Despite all the spam, copy-paste PR announcements and completely irrelevant information we receive in the Reticule’s inbox, every now and then something truly exciting will turn up. Tonight, just when I was considering turning in for the evening, a little gem landed on our doorstep in the form of The Inner World, an absolutely beautiful point and click adventure from Studio Fizbin
“Somehow I don’t enjoy mindless trial and error like I used to” announces Geron during what I now like to refer to as ‘The Cucumber Incident’, the one and only moment in Memoria where all reasoning and judgement are thrown out the window in place for random guess-work and pure luck. To say that there is only one such moment in a ten to twelve-hour game built around puzzle solving is a big credit especially for Daedalic Entertainment who, in my opinion have let such illogicality dog the progress of previous games. Indeed the puzzle solving in Memoria has to be the most enjoyable of any adventure game I’ve played to date.
This is in part to do with the difficulty of the puzzles and how this has been dealt with by the developers. The logic clicked really well with me and in my occasional moment or two of struggle there was always a helpful hinting system to hand, an aspect that has been honed to perfection for this release and allows you to pass by those potential moments of progressional frustration. It is also latterly to do with the genre and whilst I understand varying tastes, the context of the story surrounding the use of magic and being set in a mystical fantasy world filled with tales of conquest and heroism, was always going to firmly grab my attention. Interestingly the story itself is also part of a grand puzzle that you have to solve as its mysteries are slowly revealed to you.
Memoria tells the two intersecting stories of Geron and Sadja who whilst living in very different circumstances some five hundred years apart, have more in common than they first suspect. Geron, in a bid to free his girlfriend Nuri who has been transformed into a bird, has agreed to solve a riddle involving Sadja and her attempts to acquire the mask of Malakkar. This mask should have changed the course of a great war and placed Sadja in history books as a heroine for a nation. Instead she disappeared from all records and it’s up to Geron to discover what has happened. The intersecting stories deliver the adventure very well, each characters section releasing a little more information about the riddle, about the floating city of Drakonia, the mask of Malakkar, the great battle, the mysterious merchant Fahi and the demon that turns people into pillars of stone.
Geron’s story builds quite nicely from his first meeting with Fahi, but its Sadja’s grand tale of heroism that is most appealing. Ultimately her quest for the mask of Malakkar and her involvement in the great war are the focal point of not just her story but of Geron’s too, meaning that you don’t really explore much of Geron’s character throughout the game. Geron also tends to briefly mention events that happened in the previous game Chains of Satinav. While these lines of dialogue are not key to understanding this story, they can be a little confusing and to get the most out of Memoria it’s probably best that you have played it’s predecessor first.
Memoria is played in a chapter by chapter basis, consisting of eight chapters. Quite what the point in these chapters are is unclear as they seem to appear at unusual times during the game. Playing through the whole game without any chapters wouldn’t be detrimental but I can understand the feeling of progress they instill and ultimately they don’t harm the gameplay either.
So, this is a game about puzzles, let’s talk about that I hear you cry. Well, puzzle solving in this, the latest of Daedalic Entertainment’s increasingly long list of adventure games, is simplistic but satisfying and almost never (see ‘The Cucumber Incident’) illogical. Even if it takes you a few attempts to solve a certain puzzle, you will almost always agree that the solution is something you should have thought of rather than something you could have guessed through random trial and error. Different sets of abilities in the form of spells are provided for each of the main characters and so keep the puzzles changing all the time. As new spells are added, so too is another level of complexity and as you don’t use the same spells all the time you are always kept guessing as to the right path to proceed. Of all the abilities the ‘send vision’ spell is the most innovative and while at first this seems a bit vague the opportunities to use it are well presented. Memoria also makes use of mechanics common throughout other Daedalic games such as the looking-glass used to detect all the magic in a certain area, or the use of the space bar to show all the interactive points on-screen.
