore), and it certainly feels jazzy though I’m not sure about doom. The main theme sounds like it could be from Luigi’s Mansion of all things, while tracks like Waldeslust or Paradiso could come from different points in the Twin Peaks universe, the former being in town and the latter being the Red Room. Honestly, I’m a sucker for this type of mysterious jazz feel and the vibe it carries, though mixed in with the plot I’m not sure it really fits the sci-fi stuff? Truberbrook Reprise feels like this sort of melancholy feel, like a piece of your life is missing but there’s hope that you’ll find what you need. The best track I feel the game has is when you’re in Chapter 4 however, when you’re at the concert and listening to a live band singing “Then I’ll Make You Mine” (link below) that just fits this sort of sadboy chill vibe that’s not sad enough to make you cry but sad enough to make you reflect, or at least that’s how I felt about it. Overall, the composers Sebastian Nagel & Albrecht Schrader did a great job with portraying this calm and serene yet sad vibe that fits with the cozy feels of Truberbrook as a town. The rest could be said of the sound design as well, which as always does a pretty good job falling into place and sounding pretty good though there isn’t anything that really pops out here except the voice acting, which is solid and contains performances from the likes of Nora Tschirner and other famous German voice actors and actresses. I don’t really know most of these guys, so I don’t really know what else they’ve been in but from what I can say is that they fit right at home and do a solid job at portraying one of the game’s many quirky characters.
My feelings on Truberbrook were as follows: it’s a decent game whose focus felt more like it was trying to deliver a sort of cozy point and click adventure game then it was an actual plot based title. It delivers in the atmospheric storytelling but I felt like the actual plot, while I could follow along kind of for the most part, felt a bit on the average side and a bit convoluted at that. I had picked up this game for free on GOG, though I’d seen it here and there on some of my friend’s Steam wishlist just sitting around and while I knew of its existence, I didn’t really feel enough to really push forward to try it out. It was definitely a once and done game for me, though I respect what it was trying to do as well as the talent behind it even if it wasn’t exactly my cup of tea. I’ve seen the base price on Steam being around 30 dollars, and while I’m all for supporting creators wherever I can and generally being a bit iffy on “price equals how long/worthy the game is”, I don’t feel like most people should pick this up for thirty dollars? I could see between 5-10 dollars in all honesty, but thirty isn’t it so get it on sale. This game would be what I consider to be my GOG game to play for the year (though I might try others), as I had streamed this for a friend for the month. It wasn’t particularly long, only 4 hours or so and I probably would have completed it in one or two sittings if it wasn’t for the fact I had gotten distracted doing stuff all throughout the month. What happened after the release of Truberbrook? Honestly, I’m not sure. I haven’t really seen much from these guys other than a demo for a paint brushing metroidvania game named Constance, a “introduce your kids to Palentology” educational game and a first person “emotional narrative exploration game” about Berlin Apartments called…Berlin Apartments. Truberbrook may not be my jam, but I respect the “indie arts” vibes these guys have, and I hope to hear more from them and/or about them some time in the future.
Links:
https://www.trueachievements.com/game/Truberbrook/walkthrough/3#ChapterTwo
https://store.steampowered.com/developer/btf
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/btf/truberbrook-a-nerd-saves-the-world/description
https://soundcloud.com/truberbrook
https://www.reddit.com/r/humblebundles/comments/fzerly/we_are_the_developers_of_tr%C3%BCberbrook_ask_us/
http://trueberbrook.com/faq/
The plot to Truberbrook is one that I can’t really tell you much about other than a brief outline/synopsis. The introduction has you playing a woman named Gretchen, stopping at a nearby gas station to fill up the tank to her motorcycle before you’re transferred into the role of Tannhauser, a physics student who has apparently won an all expenses paid trip to the small town of Truberbrook. He didn’t get into any competitions but it’s whatever, and once he ends up there his quantum physics thesis paper gets stolen by a green ghost, and from there you try to figure out who stole it and why. There’s this overarching backstory about Truberbrook’s past involving a corporation named Millenium, who bought out the local mine and took it over under the veil of secrecy, along with sci-fi alternate dimension plots and such. My problem with the story is that while it’s a relatively simple premise, I always felt that it was kind of confusing and convoluted and I’m not exactly sure how I feel about it. Keep in mind, I love it when a plot engages me while also throwing me for a loop like Twin Peaks, but there’s something about this that doesn’t really do it for me. The plot screams urgency but it doesn’t feel urgent and overall I kinda just came out of it…confused? I didn’t hate it, mind you, but I only don’t do plot recaps if the game’s story is kinda meh, it doesn’t matter or if it’s just not entertaining and the truth be told it just doesn’t do it for me. The characters are interesting to an extent, like robot Barbossa whose loneliness of being locked up in a science bunker for god knows how long is sad and relatable. One review said that they didn’t understand if it was the writing or if it was just them in terms of why they didn’t relate to the story but truth be told, I don’t think it’s the writing (or at least the dialogue). The dialogue is often interesting and helps flesh out the characters. I just never felt like the plotting itself really struck out as something interesting and unfortunately the strength of the dialogue never really saved it for me. A positive I will give is that out of context, the introduction is actually the post credits sequence flipped around for those who went in blind like I did. Overall, I kinda feel a bit sad because I wish I had more to say but I really don’t other than a shoulder shrug.
