such a fun game with gripping narrative, compelling characters and vibrant visuals. the settings are designed beautifully and the choices actually matter. this is one of my favorite p&c games
Review in progress:
It's a decent point-and-click game, but the puzzles are weak. The latter two party members were less compelling than the first two.
It's a decent point-and-click game, but the puzzles are weak. The latter two party members were less compelling than the first two.
A new path entirely. První postblackwellovský titul Davea Gilberta se dá na první dobrou popsat velice jednoduše jako "Dragon Age: Quest for Glory point-and-click adventura v Blackwell univerzu". Nebo také mnohem, ale mnohem, složitěji.
Na první pohled se vlastně od vyvrcholení duchařské pentalogie mnoho nezměnilo; stejné zasazení do New Yorku, camea starých známých, stejný vývojářský tým, stejná stylizace a... A přesto se dá říci, že je Unavowed pokusem (navíc úspěšným) o (r)evoluci žánru. Jde totiž o po všech stránkách ryzí klikací adventuru ze staré školy, která však není lineární. Zdánlivý detail, který však mění jádro žánru. Neskrývaná inspirace jedničkou Dragon Age je očividná již úvodním prologem, kdy každé z povolání má rozdílný úvod do děje i dopady později ve hře. A tak je to tu se vším, sestavujete si tým, kde každý má jiné schopnosti, zná se s někým jiným apod.
Stěží si představit jak něco takového může fungovat na ploše tradiční klikačky prosté RPG prvků? Jednoduše, mění se řešení puzzlů, dialogy apod. Jádro zůstává stejné. Ostatně něco takového díky množství variant může tak malý tým jako je Wadjet Eye Games ukočírovat jen s pragmatickými vývojářskými kompromisy. A tak riziko bobtnajících variant je omezeno skrze to, že spíše než souvislý děj jsou zde prostorem i příběhem uzavřené mise. Díky tomu se to tvůrcům nerozpadlo pod rukama. Zároveň díky zastřešující zápletce až tolik nebije do očí, že co segment hry, to samostatná epizoda. Mise samotné mají mnohdy dobrý nápad i zápletku, jsou však docela krátké a až příliš přímočaré. Ano, liší se řešení jednotlivých puzzlů i dialogy postav, ale průběh je v zásadě shodný. Vyloženě chybí (až na čestnou výjimku v podobě pasáže v Čínské čtvrti) něco poněkud "nabobtnalejšího".
Zatím to vypadá, že spíše kritizuji, ale není tomu tak. To proč to celé funguje je Gilbertova charakterizace a dialogy. Zatímco celkový děj je jeho už tradiční tak trochu "nablblé okultno v New Yorku", tak postavy a dialogy jsou jedny z nejlepších vůbec. Mezi každou jeho další hrou je vidět, jak jako scenárista roste. A tady už konečně plně dospěl. Veškeré postavy působí jako lidé a ne jako shluk pixelů. Nejvíce patrné je to na členech vašeho týmu, kdy každý je živoucí a klasickým videoherním schématům i klišé se vyhýbající charakter. Mají vztahy nezávisle na vás, jejich rozhovory se točí kolem běžných "lidských" záležitostí, úplně z toho cítíte "že existují i mimo rámec, kdy vstupujete do dění vy".
Ve výsledku to je radost hrát vícekrát. Paradoxně ne kvůli různým nečernobílým rozhodnutím či různým průchodům. Ale čistě kvůli postavám, abyste viděli, jak ten či onen reaguje, co má na srdci apod. Dalším zásadním prvkem je, že si Gilbert odpustil aspekt, který si žádný videoherní titul doposud neodpustil. Postavy v partě se nesnižují k špičkování se a rádoby hláškování, ale vedou normální dialogy; o životě, o náladě, o minulosti.
Nerad bych aby vznikl dojem, že jde o hru s debilním příběhem a adventuru bez puzzlů, kterou zachraňují čistě postavy. To ne, ostatně pokud znáte Gilbertovu tvorbu, tak víte že i ve svých nepodařených titulech mu nelze upřít, že se nad designem jednotlivých puzzlů umí zamyslet a přijít s něčím nápaditým i v rámci žánru podvratným. I to zde je, jen je vždy očividné "co se má udělat a jak toho docílit". Navíc, když je více způsobů, jak toho dosáhnout. Occamova břitva zde platí, jakkoli bývá i složitější varianta řešení.
Ve výsledku tím nejlepším co se na adresu Unavowed dá říct je, že navzdory tomu že to v nelineárním konceptu není úplně dotažené (a není to jen ve velikosti a finančních možnostech vývojářů), tak bych si hned s chutí zahrál další díl (s Mandanou a Eliem) či spin-off (speciálně KayKay a Logan mají neskonalý potenciál). A protože (zatím?) nemohu, tak je radost to ihned po dohrání rozehrát znovu a zkusit jiné složení parťáků na jednotlivé mise, jiná řešení a jiná rozhodnutí.
