As a long time horror fan, Clock Tower is STILL one of my favorites to date. Amazing how it holds up because of its genuine use of atmosphere and tension, along with lack of soundtrack to complete the mood. Also, still bummed we never got a good Daria game.
Honestly, i actually think that for stories like Sanitarium, it's actually REQUIRED to have weird-ass, stilted voice acting that's treading through the uncanny. When you consider everything David Lynch ever made, the Silent Hill games and countless other mystery/horror media, you can't write off the voice acting in a game where you visit imaginary worlds, as bad. In this context, it adds to the atmosphere if it's off. Very cool list PUR, i wouldn't change a thing about it. Why would i, it's a list of your own personal preferences, lol. Do you really get that many yuppies criticizing the choices you made?
Same here. Even though I own a couple of Point and Click games, and Zork is my favorite game of all time, I just loathe the moon logic and puzzle design of the vast majority of the games.
Same here. I like the idea of adventure games but the puzzles kill them for me. I just don’t like puzzles in video games in general. Luckily Silent Hill has easy puzzle difficultly 😉
you prolly dont care but does anybody know a way to log back into an instagram account?? I stupidly lost my login password. I would appreciate any tips you can offer me!
Note to anyone who hasn't played I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream: PLAY IT. It is amazing. It's absolutely reasonable that someone wouldn't want to play it again. It's a hard game to get through in some places. "Dark themes" is an understatement. But it's absolutely worth one play-through. Hell, at least watch an LP of it.
I would recommend trying The Longest Journey at some point. It's been a while since I played it now (about 5 years, yikes) but I did have fun with it. Very long game, but worth the time I think. Also I'm glad to see Dynamix get a quick mention, I was wondering if they'd be allowed since they technically became a division of Sierra. As for games I might have put on the list, perhaps Dragonsphere, Botanicula and Thimbleweed Park (I mean it's technically not LucasArts!). Great two parter! I need to get around to playing a lot of these at some point.
I had an entire section for Willy Beamish but decided it was just too connected to Sierra. But maybe some of the Dynamix games will get their own video. :)
the longest journey and frankly all the sequels (prequels? i forget) are incredible. funcom has some terrific writers and those games are very memorable
the Longest Journey has one of the worst game designs (not only hair-pulling puzzles, but overall game too) and trite borring story. April's ok, I guess - genre-aware snarky teen, but that's about it. Highly overrated.
6 лет назад
The Tex Murphy adventures are my fav non Sierra/LucasArts games. The humor, the puzzle solving, the characters, they're all great.
I'm not very accustomed to adventure games, both old and not-so-old, so first of all, thank you for these videos, it's been very interesting and it's definitely given me food for thought ! I've bought some of the classics on Steam and GOG, like the Monkey Island ones, but never found the time to play them. I've tried Blade Runner 'cause it's an abandonware now, so it was easy to get, and man was it amazing. If you ever get the possibility to grab a functional copy, you should check it out. Being somewhat new to the genre, I couldn't really compare it with other games, but it definitely was an amazing journey. Another that really stayed with me is Beneath a Steel Sky, a game by Revolution Software, released in 1994. It was offered when I created my GOG account, so I gave it a try, and wow. Post-apocalyptic setting, bittersweet story, lots of humour, nice enigmas (though I found them hard sometimes, had to check some guides - but again, I'm really not that good with point'n'click adventure games). The characters and the ending stucked with me for a while and I have very fond memories of this game.
YES! I mentioned Blade Runner in the first video too, cause imo it still is one of the best unknown adventure games ever. Even the whole randomised outcome and characters is mindblowing and I thought this would be the future of adventure games, but no game after included something like that (at least on that much of a branching size)
I recently fell in love with the Blackwell series by Wadjet Eye Games. I know they aren't 'old' by any stretch of the imagination, but they just feel charming and as the games go on I feel more and more like I'm a detective which is the Point and Click narrative I love the most. I will say that it's hard sometimes to go in order for the series as they aren't numbered so a here's the order for you all if you're interested: *The Blackwell Legacy, Blackwell Unbound, Blackwell Convergence, Blackwell Deception, Blackwell Epiphany*
Oh the Blade Runner game, I wish you could buy it on GOG. It's one of my all time favorite games, based on one of my all time favorite movies. But yeah Sanitarium definitely deserved that 1st place, sooooo gooooood!!
