The Case

‘Double Fine Adventure’ was enough of a title to cause many to flock to Kickstarter, ultimately bringing in over three million dollars (and more, once they opened up the option to pledge via PayPal afterwards). The game has had an interesting development since - as proven by the behind the scenes videos - and the first part of the game now known as Broken Age has recently become available to backers. With adventure game genius Tim Schafer at the helm, many might consider it the glorious second coming of the point and click games of yore. But how does it hold up in this new age of yearly shooters and bloody stupid publisher decisions?

The Trial

Broken Age is the tale of two teenagers/young adults living in different worlds of routine and tradition, with both of them dreaming of doing something greater. Shay, the only person on a spaceship ruled by an overprotective computer that sees itself as his mother, seeks true adventure as opposed to the safe 'adventure' games that the computer conjures up for him. Vella is a young woman struggling against what society says is her duty as one chosen for the 'Maiden's Feast', one of a few young women chosen to be sacrificed in appeasement to a monster known as Mog Chothra, especially given her determination to free her people from the creature. You take on both stories, freely swapping between them as you wish, watching the two tales take on increasingly similar themes, and coming together to form a set of endings (which I won't spoil) that left me scratching my head, asking questions, and wanting to experience Act 2 immediately.

Tim Schafer's talent for writing charming, witty, and compelling stories is clear here. The worlds he's crafted are absolutely brilliant. The characters are wonderfully written, from the overbearingly protective 'mother' to the charismatic cult leader Harm'ny Lightbeard and his followers. Hell, the futuristic spoon that Shay obtains on his ‘adventures’ has more of a personality than quite a few major characters in other games. There's also a wonderful undercurrent of humor taking a variety of forms throughout the dialog - the woodsman afraid of the trees and pained by his inability to produce a stool, the resigned wife making cloud shoes as she waits for her husband to get over his mid-life crisis and leave the cult he’s joined, and more.

The voice acting backs up the characterisations. Elijah Wood gives Shay's dialog a wonderfully droll element, clearly chafing under the overprotective machine that rules his life, sounding resigned to the fact that he cannot change his life but determined to make it clear that he’s not happy with the way things are. Vella, voiced by Masasa Moyo, has a manic energy to her performance as she becomes more and more fixated on ending the reign of terror caused by Mog Chothra. The supporting cast is brilliant too, each putting in a performance that brings their characters to life in ways that many games are still struggling to achieve.

I have to commend Double Fine for the puzzles in Broken Age, while not painfully obvious - some thought will be required - neither do they fall into the levels of insanity that many classic adventure games were cursed with. There are a few puzzles that require a bit of lateral thinking, but the ability to switch between characters does the game a massive service here, as - provided that you haven't finished one of the two stories - you can simply change characters when you're becoming frustrated. The difficulty curve is also quite satisfying, with early puzzles that introduce to the player or, more likely, reacquaints them with the mechanics of the genre.

The art style is, simply put, superb. The team clearly cared about their craft behind the game, from the character design to the environments. Each location looks unique and interesting, and provides more information about the worlds they’re bringing to life; Shay’s ship gives off the feeling of a child’s nursery, while Meriloft feels like a place where something is off long before you are told that no-one leaves. The overall aesthetic has a charming children’s book feel, and is all the more endearing for it in this age of chasing photorealism at the cost of story and gameplay.

The Verdict

Broken Age has managed to grab me in a powerful way. I was drawn in from the start, and hours after I’d finished was still thinking through the story in an attempt to connect all the dots to lead us into in Act 2. This is a feat that only a few stories have managed to achieve. The puzzles have a good difficulty curve, and I never felt cheated after working out the solution. The setting, characters, dialogue and environments all combine to form one of the greatest stories I’ve ever experienced within a game, and I can’t wait for Double Fine’s continuation of the story.

Case Review