Na první pohled se vlastně od vyvrcholení duchařské pentalogie mnoho nezměnilo; stejné zasazení do New Yorku, camea starých známých, stejný vývojářský tým, stejná stylizace a... A přesto se dá říci, že je Unavowed pokusem (navíc úspěšným) o (r)evoluci žánru. Jde totiž o po všech stránkách ryzí klikací adventuru ze staré školy, která však není lineární. Zdánlivý detail, který však mění jádro žánru. Neskrývaná inspirace jedničkou Dragon Age je očividná již úvodním prologem, kdy každé z povolání má rozdílný úvod do děje i dopady později ve hře. A tak je to tu se vším, sestavujete si tým, kde každý má jiné schopnosti, zná se s někým jiným apod.
Stěží si představit jak něco takového může fungovat na ploše tradiční klikačky prosté RPG prvků? Jednoduše, mění se řešení puzzlů, dialogy apod. Jádro zůstává stejné. Ostatně něco takového díky množství variant může tak malý tým jako je Wadjet Eye Games ukočírovat jen s pragmatickými vývojářskými kompromisy. A tak riziko bobtnajících variant je omezeno skrze to, že spíše než souvislý děj jsou zde prostorem i příběhem uzavřené mise. Díky tomu se to tvůrcům nerozpadlo pod rukama. Zároveň díky zastřešující zápletce až tolik nebije do očí, že co segment hry, to samostatná epizoda. Mise samotné mají mnohdy dobrý nápad i zápletku, jsou však docela krátké a až příliš přímočaré. Ano, liší se řešení jednotlivých puzzlů i dialogy postav, ale průběh je v zásadě shodný. Vyloženě chybí (až na čestnou výjimku v podobě pasáže v Čínské čtvrti) něco poněkud "nabobtnalejšího".
Zatím to vypadá, že spíše kritizuji, ale není tomu tak. To proč to celé funguje je Gilbertova charakterizace a dialogy. Zatímco celkový děj je jeho už tradiční tak trochu "nablblé okultno v New Yorku", tak postavy a dialogy jsou jedny z nejlepších vůbec. Mezi každou jeho další hrou je vidět, jak jako scenárista roste. A tady už konečně plně dospěl. Veškeré postavy působí jako lidé a ne jako shluk pixelů. Nejvíce patrné je to na členech vašeho týmu, kdy každý je živoucí a klasickým videoherním schématům i klišé se vyhýbající charakter. Mají vztahy nezávisle na vás, jejich rozhovory se točí kolem běžných "lidských" záležitostí, úplně z toho cítíte "že existují i mimo rámec, kdy vstupujete do dění vy".
Ve výsledku to je radost hrát vícekrát. Paradoxně ne kvůli různým nečernobílým rozhodnutím či různým průchodům. Ale čistě kvůli postavám, abyste viděli, jak ten či onen reaguje, co má na srdci apod. Dalším zásadním prvkem je, že si Gilbert odpustil aspekt, který si žádný videoherní titul doposud neodpustil. Postavy v partě se nesnižují k špičkování se a rádoby hláškování, ale vedou normální dialogy; o životě, o náladě, o minulosti.
Nerad bych aby vznikl dojem, že jde o hru s debilním příběhem a adventuru bez puzzlů, kterou zachraňují čistě postavy. To ne, ostatně pokud znáte Gilbertovu tvorbu, tak víte že i ve svých nepodařených titulech mu nelze upřít, že se nad designem jednotlivých puzzlů umí zamyslet a přijít s něčím nápaditým i v rámci žánru podvratným. I to zde je, jen je vždy očividné "co se má udělat a jak toho docílit". Navíc, když je více způsobů, jak toho dosáhnout. Occamova břitva zde platí, jakkoli bývá i složitější varianta řešení.
Ve výsledku tím nejlepším co se na adresu Unavowed dá říct je, že navzdory tomu že to v nelineárním konceptu není úplně dotažené (a není to jen ve velikosti a finančních možnostech vývojářů), tak bych si hned s chutí zahrál další díl (s Mandanou a Eliem) či spin-off (speciálně KayKay a Logan mají neskonalý potenciál). A protože (zatím?) nemohu, tak je radost to ihned po dohrání rozehrát znovu a zkusit jiné složení parťáků na jednotlivé mise, jiná řešení a jiná rozhodnutí.
Em todos os anos desde que comecei a jogar, poucas foram as obras que realmente me cativaram ao ponto de perder a noção do tempo e, mais raro ainda, foram aquelas que conseguiram tal feito pelo enredo. Apesar de inesperado, Unavowed entrou não só para essa lista, como também para a de jogos favoritos.
Mesmo sendo lançado em 2018, o jogo possui aquele ar de antiguidade que faz muitos jogadores sonharem com os momentos de nostalgia e a soundtrack com foco em jazz permite ainda mais essa sensação. Assim como aconteceu em Blackwell, franquia que se passa no mesmo universo, o jogo possui um único grande problema que são a falta de capital, ou seja, existem algumas partes que com um pouco mais de investimento seriam ainda mais desenvolvidas, mas infelizmente, sabemos que a vida de desenvolvedoras menores focadas em nichos não é de tanta sorte.