I know it's not on GOG, that's why I said that. I didn't know the source code was lost though...but there aren't any other way though? Like extracting the code directly from a commercial version or something? A bit like what Bluepoint did for the MGS HD ports or HD version of Ico.
I don't think the source code is the reason it hasn't been re-released, it's because nobody wants to pay the license for Blade Runner because adventure games don't sell these days.
So glad you chose Sanitarium. I have a terrible memory so my nostalgia is often wonky at best but I remember the first level of Sanitarium vividly. I'm always looking to go back and play it but thwarted by the colossal amount of games yet to be played. Love your videos, keep up the excellent work!
The longest Journey is a masterpiece. And the rest of the games in the trilogy, although not as good and had a bit of different style, make for a great story. I would love to see you check it out one day. Definitely recommended.
It is the longest because character have run a lot between places and you can't skip it. If you have patience to watch that, this is really great trilogy and worth playing.
Finally played through it after years of, khem, longing for it and... honestly I found the protagonist incredibly annoying and the game just did nothing me. I even preferred the first Syberia, flawed as it is.
Well thank you. I know people like list formats, but I also didn't want to make them shallow or too brief, so I used the format to lure people into watching but still wrote a detailed and personal video. :)
The Longest Journey is one of favourite games, including games outside of the adventure genre. I remember having to reserve a copy at EB Games because it was flying off the shelves. I wasn't much of an adventure game player, but I absolutely fell in love with the game. You've said you're not terribly familiar with it, but it's seriously worthwhile to play through and I hope some day you'll take the time to give it a full go.
I was strangely saddened to see that Blade Runner didn't make it to the list, and for such reason to that! One of my favourites, and definitely worth checking out, especially if you liked the movie.
My list would contain Flight of the Amazon Queen, Beneath a Steel Sky, the Broken sword series, Kathy Rain. Any creations of Dave Gilbert; The Blackwell series, Technobabylon even the Shivah.
My own list would probably have Legend of Kyrandia, Blade Runner (which I played many times to get all the endings), Flight of the Amazon Queen, Beneath a Steel Sky, Simon the Sorcerer and The White Chamber. However I do agree Sanitarium is an amazing game. Still never played all the way to the end but one day I am sure I will.
I was hoping to see a Discworld in this list and was glad you included it. What you said about it being your introduction to Pratchett was exactly what happened to me with Discworld 2. That was the first adventure game I ever played, and the first piece of Pratchett media I ever consumed. I fell in love with its humour, characters, and setting right away. It's had such a huge impact on my life, leading me to read Pratchett's books, which led to me falling in love with literature, and eventually studying writing as a craft. Seriously, the entire course of my life can be traced back to that game. This was a great list, keep up the good work.
The Discworld games were fantastic, they're exactly the kind of games that I wish (moon logic aside) would be made today. The Deponia games have a similar feel (moonlogic included.) It's too bad that walkthroughs take the fun out of Point&Click adventure games, though can be forgiven for moonlogic puzzles.
Yeah! The Discworld games were awesome! Besides the DOS games, there was also a (lesser known) Windows/PSX game called Discworld Noir. It was way less whimsical than the first two installments, but the film noir/detective atmosphere fits the Discworld universe very well! So, hey Roses! Why wasn't Discworld Noir on your list? 😈
The first will always be the best for me, because I would not have started reading the books without it :) I've had a soft spot for moon logic since Monkey Island, adventure games seem more complete with it then without it (I'm looking at you, Broken Age). Deponia is not as well written (or funny) as Discworld, but it does come close (and still is kinda funny). The Whispered World is also an interesting point and click title to check out when it comes to great artwork and moon logic.