The gameplay for Truberbrook was honestly something that I don’t really feel I can comment on much. Yeah it’s a point and click adventure game, you mostly go and click around on things to pick things up, use them on puzzles, talk to people, etc. Truberbrook doesn’t do anything really crazy with the formula, nor does it need to to be honest. My first critique with the gameplay are the controls: it’s between using the controller or the mouse/keyboard combination. I went with the controller, though this time it’s not because I’m a controller dweeb who sucks at using PC controls (even though I technically am). It’s because on the GOG version, it felt legitimately better to use, more intuitive. Everytime I tried using the mouse and keyboard for some reason it would fly all over the place, though I suspect it’s because I had weird keyboard settings or something. The controller for the most part felt better, touched up and modernized a bit with a couple of wobbles here and there, like clicking one of the four buttons (A,B,X,Y) to examine, talk to, use and take or using one of the Trigger Buttons to do a fast walk. Going through most of the environments felt fine, though walking down the stairs at the Guest Room basement felt like an actual slog that I was fighting against and my advice when traveling down those stairs is to fast walk because at least you can feel like you’re not fighting against invisible walls. Keep in mind, the controls weren’t awful at all, I guess I just struggled a bit and if there was a steady mouse/keyboard thing I couldn’t get a grasp. Besides, the only true difference between the two were how you move: controllers you can move independently of your cursor that you use to click on objects, while the mouse is just you click on a spot and the dude moves to it.
How about the puzzles? Are they okay? I’ll be honest, I used a guide through it so I can’t say anything about this section other than the guide is down there, but I will say that some of the complaints I had heard were: “You don't have an inventory, you do pick up things but there is no way to see what you have”. This is true yet untrue at the same time. There is an inventory, in which you can press Tab on your keyboard to see what it is, it’s just you have no clue how to identify it and it’s kind of annoying. “The puzzles are so obtuse that moon logic is not even enough to describe them sometimes.” Honestly? If I hadn’t had a guide, I probably wouldn’t have figured some things out anyways. Would I have been able to figure out how to use the trophy to scoop up the moon rock on my own? Probably not, but sometimes the inventory puzzles straight up give you the answer, only showing what items would work in that certain situation anyways. So either it feels like it could be kind of confusing or it would hold your hand, but again I used a guide so it’s kind of just whatever in this case. That being said, they’re often fine for the most part, sometimes confusing and baffling but otherwise straightforward. I don’t know, I was more focused on the controls felt at times but that was just my take on the whole thing. The only other things I can really note is that the longest chapter is Chapter 4, in which you’re kind of released back into the world and are given a Postcard in which you can fast travel to previous places that you’ve been, though you won’t need to visit most of them I don’t think. There’s also Chapter 5, which has a boss battle at the end with strange mechanics involving shooting your Quantum gun and teleporting into stuff that kind of felt out of place for a point and click game but it is what it is I suppose.