Como estamos falando de um jogo de point and click, sabemos que as principais características devem ser: narrativa, voice actor e estilo de arte e, como sempre a Wadjet Eye não falhou (tá, talvez tenha falhado no trabalho de organização do volume dos áudios, mas quem sou eu para reclamar de um detalhe tão insignificante perante todos os outros elementos?).
O enredo principal é extremamente criativo, e após a criação de personagem, já somos lançados em uma introdução que resume nossa situação como “possessão demoníaca”. A ideia de não saber o que aconteceu com nosso corpo por um ano é intrigante e ao mesmo tempo desenvolve várias possibilidades de enredo, o que torna a interação e a exploração ainda mais instigantes e inesperadas.
Diferente de outros jogos point and click que normalmente desenvolvem somente o enredo principal, protagonista e um personagem secundário, em Unavowed temos um grupo cativante de personagens divertidos e extremamente carismáticos. Sabe aqueles comentários de “eu sempre tenho dificuldade de escolher meus companheiros de aventura”? Então, aqui passamos pela mesma sensação, pois cada um apresenta diferentes comentários, opiniões, diálogos e interações com o universo e isso juntando ao elemento carisma, torna a sensação até mesmo angustiante.
Mesmo não sendo meu estilo, o Jazz presente em todo o jogo se torna tão ambiental que na maior parte da campanha o jogador nem sente que ele realmente está presente, porém existem momentos que ao invés de ajudar ele acaba atrapalhando e nem chega a ser pelo som exatamente, mas pela mixagem (parece ser um problema crônico dos jogos da Wadjet Eye).
Um dos maiores pontos negativos para muitos jogadores foi o desenvolvimento final, a falta de um final óbvio em questões gerais deixou muita gente com um gosto amargo na boca, mas sinceramente?
Eu sou do grupo que ama finais ruins, finais em aberto e finais que muitos odeiam, então acabei adorando todos eles, pois de uma forma bem positiva acabou abrindo espaço para uma possível sequência, situação que não seria possível se tivéssemos o final tão esperado pela maior parte da comunidade.
Uma única possível reclamação vem da falta de impacto das escolhas no final, porém a exploração e a forma como resolvemos cada uma delas são tão variadas e divertidas que sozinhas já evitam essa sensação de impacto.
Para quem curte o gênero, Unavowed é quase uma obrigação, pois se enquadra facilmente ao lado de obras populares como Syberia e The Longest Journey, já para quem está tentando entrar no gênero ou curte um enredo com plots e escolhas, esse também pode ser um ótimo jogo para gastar suas próximas 12 horas de vida.
Mesmo sendo lançado em 2018, o jogo possui aquele ar de antiguidade que faz muitos jogadores sonharem com os momentos de nostalgia e a soundtrack com foco em jazz permite ainda mais essa sensação. Assim como aconteceu em Blackwell, franquia que se passa no mesmo universo, o jogo possui um único grande problema que são a falta de capital, ou seja, existem algumas partes que com um pouco mais de investimento seriam ainda mais desenvolvidas, mas infelizmente, sabemos que a vida de desenvolvedoras menores focadas em nichos não é de tanta sorte.
Como estamos falando de um jogo de point and click, sabemos que as principais características devem ser: narrativa, voice actor e estilo de arte e, como sempre a Wadjet Eye não falhou (tá, talvez tenha falhado no trabalho de organização do volume dos áudios, mas quem sou eu para reclamar de um detalhe tão insignificante perante todos os outros elementos?).
O enredo principal é extremamente criativo, e após a criação de personagem, já somos lançados em uma introdução que resume nossa situação como “possessão demoníaca”. A ideia de não saber o que aconteceu com nosso corpo por um ano é intrigante e ao mesmo tempo desenvolve várias possibilidades de enredo, o que torna a interação e a exploração ainda mais instigantes e inesperadas.
Diferente de outros jogos point and click que normalmente desenvolvem somente o enredo principal, protagonista e um personagem secundário, em Unavowed temos um grupo cativante de personagens divertidos e extremamente carismáticos. Sabe aqueles comentários de “eu sempre tenho dificuldade de escolher meus companheiros de aventura”? Então, aqui passamos pela mesma sensação, pois cada um apresenta diferentes comentários, opiniões, diálogos e interações com o universo e isso juntando ao elemento carisma, torna a sensação até mesmo angustiante.
Mesmo não sendo meu estilo, o Jazz presente em todo o jogo se torna tão ambiental que na maior parte da campanha o jogador nem sente que ele realmente está presente, porém existem momentos que ao invés de ajudar ele acaba atrapalhando e nem chega a ser pelo som exatamente, mas pela mixagem (parece ser um problema crônico dos jogos da Wadjet Eye).
Um dos maiores pontos negativos para muitos jogadores foi o desenvolvimento final, a falta de um final óbvio em questões gerais deixou muita gente com um gosto amargo na boca, mas sinceramente?
Eu sou do grupo que ama finais ruins, finais em aberto e finais que muitos odeiam, então acabei adorando todos eles, pois de uma forma bem positiva acabou abrindo espaço para uma possível sequência, situação que não seria possível se tivéssemos o final tão esperado pela maior parte da comunidade.