The first ep was chock-full of titles I had never heard of and wanted to check out, but even among your top picks is something new to me. Callahan's Crosstime Saloon looks gorgeous. Thanks!
Apart from Discworld I did not know about the others! Thanks for sharing as these are some really different games that aren't usually brought up - these look like some good games to try out! 😀
I bought Discworld back in the day and still got the original CD, I agree with you about the game - very hard but worth it for the characters and humor alone, it's also introduce me to Pratchett works and made me start reading the Discworld novels.
My favorite adventure game of all time is Riven. But given your list, I understand that it may not be your cup of tea. And I just found out your channel. You’ve earned yourself a new subscriber.
As someone who has been drawn into The Longest Journey, I HIGHLY, HIGHLY RECOMMEND you GO DEEPER Roses. It begins very well designed in terms of art, with few hiccups on the way! The game is so loved, the universe has survived into the modern episodic era (which I haven't tried yet, trying to go chronologically). Two sequels from memory. One is the sequel, the third part is episodic like Telltale!
The Longest Journey is without doubt my favorite adventure game. But definitely dive into the other two games as well. The second one hasn't aged all that well, but it's still worth a play through. The newest one is quite good.
The second on has not aged well in terms of gameplay i would say and was not that good to begin with for that matter. But the story is worthy and dreamfall chapters is genuinely great.
Love the video and everything else you do. I was telling my friend after I watched the Fatty Bear video a while back that I never thought I'd find a RU-vidr who matched my interests so perfectly. Keep doing this incredible work and thank you ever so much
1998 was the year I first had access to a windows PC and i got my hands of three games on day one. I basically grabbed whatever was on the shelf at the computer store that looked cool. those games were Dark Earth, Postal, and Sanitarium. I have such fond memories of being an 8th grader with a chip on his shoulder playing those gritty 90s games. Anyways, thanks so much for running this awesome channel and giving me a chance to relive those memories.
Fantastic reviews. I just watched a few of your reviews which brought me back to my childhood! I love the old point and click adventure games. Thankfully publishers like Wadjet Eye Games are popping out games like Primordia. Keep up the great work!
THANK YOU for putting Discworld on this list! The first Discworld game was something that came to me during a horrible time of my life and I fell in love with it. As I was about to walk away from that period I randomly flipped the case over and noticed that it was based on the works of Terry Pratchett whom I had never heard of. Thus began an inevitable journey into the Discworld. The characters of that world aren't just a collection of fictional fantasy to me. They're friends who saw me through an incredibly hard time of my life.
Home of the Underdogs wasn't just a site, it was a way of life for me back in the day. I found out about most of the same games you did on that site, and many others, including my all-time favorite Gothic series. Those were the days! Oh, and when I saw you put Callahan's on second position, I was wondering what the first could possibly be. And then I slapped my forehead; how could I have forgotten about one my favorite adventures of all time (and that's including Lucasarts and Sierra)? Unlike you, I have never been to a real life "sanitarium", but that game really made me feel like I was losing my mind. The atmosphere is so thick you could cut it with a knife and spread it on a toast. I have replayed it dozens of times over the years, and I'll probably play it again now that you have reminded me of it. Anyway, great video, as always. And thanks for the recommendations; I had already heard about all of these games, but some of them had never interested me before. I even bought Toonstruck right after watching part 1 of your list, so thanks again.
I stumbled across your channel after binge watching Clint Build old computers for a few weeks. Growing up I was the only one in my circle of friends that enjoyed adventure games and it is still that way deep into my adulthood. You have incredible taste in games and I am definitely going to enjoy browsing your back log of videos. Thank you for the content and also thank you for the small glimpses into your life as you push through this list. As a person who struggled and still struggles with depression and mental issues I find it comforting to find others who have similar paths and interests. Not sure if you already have tried them or not but you should check out the Deponia series, for some odd reason those games give me flashbacks to the old days of adventure games.