However, Truberbrook’s art design is what I personally feel is the most unique portion of this game period end of discussion. While the character models were obviously created on a computer (though at time does straight up look like a handmade model), the environments around them are astounding and feel like a strange combination out of a Wallace & Gromit mixed in with Wes Anderson (or at least, what I’ve seen on TV Commercials) style that truth be told feels like it could be this clashing yet connective element of isolation and feeling like I’m at home mixed together. Granted my home isn’t rural Germany, but even when the location takes place in late 1960s post Cold War, it never really felt like it was stuck. It feels whimsical, trapped in a time period yet timeless at the same time, filled with comfortable greens, nature with rocky mountains and soil covered hiking trails and woodlands, warm though I don’t know if I would stay there for an extended period of time. If I could compare this to any sort of vibe whatsoever, think of this: have you ever had parents that talk all the time about retiring to any place that’s isolated, alone with nature but with a small knit community filled with quirky characters surrounding them that feels supportive? Maybe there isn’t bum fuck to do in this town, maybe there’s a little bit of business in the center of it, or maybe the nearest city is an hour in a certain direction. Truberbrook feels like it could be that, the sort of place where one would retire when they’re done with life, when they’re nearing their end game and just want to live out sidequests. It’s a nice place, a place that one wouldn’t want to go to while they're young due to the lack of opportunities one would have if one were to stay there.
This feeling is strong enough though that it doesn’t really feel like there’s a threat in terms of the plot; like yeah, I know that the world could end and all if Gretchen goes through the portal but like it doesn’t really feel like there’s any life-altering stakes. I don’t really know if that’s more of a plot thing, a cozy environment thing or both but at the same time it leads to the same thing: the atmosphere benefits while the plot is just kind of there. Some of the inspirations that it listed off were “Inspired by Twin Peaks, The X-Files, Stranger Things & Star Trek” on the Kickstarter page, but the truth of the matter is that it feels so much like it’s own unique thing that I could barely see most of them in there EXCEPT maybe Star Trek with it’s sci-fi portal stuff later in the game. The environments (along with the lighting) were handmade according to the Kickstarter page, before later being digitized using big words like “photogrammetry” and “retopologized”, which is their way of saying they made it appear in game and with a huge amount of polygons that make it feel seamless with the character models made digitally. I can’t say much about this sort of style except I love it, it definitely feels like the most effort went into making all of the models work and it’s a beautiful game for it, plus I’m a sucker for unique/old retro styles and this stuff harkens back to my old nostalgia days.
To be honest, I’ll have to take back the “not inspired by Twin Peaks much” thing because dear god does the soundtrack reek of something that could come from the town itself. The vibe that was set was deemed “Tranquil doom jazz” on Kickstarter (inspired by the likes of quote: “Tom Waits, Angelo Badalamenti, Mark Lanegan, Timber Timbre or Bohren & der Club of Gore), and it certainly feels jazzy though I’m not sure about doom. The main theme sounds like it could be from Luigi’s Mansion of all things, while tracks like Waldeslust or Paradiso could come from different points in the Twin Peaks universe, the former being in town and the latter being the Red Room. Honestly, I’m a sucker for this type of mysterious jazz feel and the vibe it carries, though mixed in with the plot I’m not sure it really fits the sci-fi stuff? Truberbrook Reprise feels like this sort of melancholy feel, like a piece of your life is missing but there’s hope that you’ll find what you need. The best track I feel the game has is when you’re in Chapter 4 however, when you’re at the concert and listening to a live band singing “Then I’ll Make You Mine” (link below) that just fits this sort of sadboy chill vibe that’s not sad enough to make you cry but sad enough to make you reflect, or at least that’s how I felt about it. Overall, the composers Sebastian Nagel & Albrecht Schrader did a great job with portraying this calm and serene yet sad vibe that fits with the cozy feels of Truberbrook as a town. The rest could be said of the sound design as well, which as always does a pretty good job falling into place and sounding pretty good though there isn’t anything that really pops out here except the voice acting, which is solid and contains performances from the likes of Nora Tschirner and other famous German voice actors and actresses. I don’t really know most of these guys, so I don’t really know what else they’ve been in but from what I can say is that they fit right at home and do a solid job at portraying one of the game’s many quirky characters.