Uma única possível reclamação vem da falta de impacto das escolhas no final, porém a exploração e a forma como resolvemos cada uma delas são tão variadas e divertidas que sozinhas já evitam essa sensação de impacto.
Para quem curte o gênero, Unavowed é quase uma obrigação, pois se enquadra facilmente ao lado de obras populares como Syberia e The Longest Journey, já para quem está tentando entrar no gênero ou curte um enredo com plots e escolhas, esse também pode ser um ótimo jogo para gastar suas próximas 12 horas de vida.
For a few hours it sufficiently scratches the old Adventure Game itch. The writing is decent enough (especially when it's mimicking LucasArt's signature brand of humor in the dialogue trees), and the art, backgrounds and music are nice...
...and then things begin to unravel as you get deeper and deeper into the game, and realize that it will never open up.
Unavowed is made of these little bite-sized vignettes, with simplistic, low-challenge puzzles that do nothing but act as caution tape to crawl under to experience the rest of what is really, at its heart, a VN. And that's fine, but that's not really what I thought I was signing up for, and I was not compelled enough by the story to find the extremely shallow gameplay elements forgivable.
The atmosphere in some or most of the sequences here is cool! It's occulty and sinister--the overall vibe of the game is what I liked, and what drew me through a lot of it.
Its foreground is just a little too chintzy, perhaps scared of chasing players off with too-arcane or too-complex puzzles, but then, consequently, losing the magic that made solving those classic adventure games of old truly satisfying.
...and then things begin to unravel as you get deeper and deeper into the game, and realize that it will never open up.
Unavowed is made of these little bite-sized vignettes, with simplistic, low-challenge puzzles that do nothing but act as caution tape to crawl under to experience the rest of what is really, at its heart, a VN. And that's fine, but that's not really what I thought I was signing up for, and I was not compelled enough by the story to find the extremely shallow gameplay elements forgivable.
The atmosphere in some or most of the sequences here is cool! It's occulty and sinister--the overall vibe of the game is what I liked, and what drew me through a lot of it.
Its foreground is just a little too chintzy, perhaps scared of chasing players off with too-arcane or too-complex puzzles, but then, consequently, losing the magic that made solving those classic adventure games of old truly satisfying.
not my game style but good game
I really respect what Wadjet Eye tried to do with Unavowed, and a lot of it worked really well for me. However, ultimately I think it was perhaps a little too ambitious in scope for the resources that they have available.
By having so many choices in the game, it means that a huge chunk of the game is not seen in a single playthrough, with many optional pieces of dialog and character building. I think the development resources were stretched a bit too thin in order to achieve this and I felt this most keenly in the puzzle design - almost every puzzle has a very simple solution, there are very few items in the game and much of it is progressed simply by exhausting all dialog options. Many of the encounters feel quite shallow as different characters need to be able to slot in and out of the situations depending on your choices.
I do like the characters and the world, some more than others, and I really liked the idea of having companion characters along for the ride with lots of idle chitchat and colouring the world for you. The "silent protagonist" style makes sense and they do some cool stuff with it, but I still didn't really like it. Your main character is incredibly dull in almost every way and it doesn't really make sense that you have as much control over events as you do.
Still I would be interested in a tighter, more focused sequel. Personally I would prefer if each mission just had set companions that insist they come a long for whatever reason and the entire sequence was structured with those characters in mind.
The achievements were also very annoying, requiring you to play through the pretty much the whole game with every possible combination of characters in order to get them all.
By having so many choices in the game, it means that a huge chunk of the game is not seen in a single playthrough, with many optional pieces of dialog and character building. I think the development resources were stretched a bit too thin in order to achieve this and I felt this most keenly in the puzzle design - almost every puzzle has a very simple solution, there are very few items in the game and much of it is progressed simply by exhausting all dialog options. Many of the encounters feel quite shallow as different characters need to be able to slot in and out of the situations depending on your choices.
I do like the characters and the world, some more than others, and I really liked the idea of having companion characters along for the ride with lots of idle chitchat and colouring the world for you. The "silent protagonist" style makes sense and they do some cool stuff with it, but I still didn't really like it. Your main character is incredibly dull in almost every way and it doesn't really make sense that you have as much control over events as you do.
Still I would be interested in a tighter, more focused sequel. Personally I would prefer if each mission just had set companions that insist they come a long for whatever reason and the entire sequence was structured with those characters in mind.
The achievements were also very annoying, requiring you to play through the pretty much the whole game with every possible combination of characters in order to get them all.
Complete playthrough. The latest offering from Wadjet Eye Games modern masters of the point-and-click adventure game, Unavowed tells a supernatural story in a contemporary setting, with players taking control of a character recently released from demonic possession., who joins the evil-fighting group "The Unavowed" as they seek to understand the motives behind that possession and the 'unpleasantries' committed during it. The plot here is utterly compelling, in an impressively well-realised and internally consistent world, and features a number of impactful, well-judged 'twists'.