I remember the first time I played Sanitarium, and that voice acting comes in... I almost stopped playing because I thought it was so laughably bad. However, the story really hooked me, and after a while I found the voice acting to add a weird bit of charm to the game. So glad I stuck with it, because it really is a great game. (That Quetzalcoatl voice is really, really bad though.)
I always had a soft spot for Coktel Vision's Goblins games. They're French, somewhat surreal, very silly and lean heavily on environment-focused puzzles. Their main feature probably is that they communicate much more through animation than dialogue, which considering they're VGA games is quite a feat. After Goblins 3 which concluded the classic series, Coktel released Woodruff & The Schnibble of Azimuth which is a very odd, very cartoony science fiction story but also holds quite a bit of nostalgia for me. The Goblins games were later published by Sierra as Goblins Quest so I guess that somehow excludes them from this list.
Hah! I noticed the Clock Tower music way back in one of your Halloween videos, I browsed through your entire channel but couldn't find a video in which you covered the game. Finally got to hear your opinion on it!
I actually tuned in to this to see your review of my all-time favorite perhaps-not-actually-an-adventure game, but rather than be disappointed you didn't include it, I'm thankful you introduced me basically to 11 new games I'd never had or tried before! So thanks for the adventures!
(FY I only saw this and not Part 1),I LOVE Sanitarium. Also love The Longest Journey, Dreamfall, and Dreamfall Chapters as well. Thoroughly enjoyed Syberia I and II (I have not completed III yet though I've heard it's a chore). Obviously gotta throw in the Myst series and everything Wadjet Eye, especially Resonance and the Blackwell series. Honorable mention to Kentucky Route Zero and The Cat Lady.
Beavis and Butt-head's Virtual Stupidity is one of my favorites too. Me and my sister used to have to sneak-watch Beavis and Butt-head back in the mid 90s when we were still kids, either having to watch it with the volume real low or on mute as my mom forbade us from watching it. I used to sneakily set the VCR in my living room to record marathons of it and always tried to find ways to watch it without being seen.
Great list! I forgot Phantom and Sanitarium existed!!! You've clicked something in my mind. Thanks for sharing your personal stuff. Nice to see some love for the fantastically different Last Express (though I could swear it was published by Sierra) and Riddle of Master Lu (in a short cutscene, at least). If your missing out on Longest Journey, maybe you're too on Syberia. Another similar classic. I don't know why nobody talks about it, but I'm quite fond of a game called Deathgate. It had this conspiracy story in a fantastic world with factions, but in truly point-and-click fashion with weird inventory puzzles, etc. Maybe it wasn't good, but I loved it.
I am to glad see that Sanitarium made your list. As one of the folks that worked on the game, It brings me joy. Fun Fact, The ending used to be even shorter. It was my idea to add to it a bit. Sadly it was towards the end of development. So not much could be added.
Great lists, of course...that's par for the course for you. But I REALLY like the way you are able to integrate 'personal' details into your reviews without permitting that to overwhelm the games themselves or break the bounds of what is appropriate in a 'self-confessional' mode. Makes the lists truly specialand memorable. Now I plan to track down Callahan! (I DO like some of the books.) Thanks for the well-considered lists!
As long as we've already cracked the seal on that 5th Circle of Hell, I gotta give a shout out to the Tex Murphy games. They're probably my fave non-Sierra, non-Lucasarts adventure games. The Wadjet Eye people tend to make some good games too -- Technobabylon in particular is excellent.
Puzzled why anyone would feel guilty about downloading from an Abandonware site. Obviously you should buy a copy if it’s still being sold by the original publisher, but it’s not like the creators/developers are getting a cut if you buy old discs of a long out-of-print game off eBay.
Wow! Calahans Cross Time Salloon. I found that one through Underdogs as well. I ended up reading the books I liked the game so much. Legend really did good book tie ins that did justice to the source material.
Roses: You know that Jester from Discworld is The Doctor right? (Third!) Jon Pertwee! After DW he was in animation like SUPERTED! If you watch GOTHAM, his son is Alfred too! (Such a lovely son - for Halloween one year he went as his dad as The Doctor!)