Memoria is so close to being that brilliant adventure game I yearn for that I really, really want to give it our highest score, but unfortunately it just doesn’t quite hit my lofty expectations for a couple of reasons. The major reason being the ending of the story, where for me the game stops being great and turns to merely average. I can’t mention too much without dropping some huge spoilers however the problem for me is not with the content of the ending but instead the way this ending is delivered. It seems almost like the focus of the whole plot is passed over in the matter of a couple of minutes. It’s not elaborated on too much, the major characters don’t really have much to say about it all, and to be honest it all feels a little rushed. As the second game in the world of The Dark Eye, Memoria can now be considered part of a series and it could be that Daedalic have another game planned to lead on from this. They might have more story to reveal and have purposely left some loose ends to lead into the next game, but in all honesty it feels like after such a brilliant middle sector, the ending has been squeezed of life.
This shouldn’t stop you from playing this game however as the many good points outweigh what could well just be my personal annoyance with the ending. The story is absorbing, exciting and mysterious. The characters are well animated, interesting and occasionally even funny. The visuals are stunning, with the beautifully hand drawn backdrops merging well with the computer animated characters that have more life than any drawn character could. The puzzles are intuitive, logical and occasionally very challenging and all in all, Memoria is a well polished, well delivered game with a decent length and an interesting story. I would go as far as saying this is Daedalic Entertainment’s best yet.
Verdict – Headshot
Platforms Available – PC
Platform Reviewed – PC
Review based on a copy provided by Daedalic Entertainment.
Please check this post for more on our scoring policy.
Daedalic Entertainment have been producing distinctive and high quality adventure games since their first production in 2008. Titles such as Deponia, The Whispered World and Dark Eye: The Chains of Satinav have been praised by critics for their imaginative stories, strong characters and well developed worlds. Daedalic’s latest game, The Night of the Rabbit is no different and you can read my full thoughts in the Verdict I wrote earlier in the month.
Magically I have managed to corner Matt Kempke, author of The Night of the Rabbit and have convinced him to answer a few of my questions about the game and his thoughts on future projects. Matt is no stranger when it comes to making games and has written and created his own in the past, most notably What Makes You Tick: A Stitch In Time. …
I have to admit that I’m a sucker for a game with a good story, and it’s clear from the get go that The Night of the Rabbit is a game with a good story. From the orchestral music to the intricately hand drawn world, from the solid voice acting performances to the care and attention that has been given to the delivery of the story and its characters. All of these elements create a believable and engaging world that brings me back to my childhood and the excitement and enthusiasm I had for hearing stories of adventure and discovery.
To compare The Night of the Rabbit to any of Daedalic’s previous games would be a disservice to the company as this is clearly a different game with a different message to put across to the player. This particular story tells the tale of every child who grew up with an imagination and a dream of one day doing something amazing with their lives. This story tells the tale of Jeremiah Hazelnut, the boy who dreamt of one day becoming a magician. Little did Jerry know that his dream was not as improbable as first imagined and the journey that he takes in order get there is set in motion by a chance encounter with a rabbit pulled from a hat.
The mechanics and gameplay are much the same as you would expect from any adventure game, a few unique additions in the form of spells and magical items do keep the gameplay fresh however. Along the way Jerry can learn spells that let him turn night into day (or vice versa), see invisible leprechauns or even converse with rocks leading to much hilarity and an inventory rammed with miscellaneous items. The humour is gentle and amusing, appearing often enough to keep you smiling but not so often that you get tired of its tone and direction. This fits very well with the type of story The Night of the Rabbit is trying to portray, not distracting the player too much from its main points but often giving you a line of dialogue to chuckle over.
From the initial scenes of Jerry waking up to discover he still has two days of summer holiday left to the exploration of Mousewood, The Night of the Rabbit really performs well at keeping me engaged in the story. The unravelling mysteries of the forest keep me second guessing the direction of the story and how to progress with the game. Who are the mysterious foxes and lizards seen in Mousewood? Will I ever get to meet the Great Zaroff? And just what exactly is blue juice made from? The Night of the Rabbit is not without its flaws of course and with so many directions in which to venture the pacing of the game does suffer somewhat after the first visit to the town of Mousewood. It’s almost as if the games has its own Inception of puzzles, within puzzles, within… you get the idea.