Taking place over a series of (mostly self-contained) scenarios that ensure that the complexity of the puzzle-solving stays as a balances level of complexity, perhaps the greatest innovation on offer here is the implementation of a party system, with the main protagonist accompanied to each location by two from the wider group, freely selectable, and the puzzle solutions adapt very impressively to suit any party composition. Those characters aren't merely puzzle-solving devices, though, each having an intriguing back-story to explore, while also really brought to life with conversations that play out between each other without needing player intervention. All realised with some beautifully detailed, high-resolution pixelart and also including a full-integrated commentary mode offering an insight on the development process, Unavowed is right at the peak of its genre.
Taking place over a series of (mostly self-contained) scenarios that ensure that the complexity of the puzzle-solving stays as a balances level of complexity, perhaps the greatest innovation on offer here is the implementation of a party system, with the main protagonist accompanied to each location by two from the wider group, freely selectable, and the puzzle solutions adapt very impressively to suit any party composition. Those characters aren't merely puzzle-solving devices, though, each having an intriguing back-story to explore, while also really brought to life with conversations that play out between each other without needing player intervention. All realised with some beautifully detailed, high-resolution pixelart and also including a full-integrated commentary mode offering an insight on the development process, Unavowed is right at the peak of its genre.
Decent little point and click. I like how there were different solutions and dialogue based on your choices and who you had in your party. Story's is pretty good. A few bumps but not bad.
29 - Unavowed - SteamDeck - 8 hours / 17th July - 10/10
Fantastic throwback to the glorious golden age of point n click adventure games. I loved the characters and the stories it’s telling, it’s also amazing to see how many’s different ways there are of playing this game depending on the character archetype you chose at the start and which team mates you select for each mission, it’s a thing of beauty. The ending is also very rewarding, taking into account all the decisions you made throughout the adventure.
Fantastic throwback to the glorious golden age of point n click adventure games. I loved the characters and the stories it’s telling, it’s also amazing to see how many’s different ways there are of playing this game depending on the character archetype you chose at the start and which team mates you select for each mission, it’s a thing of beauty. The ending is also very rewarding, taking into account all the decisions you made throughout the adventure.
One of the best point and click games I have played in a long time. The story is immersive, the characters and the dialogues are well-written, and the atmosphere along with the music is just great. I would definitely recommend this game to anyone who is enthusiastic about point and click games.
A great time from start to finish. Unavowed tells a compelling story with all the enjoyable parts of a point and click game and none of the frustrations. Every party member was likable, especially Eli, and I greatly enjoyed all the unique interactions you could get from mixing up your team on each mission. The puzzles were satisfying to solve while rarely taking too long to figure out and there was effort put into making the puzzles solvable regardless of your team composition with different solutions. I feel like a lot of the story-heavy indie games I try out tend to have their writing mired in irony and quirkiness so I really appreciated Unavowed's dedication to just being a serious and genuine modern fantasy adventure that knew when to properly lighten the mood with its realistic and enjoyable dialogue. It also did a nice job at presenting some genuinely tough decisions at the end of each chapter and it was neat seeing the consequences at the end of the game. The art was really nice, and combined with the great soundtrack it was able to keep up a really nice atmosphere throughout every investigation.
I really like the games that Wadjet develop more than the games they publish. This one sort of mixes up Blackwell with Maniac Mansion. At the start of the game you get to pick which character to play as (from a police officer, a barista and a DJ). I picked the police officer and during the game there were specific interactions which were for that character.
The game takes a lot of the spooky elements from the Blackwell series (and there are a few call backs to it), though isn't just limited to the dead this time.
Instead you end up joining the secret supernatural police (not affiliated with the police though) who have been protecting New York. I've been enjoying the Peter Grant series of books of late, so this fit nicely into that.
The game is split into episodes, each episode being dealing with a specific person or group of people but tying into an overarching story (hmmm.... also very Blackwell). And during each episode you decide which two partners will accompany you. How you solve the episode is dependent on this and some characters seem to open up about their lives depending on what's going on the episode. There seems to be at least one episode where the game seems to need three partners though and so it does a little awkward thing where one of the partners says "oh I have an appointment that I need to go to, I'll get so-and-so to come" but generally all of the episodes seem to be able to be done with any two.
The issue though is that you get to see the bits of the puzzle that can be solved with other characters and it can sometimes throw you "if only I had so-and-so, I'd be able to get past this easier". The partners you're with are in your inventory (as well as physically walking around) which is a bit strange.
Sometimes getting your partners to do things that you want isn't always obvious. Normally you select them from the inventory and click on the thing you want them to interact with. At one point I wanted one of the characters to give an item to an npc. To do so need to give the item to my partner and they just knew what I wanted.
That said there's often very few items to deal with so the puzzles aren't overly complicated. There's quite a few password/keypad puzzles. There's nothing that is going to have you pulling your hair out.
The partners also occasionally talk to each other unprompted. Annoyingly though if you change screens or interact with anything they'll stop their conversation and not pick it up again. So you're often waiting for them to finish before doing anything.
