Broken Age: Act 1
a game by | Double Fine Productions |
Platforms: | XBox One, Nintendo Switch, PS Vita, PC (2014), Playstation 4 |
Editor Rating: | 9/10, based on 1 review, 2 reviews are shown |
User Rating: | 8.7/10 - 3 votes |
Rate this game: | |
See also: | Point-and-Click Quests, Games Like Life is Strange, Games Like Nancy Drew |
Broken Age: Act 1 is brought to us by the wonderfully talented Tim Schafer and the studio Double Fine. I am a huge fan of his so him returning to the world of gamed was something I was very excited about. This is the first of two parts that make up the whole game and what we have here is a tremendous point and click adventure game that will stick with you long after the credits have rolled.
Two Become One
As with all good point and click adventure games, the story is what Broken Age: Act 1 is really all about. The game has two protagonists who seem like they have nothing to do with each other! We have Vella is a teenage girl who lives with her family and is about to have her life ended as she is to be served as a sacrifice to an entity called, Mog Chothra. This is seen as a major “honor” but she wants more for her life and decides she is going to fight!
The other character is Shay who is a teenage boy who apparently is living the dream life on a spaceship that is designed to keep him safe and entertained. His days are spent playing video games and having out with animatronic friends, but Shay wants more and wants to take control of the AI ship that has control of him
Just Keep Playing
As Broken Age: Act 1 is from the mind of Tim Schafer and the other talented folks at Double Fine. You can expect to be blown away by the story. It is wonderfully told and has that Schafer humor all over it. While the game will certainly make you smile and laugh. So talented is this team that it makes you care about Vella and Shay and the plight they are in. I do not want to spoil the story for you guys, but I can tell you that when I started playing this I did not want to stop until I got to the end.
Like A Book
The game looks phenomenal. It has a kind of storybook “painting” kind of vibe to the graphics and it really is great. Each of the locations feels different and the characters you come across are all designed very well. A huge part of what brings this story to life is not just the amazing graphics, but the sound as well. The soundtrack is very fitting for the game. However, it is the voice acting that really makes you get invested. Even the most minute character that only has a scene or two is voice acted to perfection!
This All Makes Sense
If you have played a point and click adventure game before then you will feel right at home with this game. It may not be trying to reinvent the wheel in regards to the gameplay. You walk around, do tasks, find items, solve puzzles, and talk to people as you would expect. Puzzles are a major part of the game and they are great. I remembered being turned off by many point and click games over the years due to their cryptic non-sensible puzzles. This game does it differently where all of the puzzles make sense and can be figured out with just a bit of brainwork. Some might find this too easy, but I much preferred this.
In my opinion Broken Age: Act 1 is an amazing game. There is a whole second act to play through and I guarantee that you will want to jump straight into that as soon as you are done with this. With that being said, this first act does leave you wanting to continue the story, but at the same time, the ending does make sense. If you love a good story and enjoy point and click adventure games, you have to play this.
Pros:
- Two very interesting protagonists
- Amazing voice acting
- A very engaging story
- The puzzles all make sense
- The game was a joy to play from start to end
Cons:
- Some might not like how easy the puzzles are
- You do have to play Act 2 to get the whole story
Download Broken Age: Act 1
System requirements:
- PC compatible
- Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
System requirements:
- PC compatible
- Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
System requirements:
- PC compatible
- Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
System requirements:
- PC compatible
- Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
System requirements:
- PC compatible
- Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
Game Reviews
People say:
No need to fret over the impossible hype or those mountains of Kick-starter money running dry before the game was finished. Broken Age is every bit as good as the work that skyrocketed writer and designer Tim Schafer to rockstar status within the industry. It's Grim Fandango good. It's Monkey Island good. It might even be Day of the Tentacle good. The puzzles are smartly designed, the humor is consistent, and the story--centered around a young boy and girl struggling to find themselves in very different worlds--is wildly imaginative and heartfelt in a way so few modern games seem capable of achieving. In fact, the only real flaw here is that we have to wait some indeterminate number of months for the second half. Still, until that agonizing wait is over, it's comforting to see a master of the genre back doing what he does best.
Broken Age: Act I starts off somewhat slow, but by the end of my playthrough, I cursed the fact that it's broken into two parts--it ends on a brilliantly concocted cliffhanger. I also found the puzzles a bit lacking in depth and difficulty, and I breezed through the game--but all that quickly became secondary as I got sucked more and more into the individual plights of the dual protagonists. Meanwhile, the game's art style is gorgeous to behold, complemented perfectly by standout voice acting and a wonderful soundtrack.
I've long had a weird relationship with PC-style adventure games--the often-abstract puzzles typically aren't my thing--but I ended up becoming totally engrossed in the world of Broken Age and the lives of its protagonists, Vella and Shay. Their stories are funny yet touching, told through fantastic voice acting and visual stylings that are at once both sweetly endearing and technologically stunning. Oddly enough, the puzzles were my one complaint, but for a different reason--they felt a little too underdeveloped.