My feelings on Truberbrook were as follows: it’s a decent game whose focus felt more like it was trying to deliver a sort of cozy point and click adventure game then it was an actual plot based title. It delivers in the atmospheric storytelling but I felt like the actual plot, while I could follow along kind of for the most part, felt a bit on the average side and a bit convoluted at that. I had picked up this game for free on GOG, though I’d seen it here and there on some of my friend’s Steam wishlist just sitting around and while I knew of its existence, I didn’t really feel enough to really push forward to try it out. It was definitely a once and done game for me, though I respect what it was trying to do as well as the talent behind it even if it wasn’t exactly my cup of tea. I’ve seen the base price on Steam being around 30 dollars, and while I’m all for supporting creators wherever I can and generally being a bit iffy on “price equals how long/worthy the game is”, I don’t feel like most people should pick this up for thirty dollars? I could see between 5-10 dollars in all honesty, but thirty isn’t it so get it on sale. This game would be what I consider to be my GOG game to play for the year (though I might try others), as I had streamed this for a friend for the month. It wasn’t particularly long, only 4 hours or so and I probably would have completed it in one or two sittings if it wasn’t for the fact I had gotten distracted doing stuff all throughout the month. What happened after the release of Truberbrook? Honestly, I’m not sure. I haven’t really seen much from these guys other than a demo for a paint brushing metroidvania game named Constance, a “introduce your kids to Palentology” educational game and a first person “emotional narrative exploration game” about Berlin Apartments called…Berlin Apartments. Truberbrook may not be my jam, but I respect the “indie arts” vibes these guys have, and I hope to hear more from them and/or about them some time in the future.
Links:
https://www.trueachievements.com/game/Truberbrook/walkthrough/3#ChapterTwo
https://store.steampowered.com/developer/btf
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/btf/truberbrook-a-nerd-saves-the-world/description
https://soundcloud.com/truberbrook
https://www.reddit.com/r/humblebundles/comments/fzerly/we_are_the_developers_of_tr%C3%BCberbrook_ask_us/
http://trueberbrook.com/faq/
twin peaks-esque mystery game that I couldn't put down. Loved the narrative- reminded me of some of my fav childhood point and clicks but more spooky. Real has the energy of a campy sci-fi/horror B film in the best way possible. Almost had a Coraline like feel with the stop motion too. great game.
Hey, what can I say? I am highly enjoying these modern day point and click adventure games. Truberbrook was a good time while it lasted. It is "more of the same" but I don't feel like that is a negative in any way.
I enjoyed it until I couldn't figure out one of the puzzles. Ended up having to resort to playthrough videos which I followed to the T and still could not pass a frustrating section of the game.
Fun at first, became tedious. Cute plot, not overly interesting
A decent lazy afternoon game that looks nice and feels pretty cosy to play but it's lacks anything really intriguing to keep you thinking about it after playing, as well as throwing you out of the experience a little with noticeable English localisation issues.
It's an point and click, maybe a little bit too sloppy in the writing and voice acting, but still a comfortable playthrough.
Ending is wild in a bad way. Plays like a few different storylines mashed together. Could've been good if it was coherent, but as is it's perfectly forgettable.
Immediately caught my attention when I read the back cover that said "if Wes Anderson made a video game, it'd probably look something like this." It's no surprise that the developers of this game have a liking for cinema; there are moments of inspiration from Twin Peaks like Gretchen's hatred for cherry pie and coffee, or anything that Laika studios produced. This game is undeniably gorgeous, with its unique "diorama-style" design. However, the gameplay itself is tedious, leaving me minimally satisfied.
The story didn't make a whole lot of sense all the time, solving puzzles was sometimes extremely illogical, but it looked great and that's a big thing for me. Controls on the switch were less than stellar, just not really a polished game. Not too bad. Finished it in a couple of days, used a guide at some moments
A visually beautiful, funny, and overall fun point-and-click! The story seemed to lose cohesion towards the end of the game, but overall the game is enjoyable and a great game for those looking to get into the PnC genre.
Awful, cringe writing and surprisingly janky looking graphics
https://pressakey.com/game,1881,5277,Trueberbrook-Review,.html
Leider hat mir Trüberbrook nicht so gut gefallen, wie ich anfangs dachte. Der echt charmante Artstyle und die tollen Kulissen werden zwar mit einer netten Geschichte verknüpft, aber technische Schwächen blicken doch an allen Ecken und Kanten hervor. Ob das nun die träge Kamera, der uninteressante Gegenspieler mit der einschläfernden Stimme oder inspirationslose Rätsel sind. Ich möchte hier bei Weitem nicht alle der Puzzles abstrafen, denn einige sind wirklich gut geraten und verfügen über einen aberwitzigen Lösungsweg. Jedoch fallen die wenigen Negativbeispiele umso schwerer ins Gewicht.