At the end of each episode your faced with a choice of how to deal with the supernatural entity. The final episode seems to rely on what choices you made, but it seems to have some flexibility if you choose wrong a couple of times. I'm not sure if you can end up not being able to finish the game though. And there's a couple of different endings depending on how you deal with the final entity. Had a few reloads on that one before I figured out the best way of dealing with it.
The story is quite good and there's a nice twist near the end.
The game takes a lot of the spooky elements from the Blackwell series (and there are a few call backs to it), though isn't just limited to the dead this time.
Instead you end up joining the secret supernatural police (not affiliated with the police though) who have been protecting New York. I've been enjoying the Peter Grant series of books of late, so this fit nicely into that.
The game is split into episodes, each episode being dealing with a specific person or group of people but tying into an overarching story (hmmm.... also very Blackwell). And during each episode you decide which two partners will accompany you. How you solve the episode is dependent on this and some characters seem to open up about their lives depending on what's going on the episode. There seems to be at least one episode where the game seems to need three partners though and so it does a little awkward thing where one of the partners says "oh I have an appointment that I need to go to, I'll get so-and-so to come" but generally all of the episodes seem to be able to be done with any two.
The issue though is that you get to see the bits of the puzzle that can be solved with other characters and it can sometimes throw you "if only I had so-and-so, I'd be able to get past this easier". The partners you're with are in your inventory (as well as physically walking around) which is a bit strange.
Sometimes getting your partners to do things that you want isn't always obvious. Normally you select them from the inventory and click on the thing you want them to interact with. At one point I wanted one of the characters to give an item to an npc. To do so need to give the item to my partner and they just knew what I wanted.
That said there's often very few items to deal with so the puzzles aren't overly complicated. There's quite a few password/keypad puzzles. There's nothing that is going to have you pulling your hair out.
The partners also occasionally talk to each other unprompted. Annoyingly though if you change screens or interact with anything they'll stop their conversation and not pick it up again. So you're often waiting for them to finish before doing anything.
At the end of each episode your faced with a choice of how to deal with the supernatural entity. The final episode seems to rely on what choices you made, but it seems to have some flexibility if you choose wrong a couple of times. I'm not sure if you can end up not being able to finish the game though. And there's a couple of different endings depending on how you deal with the final entity. Had a few reloads on that one before I figured out the best way of dealing with it.
The story is quite good and there's a nice twist near the end.
Dave Gilbert's best PnC to date. The story is interesting, the puzzles are satisfying, the party mechanics are well-done, and all of the characters feel like they belong.
This is a modern adventure game that plays exactly how most modern adventure games seem to play out. That is to say, it's a visual novel where you can pick up items and rub them on each other. Your interest will hinge almost entirely on whether you're interested in the story, which is essentially a Dresden files modern supernatural mystery. If you're OK with adventure games and you like that sort of story, this is the game for you. In fact, this is very much the game for you, considering how much written content this game has. Each mission only allows for two people from your scooby gang of supernatural detectives, so there’s a ton of interactions that can only been seen on subsequent playthroughs. Puzzle solutions are also unique to each character’s abilities, so the developers put a lot of consideration into how genre fans would dig into it. It’s an easy recommendation if you’re that type of person, if not, it’s a safe pass.
Dave Gilbert and WadjetEye are definitely among my favorite developers of all time at this point.
The puzzles were all pretty trivial. I only had to slow down a couple of time over the course of the game to figure things out, and I never needed any sort of outside help. I'm 100% ok with that since I'm not a huge fan of point and click game puzzles in most cases. I mostly see Point and Click as a vehicle to give players a bit more involvement in a narrative, rather than a genre I enjoy on its own.
The background and character portraits are all gorgeous and go a long way to setting the mood. Unfortunately, the character sprite work aren't quite up to snuff. The walking animations are in particular very wooden and awkward.
The voice acting was generally good, but there were some lines here and there that didn't land quite right. The audio quality seemed a little uneven throughout, but I'm not enough of an audiophile to really be able to say why or how.
It was very well written. Great characters and great overall plot and twists, with plenty of foreshadowing and logical conclusions to the decisions you make along the way. It never quite had the emotional impact of the best portions of the Blackwell Series for me. I think it's the grittier, gorier, grimmer writing. That said, there definitely were well written emotional scenes, and the twists and overall plot were top notch. I really loved the callbacks to Blackwell, as well. Tastefully handled.
Definitely worth a playthrough if Point and Click isn't a major turn off and you want a well-written urban fantasy adventure.
The puzzles were all pretty trivial. I only had to slow down a couple of time over the course of the game to figure things out, and I never needed any sort of outside help. I'm 100% ok with that since I'm not a huge fan of point and click game puzzles in most cases. I mostly see Point and Click as a vehicle to give players a bit more involvement in a narrative, rather than a genre I enjoy on its own.
The background and character portraits are all gorgeous and go a long way to setting the mood. Unfortunately, the character sprite work aren't quite up to snuff. The walking animations are in particular very wooden and awkward.
The voice acting was generally good, but there were some lines here and there that didn't land quite right. The audio quality seemed a little uneven throughout, but I'm not enough of an audiophile to really be able to say why or how.
