I haven’t felt this surge of nostalgia and excitement about a game in a long time, and I truly think Broken Age will be looked back fondly as one of the greats. That being said, the first Act is only a few short hours and ended on a nail-biting cliffhanger with no word on how long we’ll be waiting for the rest of the game.
Amazing game great art, great voice cast and history, puzzles are good but infortunately i cant say the same of the act 2 is almost the opposite to this act, what a shame ...
If you like a game with a good story you haven't really seen before, look no further. Broken Age is a game with a story that really had me interested throughout. And when I ended up figuring it out I was really happy. Some might say that it's short but remember this is only act 1 and act 2 comes free with this purchase (whenever act 2 comes out that is). I loved each of the characters and the time I spent with them, and I would recommend this game to anybody looking for something a little different.
Act 1 of Broken Age is a point and click adventure game in heart and soul, but doesn’t reach the heights of the LucasArts games of old. The game is beautiful and tells a great story; a snack to drift off to during these dark and dank days.
Apart from the ending of course, which I’m thinking about a lot. Broken Age: Act 1 is a wonderful piece of work, well worth the time and money put into it, an excellent piece of videogame fiction, but it just needs some work being an actual videogame.
Almost 25 years after The Secret of Monkey Island, Tim Schafer proves that point'n click games are still very lively. Even if it's not completely finished, Broken Age deserves his successful campaign on Kickstarter. We can only hope that the second part of the journey, in April, will be as good as this one. If it could resolve some technical problems and level up the challenge, it could be really great.
Broken Age's world may be fun to explore, but don't get too comfortable. Just as you fall into a steady groove with its story and puzzles, the game ends. Thankfully, the ending provides some resolution while also leaving you excited for the second act.
[BROKEN AGE SteamPC Score 10] Adventure Gamers come forth and kneel at the altar of Tim…. O’Tim…. Hallowed be thy name…. Enjoy the Goodness of Point and Click…. and not just on Fridays but everyday until you complete Act 1…. Digital Rain hath soaked me to the bone and I smile wrapped in it’s benevolence. Add to cart { : o) >
[I am a Backer] and this was everything I expected. O’Tim, We beseech thee to Repeat as many times as possible.
[The Art] of Point and Click has been Elevated to Olympian status and We know that you will Advance this form to a whole new level…. What about a First Person Adventure in 3D? What about a First Person Adventure with Platforming mixed with Stealth? What about an Adventure Game with Ketchup in the Frogger Idiom? How about a Prequel visiting Black Mesa to build a Roadster with Titanium Pipes and 72 inch Back Tire? How about a University Course called Typing Hero where onscreen instructions are cued to music to teach how to type internet slang? or even a title called The Adventure Game Whisperer where wannabe programmers Intern at Double Fine and have to work their way up to the boss’ office through clues encoded in Dodecahedron Rubik’s cubes - with a new wireless controller for XBOX ONE, PS4, and PC shaped like…. (wait for it) …. a Rubik’s cube ! And then the Boss fight is a hi-res version of Grim Fandango but the puzzles are backwards…. and the first player to Finish with a Perfect Score receives an Honorary PhT (Philosophy O’Tim).
[MyPC 2011] i7-2600K 3.4GHz / ASUS Z68 ProGen3 / 8G RAM / Radeon 6870 / W7 PRO SP1 / Samsung 275T @1920x1200 / Logitech G15 / Kensington ExpertMouse / Sennheiser HD 600
Pretty. Short. Interesting storytelling. Nice puzzle design. Easy to average difficulty level. I recommend it to those interested in story driven games with unique art styles and logical problem solving.
As for my reflections about the game; The interesting thing about the main characters, Vella and Shay (played by Elijah Wood), is the situation they are in, rather than their personalities and personas. During the game, switching between the two characters gives you two separate game experiences. Playing as Vella, is a laidback, funny and calming game-experience in a quirky adventure-setting. Whereas playing as Shay is more of a contemplative, philosophical experience on the topic of taking control of your own life. This gives the game the diversity of serious questions contra quirky adventuring. One of the strongest features of the story is that it sometimes twists in unexpected ways, which functions almost as a sort of reward for solving the puzzles of the game.
I had been watching the development with the backer posts and my excitement was nearly palpable. Upon release I fired it up as quick as I could and felt engulfed in a spectacularly detailed game. The level of detail spent on this game feels so rare (which is likely a result of publisher deadlines), the voice acting, the environment, the art... I was sad to have completed it so quickly.
I won't pine about how 'syntax guessing' adventure games are no more, Broken Age won't revive that style for you. Say what you will but this game received far more exposure to a wider demographic as a result, and I'm okay with that.
My major gripe comes down to puzzles... Broken Age never gave me an "Aha!" moment. In the documentary Schafer even stated, in some fashion, that you need those moments in adventure games. You could argue that the aforementioned 'demographic reach' was the reason for this as well, but learning curves exist in most every video game. I'm hopeful that Act 2 cranks up in difficulty to reward at least one moment of Eureka!.
In the end - you owe it to yourself to pick this game up. It's an adventure game for a modern time when you can feel a developer pour hard work, time, and love of their craft into every tiny detail.
I'm sorry to say the game I gleefully backed isn't any good. The puzzles are simple, and it's very short. But the main problem for me is it's just so boring and laboured.
I never came close to laughing out loud like the Monkey Island games; instead it's all heavy handed metaphors and forced quirkiness. It's like expecting a meaningful but deranged and hilarious act by Louis CK, and getting a bloody Wes Anderson movie. I'm not sure I'll even bother with the 2nd half when it's eventually pushed out.
And now I mention the delays and how fraught the project is; you've lost me as a backer for future projects. Again, sorry Double Fine.
I didn't have any expectations, nor did I back this project, so I don't really care what they promised and didn't deliver, although if they really promised oldschool LucasArts style adventure, I understand the negative reactions. I recently played "The Dig", one of LucasArts old masterpieces and that is an adventure on completely different level of quality. Broken Age is more like a candy, it's sweet and colorful, pretty to look at, but not much else, no depth. It seems like the target audience here is about 6-12 years old, both boys and girls. Nothing wrong with that, but it felt quite boring to me. It also uncovers the problem with the point and click gameplay itself, which is just not something enjoyable at all. Adventures always depend on good writing and story, is it here? Well, it tries, but the biggest problem is that they delivered just the half of it and that's why I must go down with my score. Why are you releasing a game that is only halfway done? I finished this in under 4 hours and it's obviously cut in the middle. Is it ok nowdays to release games when they are halfway unfinished? I don't remember any old adventures being released like this. This is unacceptable, release your games when they are done, 100% finished and bug free, I'm getting sick of developers and publishers releasing these half-products. I would actually want to know how the story continues now, but in months, when (IF) they release the second part I won't care anymore. Disappointed. 4/10
SummaryThe first graphic adventure by Tim Schafer in 16 years, Broken Age began with the help of a record-breaking Kickstarter campaign. Broken Age is a timeless coming-of-age story of barfing trees and talking spoons. Vella Tartine and Shay Volta are two teenagers in strangely similar situations, but radically different worlds. The player can ...