The jester may have been Pertwee's very last role (that and all the other fabulous Discworld characters he played). Rob Brydon and Tony Robinson were great too. Multiple roles played by a small number of actors (all with distinct voices) is one of the great quirks and charms of Discworld.
Sanitarium is one of those games you must play when there's no one else around. I tried playing it once many years back, but kept getting interrupted by a jerk of a relative who kept doing this thing where he'd fear-shock me (fingers on the shoulders in claw-form). I've not been able to play it since, and yeah, I want to finish the game someday.
Thanks for the good video and good game recommendations. And thanks for sharing some personal stuff; it couldn’t have been easy, but it means a lot, especially to those of us who struggle with mental issues.
I need to check out some of these games on your list, they look like a blast. I remember loving point and click games growing up. When i was in high school, Still Life pulled me in and i couldn't stop playing it due to the story. That was my first exposure to "adult" point and click games.
I watched your let’s play of Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon with my twin brother a few years ago and even though I have never played it I was enamored with it! I was happy to see it on the list. What a well written game!
Needs more Ripper ;) Yes I know you included Black Dahlia but there’s just something amazing about the complete cheesiness of Ripper. Fantastic list! Love your content. Looks like I’ll be playing Sanitarium next. Yes somehow I haven’t played it yet.
Definitely agreed about "Toonstruck" (from Part 1) and "Virtual Stupidity"; some of my favorites include "Deja Vu II: Lost in Las Vegas" from ICOM and "Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Serrated Scalpel" from Mythos. I'm glad PUR included at least a salute to Willie Beamish as that was a favorite as well! Good list Pts 1 & 2! Hope the TP stock is full.
The adventure games I really remember from my childhood were the kinda obscure The Journeyman Project games by Presto Studios, who also did Myst III. Particularly the third entry in the Series 'Legacy of Time'. I loved that game so much. Time travelling sci fi puzzle action! The nostalgia is still really strong for me. Love your list, I get to heard about all the retro adventure games I missed as a kid :).
Hey Roses, have you ever played Countdown. Adventure point and click game about 1) Busting out of a mental asylum 2) Finding out who you are and why you were there.
Found a hard copy of Sanitarium in a charity shop two years ago (along with Realms of the Haunting). Annoyingly the manager actually knew the value of it to retro collectors so was a tad pricey... got it anyway.
Discworld Noir design is top notch. I was never able to enjoy the first two games, i never use guides, and their puzzle design is terrible. Games i really like and i would have seriously considered: Myst/Riven, Morpheus, Discworld noir, Faust, Still Life, Zork grand inquisitor, beneath a steel sky, shadow of the comet, the journeyman project series...
Yea Noir definitely had the best design, even if you could quite easily get stumped by missing one clue in your notebook. I also felt it was more Discworldy than the others in having a much more grounded sense of humour than the wackiness rollercoaster tour of the first two. That and I am a sucker for noir thrillers.
The puzzle designs of the two Discworld games aren't terrible as such, what they are is designed based on prior knowledge and understanding of the logic of the Discworld. When I first played the games they confused me too, but as I read the books and begun to understand the characters and the principles the world is based upon the games came into focus and so did my understanding of what was going on. As an example when you had to hunt down the items to kill the dragon. It's never made clear what you need, but when you realise that "million-to-one chances happen nine-times-out-of-ten" on the Discworld things come a little more into focus. If you talk to Colon and find the million-to-one chance of killing the dragon it gives you the hints you need. Another is when talking to Mrs Cake who has precognition in the book so you have to work backwards. Instead of her giving an nswer to your mood you have to work out which mood caused that reaction. I will freely admit though there are still some annoying puzzles in the game, and it's nigh on impossible if you have no prior knowledge of the Discworld though.
-- Didn't mother tell you not to walk into rooms unannounced? -- Mother told me to walk into rooms with a crossbow. She was a sensible woman. I wouldn't be surprised if Pratchett himself wrote this hilarious exchange.