It was very well written. Great characters and great overall plot and twists, with plenty of foreshadowing and logical conclusions to the decisions you make along the way. It never quite had the emotional impact of the best portions of the Blackwell Series for me. I think it's the grittier, gorier, grimmer writing. That said, there definitely were well written emotional scenes, and the twists and overall plot were top notch. I really loved the callbacks to Blackwell, as well. Tastefully handled.
Definitely worth a playthrough if Point and Click isn't a major turn off and you want a well-written urban fantasy adventure.
bonito boas ideias bons puzzles bom plot twist varios bês sabe mas principalmente otimo setting mano que ideia base foda
Unavowed est un très très chouette point and click à l'univers urban fantasy réussi et plein de personnages sympathiques. Pas d'énigmes débiles, et une structure assez originale pour le genre. Excellente pioche.
If you love the banter in games like "Dragon Age" and you get bored of the combat, this might be the game for you. It reinvents the adventure game formula—it's as revolutionary as "The Secret of Monkey Island"—and majorly rewards replayability. I played as the cop on my first playthrough and am the bartender on the second. It's blowing my mind how the story structure changes and how it further develops certain characters.
Literally couldn't stop playing until i finished it! Great characters, dialogues, story overall! The ending is kinda bad though. Feels like your choices didn't really matter
Wadjet Eye's old-school point-and-click adventure draws inspiration from case-of-the-week TV such as The X Files or Buffy, taking place over seven stand-alone episodes in which its magic-powered heroes must solve supernatural crimes that span the breadth of New York City. The cases themselves are never particularly challenging, but the storytelling is compelling, funny and even occasionally moving—particularly as we witness the redemption arcs of each character. The ability to play the episodes in a different way depending on your choice of sidekicks is a novel idea for the genre too. However, the highlight of Unavowed is by far the third-act reveal—an ingenious and unexpected twist that provokes you to re-think everything about the story.
This review contains spoilers
Dave Gilbert and all those hanging out under the Wadjet Eye umbrella have been banging out some of the greatest adventure games of the 21st century since 2006’s The Shivah, every bit as essential a game to the canon of the genre as a Monkey Island or Broken Sword or Space/King’s Quest. The Blackwell series in particular represented (mostly) a high for them that I considered impossible to top, especially after Epiphany’s perfect closing chapter.
And yet here we are, with Unavowed. A new high for Wadjet Eye, and an exemplary specimen of what the genre can be.
A solidly written story of mysteries, magic, and many deaths is what you get for playing, but the playing itself is the true joy, using a team-building mechanic where you can take any two of an eventual four (well, five) partners with you to investigate the hellish machinations an apparent demon possession caused your player character to inflict upon New York, and each of these partners has their own moral values, distinct opinions on choices you make, and abilities for puzzle-solving, delivering something akin to Dungeons & Dragons’ moral alignments, albeit with them managing to rationalise or cope with you doing something completely opposed to your opinions.
Not that you’ll often find that being the case. By choosing certain teams, it influences you the player as a role-player yourself (and your character is even something of a choice too, as you combine gender and job for some variation, and name yourself, kinda). It makes you want to not just choose what your team-mates are suggesting to please them, but also to choose something based on their input, as the writing is so well done as to make them feel like fully-realised human beings (or half-djinn in one case) whose opinions you value.
There was one moment within the game where I had, without much thought, chosen Mandana (aforementioned half-djinn with a sword) and Vicki (ex-cop, has gun). This is a team more accepting of the ‘easy’ solution to problems, and one where I would feel less guilty for doing just that. We’d survived an outburst of unfettered creativity (long story), and had to deal with the one who inflicted this upon us. In other, similar situations, Eli (un-aging fire mage) or Logan (bestower with a child ghost attached) would pull me down to earth. But no, this was a team that could kill, and I the player wouldn’t feel guilty. Instant choice. Vicki. Bang. It felt like a natural outcome of the team chosen, regardless of the possibilities available, and that’s some storytelling magic. It’s one thing to give a player choice. It’s another to make one of those choices feel incredibly natural under the circumstances you’ve made for yourself.
And that’s the magic of Unavowed. It creates these moments with you, and that now feels like the baseline adventure games should aspire to.
And yet here we are, with Unavowed. A new high for Wadjet Eye, and an exemplary specimen of what the genre can be.
A solidly written story of mysteries, magic, and many deaths is what you get for playing, but the playing itself is the true joy, using a team-building mechanic where you can take any two of an eventual four (well, five) partners with you to investigate the hellish machinations an apparent demon possession caused your player character to inflict upon New York, and each of these partners has their own moral values, distinct opinions on choices you make, and abilities for puzzle-solving, delivering something akin to Dungeons & Dragons’ moral alignments, albeit with them managing to rationalise or cope with you doing something completely opposed to your opinions.
Not that you’ll often find that being the case. By choosing certain teams, it influences you the player as a role-player yourself (and your character is even something of a choice too, as you combine gender and job for some variation, and name yourself, kinda). It makes you want to not just choose what your team-mates are suggesting to please them, but also to choose something based on their input, as the writing is so well done as to make them feel like fully-realised human beings (or half-djinn in one case) whose opinions you value.