Von einem durch das Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg geförderten Projekt, welches auch noch unzählige Kickstarter-Unterstützer an Bord ziehen konnte, hätte ich mir einfach ein klein wenig mehr Innovation erhofft. Schade drum. Und für die Kürze ist Trüberbrook dann doch etwas teuer. Wer auf Dioramen steht und bis zum nächsten Sale warten kann, sollte zu gegebener Zeit zuschlagen.
Leider hat mir Trüberbrook nicht so gut gefallen, wie ich anfangs dachte. Der echt charmante Artstyle und die tollen Kulissen werden zwar mit einer netten Geschichte verknüpft, aber technische Schwächen blicken doch an allen Ecken und Kanten hervor. Ob das nun die träge Kamera, der uninteressante Gegenspieler mit der einschläfernden Stimme oder inspirationslose Rätsel sind. Ich möchte hier bei Weitem nicht alle der Puzzles abstrafen, denn einige sind wirklich gut geraten und verfügen über einen aberwitzigen Lösungsweg. Jedoch fallen die wenigen Negativbeispiele umso schwerer ins Gewicht.
Von einem durch das Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg geförderten Projekt, welches auch noch unzählige Kickstarter-Unterstützer an Bord ziehen konnte, hätte ich mir einfach ein klein wenig mehr Innovation erhofft. Schade drum. Und für die Kürze ist Trüberbrook dann doch etwas teuer. Wer auf Dioramen steht und bis zum nächsten Sale warten kann, sollte zu gegebener Zeit zuschlagen.
A charming but flawed adventure game. Beautiful aesthetic, an interesting if clunky plot, and an undeniable queer throughline. Awkward movement and some illogical puzzles take the shine off, but good vibes.
Aside from some obtuse and convoluted puzzles, this is a pretty relaxing game. The solutions to those puzzles are usually just hidden in plain sight, but sometimes the solution is completely random; the entirety of chapter two is quite restrictive and specific, and often times the actual solution is just physically impossible to see unless you are scanning every inch of the screen with your mouse.
There are some poor twists and contrived moments which feel very sudden, and some of the voice acting lacks conviction when it really needed some; the final boss battle especially suffers because of that. Things can also feel a bit lifeless at times which doesn't help. At one point I ended up in a suit of armour, as one does, and none of the characters commented on how strange that was. Maybe that isn't unusual around here, who knows, but it feels like a bit of an oversight when at another point where your physical appearance is somewhat altered, people do take notice of it.
For me the highlight was the town of Trüberbrook, a quaint and weird little place. It's nothing wholly unique, but it is a fun setting and has a lot of charm which carried me through the game.
You will be spending most of your time walking around, finding things and then mashing those things together to make a new thing. It is strangely in these more quiet and seemingly dull moments where the game shined for me, it's immensely satisfying when you figure out what to do. Though I suppose some of that satisfaction is only brought about because of how bizarre some solutions are, so it's a bit ass-backwards. Overall occassionally frustrating, but otherwise a good time and as I said, fairly relaxing.
There are some poor twists and contrived moments which feel very sudden, and some of the voice acting lacks conviction when it really needed some; the final boss battle especially suffers because of that. Things can also feel a bit lifeless at times which doesn't help. At one point I ended up in a suit of armour, as one does, and none of the characters commented on how strange that was. Maybe that isn't unusual around here, who knows, but it feels like a bit of an oversight when at another point where your physical appearance is somewhat altered, people do take notice of it.
For me the highlight was the town of Trüberbrook, a quaint and weird little place. It's nothing wholly unique, but it is a fun setting and has a lot of charm which carried me through the game.
You will be spending most of your time walking around, finding things and then mashing those things together to make a new thing. It is strangely in these more quiet and seemingly dull moments where the game shined for me, it's immensely satisfying when you figure out what to do. Though I suppose some of that satisfaction is only brought about because of how bizarre some solutions are, so it's a bit ass-backwards. Overall occassionally frustrating, but otherwise a good time and as I said, fairly relaxing.
I don’t want to mean to indie point and clicks bc budget and scale is so hard with this things and there’s so many good ideas these creators have. But like.... kinda not good........ not terrible, but the whole thing just doesn’t come together and it’s often just unclear and contradictory. Alas.