On occasion one of these puzzles can prove illogical to the point that it slows the gameplay down to a crawl, halting progression and negating from the pleasant atmosphere of the gameplay. There is also an annoying oversight where the in-game journal does not record the information you would expect it to. On one or two occasions this meant I had to cycle thorough a whole riddle multiple times in order to dissect the meaning of each individual part. This on its own would not be such a major problem, but coupled with the before mentioned logical mind-boggling and you can find yourself going round in circles and resorting to trial and error in order to advance in the game.
While I would say that The Night of the Rabbit is clearly aimed at a younger audience, there is plenty here for gamers of all ages to enjoy such as the challenging puzzles and enjoyable world and characters. The game often hints at popular culture giving references to characters like Harry Potter and Mario and the general nostalgic feel of games like Monkey Island will keep 2D adventure veterans thoroughly content. With a play length of 9-11 hours there is plenty of game for your money. On top of the main story there are also collectibles, achievements and a card game that can extend the life of the game beyond even that.
It’s a rare thing that a game delivers such a warm sense of nostalgia and with The Night of the Rabbit being as detailed and well presented as it is, it’s easy to overlook its minor flaws. Even personal irritants such as characters talking over each other and the flawed hinting system seemed insignificant as soon as I entered another beautifully hand drawn area or met another of the games charming characters.
Verdict – Headshot
Platforms Available – PC
Platform Reviewed – PC
Review based on a copy provided by Daedalic Entertainment.
Please check this post for more on our scoring policy.
Hurrah, a teaser trailer for Goodbye Deponia, the third and final part of Daedalic Entertainments point and click adventure series has surfaced. The video shows Rufus up to his old tricks again, this time attempting to drive a vehicle which inexplicably ends up lodged in the end of a giant cannon that sends him careering across the beautifully hand drawn sky of Deponia.
No official date has been given for the release of the English version of Goodbye Deponia but expect a quick turnaround from developers Daedalic Entertainment after the popularity of the past two games. The full teaser is available below for your viewing pleasure.
Daedalic Entertainment’s latest PC adventure outing, The Night of the Rabbit is now available for pre-order from GOG.com. Due for release on May 29th, The Night of the Rabbit is a point and click that follows Jerry and his dreams of being a magician, luckily for some dreams can sometimes come true. Featuring Daedalic’s unique hand drawn graphics and engaging characters and dialogue, this is bound to be another great release.
Better yet, if you pre-order the game from GOG.com up until the May 29th release you will get Deponia, another of Daedalic’s games, absolutely free. For futher information read our Deponia review here and view the trailer for The Night of the Rabbit below.
Toki Tori 2 has quietly been in development for quite some time now and with good reason. Two Tribes made the decision that this would be the first game in a decade that would be entirely without the pressures of having a publisher. Instead of being dogged down by release dates Two Tribes took “as long as necessary to really make it shine”.
Toki Tori 2 is a puzzle adventure game for Wii U. The game gives players two moves, the whistle and the stomp, with which they can manipulate the behavior of the creatures that inhabit the game world. Its design gives players the freedom to figure everything out for themselves and have fun in the process. Instead of telling players what to do and where to go, we think facilitating exploration and experimentation makes for a far more rewarding experience. We don’t use tutorials or text screens, there is
no text at all in the game. Who reads that anyway? The game’s Metroidvania style open world opens up because players learn more about the world and its creatures, not because we hand out more moves or items. This means inquisitive players can go anywhere right from the start while less experienced players can simply follow the game’s flow and build up their arsenal of knowledge on their own terms.
If you’re itching to play the good news is that Two Tribes are heading to PAX east (Boston, March 22nd-24th) and will be demoing Toki Tori 2 for the Wii U. Keep and eye out for the Indie Mega Booth number 679 and no doubt, a massive yellow chick.
Spelunking: (noun) the hobby or practice of exploring caves.
The scientist deployed a nuclear device whilst spelunking with the knight and the twins.
Chaos On Deponia is the second part of Daedalic Entertainments point and click adventure trilogy. It sees the return of Rufus as he attempts yet again, to make his way to Elysium and stop the Argonons from destroying the junk planet of Deponia. The problem is that Rufus is a magnet for pandemonium and makes his task infinitely harder by simply being himself. A handy intro video sums up all the goings on of the first game for anyone who didn’t play it and as a reminder for all who did. …