Although there are one or two of these that I haven't played at least some of yet, I can't argue with anything on this list. They're all good in their own way. They may not all appeal to every gamer out there but if you're into adventure games, they're all worth taking a look. Great list!
A bit off topic, but I really empathized with your experience of needing something depressing to help you through a difficult time. For me it was an anime series called "Haibane Renmei", and watching the protagonist deal with her depression helped me with mine. As for underrated adventure games I enjoy I would say Syberia I & II, the Nelly Cootalot games, Botanicula, Heroine's Quest, and Yorkshire Gubbins.
I never tried to rank my favorite point and click games, but I would randomly say The Last Door, Shadow of the Comet, Gabriel Knight, and Dune - ok, this one is not 100% an adventure game but it still has a point and click core and the OST was a major influence for me both as a listener and a composer.
All time most loved childhood adventure game Tony Tough and the Night of Roasted Moths, I can hear flute ambiance and a nasal voice snarking at any given time breaking up my own internal monologue.
my favourite adventure game is criminally underrated, it's called the vampire diaries (yes, inspired by the same books that inspired the tv show) and it was developed by her interactive, who later went on to develop the nancy drew series of games. it's got some kinda wild puzzles and all the hilarious charm you'd expect from a live action fmv game, but also some of the richest environments i've seen in a game from the 90s; you can literally spend hours exploring and investigating all the details. it's so much fun and a lot more well designed than most people give it credit for!
The one adventure game I keep coming back to is Syberia. Its just one that hits so many little niche likes for me that I cant help but make it a definite top favorite. Another is the clockwork man. It also just has a lot I like but nowhere close to syberia.
I love me some RPG’s, but adventure games is another genre I hold dear. Great list of games! I haven’t played most of the games you included. I’ll have to dig into them myself! :)
I don't know if people say this enough, but you are a treasure :) Thanks for sharing stories about your experiences. I think there are a lot of people who are afraid to (share) and it helps to hear someone who has been through depression and more to present their thoughts in such a collected way. EDIT: Oh, I also have very fond memories of Countdown and Mean Streets by Access. Countdown did NOT want you to win, ha ha!
Good to note that Clock Tower (that version at least) was only released in Japan on the super famicom. The english translation roms were done by fans and can found easily online.
I'm partial to Dropsy and Back To The Future! I'm not as fully versed in point and clicks as I want to be, and this list gives me lots of places to go. PUR remains one of my favorite channels.
Great list! I would have complained if Discworld was missing, but there it was! May I also recommend, if you haven't played them yet, Syberia (the first one only) and Pajama Sam: No Need to Hide When It's Dark Outside.
You know what amazing adventure games I was hoping to see? Opera Fatal and Versailles, which are both mistery games and I found both of them extremely fascinating.
I ended up finding SANITARIUM via a demo on a demo disc (late 90s/early 00s). I was trapped in limbo of stores having NO IDEA about the game! Took me until what, 2009 to find the rest?! But very trippy and interesting!
I too found the discword books through the game. It came with a second hand Sega Saturn we got, I had no idea what it was but the dialogue was hilarious, I used to have that flagpole scene memorized. Then years later on a trip to Greece I was reading the back of random books at gift shop and had a, wait a minute this plot is extremely familar... it was off course Guards Guards, and from then I went on to read them all, even training myself to read in english (not my native language) because you lost half the puns in translations. They are my favourite book series and I can definetly say that type of humour changed (improved?) who I am as a person, so I that discworld game holds a big place in my heart.
Yep, Sanitarium is easily in my top 3-5 of all time, regardless of publisher. I didn't have the same powerful personal connection... but from a narrative perspective, I love how it used its themes as a way of telling a solid meta plot with self-contained and wildly different chapters. It felt like a best (and worst!) hits of a person's inner self and life experiences... how memories or fantasies are unique worlds, connected to all others by our understanding of their meaning and value in who we are and who we have become over time.... also that twisted visual design just sings to me.
Another person who discovered the Discworld novels through the video game! Admittadly I only played the demo when I was in high school but shortly after started reading the books. I've read almost all of them!