There was one moment within the game where I had, without much thought, chosen Mandana (aforementioned half-djinn with a sword) and Vicki (ex-cop, has gun). This is a team more accepting of the ‘easy’ solution to problems, and one where I would feel less guilty for doing just that. We’d survived an outburst of unfettered creativity (long story), and had to deal with the one who inflicted this upon us. In other, similar situations, Eli (un-aging fire mage) or Logan (bestower with a child ghost attached) would pull me down to earth. But no, this was a team that could kill, and I the player wouldn’t feel guilty. Instant choice. Vicki. Bang. It felt like a natural outcome of the team chosen, regardless of the possibilities available, and that’s some storytelling magic. It’s one thing to give a player choice. It’s another to make one of those choices feel incredibly natural under the circumstances you’ve made for yourself.
And that’s the magic of Unavowed. It creates these moments with you, and that now feels like the baseline adventure games should aspire to.
A pretty great story with a somewhat unsatisfying end. They could have done a bit more with the ending considering how extensively a lot of the second half accounts for different party members. A lot of the story presents some genuine dilemmas in choice that don't really impact you in significant ways but still feel like choices you make. Some stuff comes completely out of left field and there's some really neat twists and story beats that kept me on the edge of my seat. The characters are all very entertaining and there's a surprising amount of really funny humor that made me genuinely laugh out loud. The puzzles have zero moon logic to them and you can get hints from your companions at almost every step of the way
I highly recommend it for fans of point-and-clicks and anyone looking for a good story
I highly recommend it for fans of point-and-clicks and anyone looking for a good story
One of Wadjet Eye's finest adventures. A real treat of a game, combining adventure logic with BioWare-esque team management. That's a combination we'd love to see more of in the future! And damn, has it really been four years since it launched? Damn.
this game made me learn how much i enjoy point-and-clicks and caused me to check out a lot of the Classics (TM) but for some ungodly reason i've never finished it, should really get back to my roots someday ngl
A fun little romp through New York City. Like its Blackwell predecessors, the developers bring adventure gaming to the modern era and make it fun, despite the genre itself not being a great favourite of mine. There is a big emphasis on replayability; multiple origins, decisions, and endings, but I petered out fairly quickly after completing it once. However, the first way through was more than satisfying enough, and the extras being there isn't a downside.
It's fun, there's not much to it puzzlewise but the narrative is compelling from start to finish. It's definitely Copaganda though.
Another great Dave Gilbert adventure game, in lore with his Blackwell pentalogy, which is just fantastic. Its paranormal investigation plot is absolutely packed with meaningful choices that shape your endgame, and party composition also drastically alters the puzzles you face in order to solve each scenario, which adds immediate replay value, not a common feature of point&click adventures, also aided by the multiple endings.
Production values are excellent as always, with great music, voice acting and pixel art for backgrounds and portraits, though character animations could have used some more work.
On the negative side, the silent protagonist is a bit lackluster and the three characters system tends to get in the way on occasion: you will sometimes spend minutes looking for an interactive spot, only to discover one of your guys was standing in front of it, hiding it from view. It would have been better to study a few safe spots where the teammates could stand out of the way on each static screen, sidestepping the issue entirely.
There is also a downside to the efforts made for replay value: at the start of every chapter you are required to select two characters to accompany you, with the problem that some characters are simply much more interesting than others, so some you'll never want to bring along, especially since one in particular doesn't apper to have any paranormal ability and only seems to know how to use a gun. Maybe that was a funny jab at X-Men's Black Widow but considering you cannot change your party mid-mission, this can lead to some frustration when you find a puzzle that could be solved if only you brought someone else along and you cannot go back to get them (unless you load an old save). You don't need to, since any party composition can solve all scenarios, but it might be frustrating to some.
Small niggles aside though, this is an excellent adventure game that all fans of the genre should play.
Production values are excellent as always, with great music, voice acting and pixel art for backgrounds and portraits, though character animations could have used some more work.
On the negative side, the silent protagonist is a bit lackluster and the three characters system tends to get in the way on occasion: you will sometimes spend minutes looking for an interactive spot, only to discover one of your guys was standing in front of it, hiding it from view. It would have been better to study a few safe spots where the teammates could stand out of the way on each static screen, sidestepping the issue entirely.
There is also a downside to the efforts made for replay value: at the start of every chapter you are required to select two characters to accompany you, with the problem that some characters are simply much more interesting than others, so some you'll never want to bring along, especially since one in particular doesn't apper to have any paranormal ability and only seems to know how to use a gun. Maybe that was a funny jab at X-Men's Black Widow but considering you cannot change your party mid-mission, this can lead to some frustration when you find a puzzle that could be solved if only you brought someone else along and you cannot go back to get them (unless you load an old save). You don't need to, since any party composition can solve all scenarios, but it might be frustrating to some.
Small niggles aside though, this is an excellent adventure game that all fans of the genre should play.
Missing the Lucas Arts's Old Games If You're Like Me You Probably Gonna like UNAVOWED