X
- E10+
- Focus Home Interactive
- E10+
- Focus Home Interactive
- E10+
- Focus Home Interactive
- E10+
- Focus Home Interactive
The Next Big Thing
Released On: Apr 21, 2011
75
7.3
Where to Buy
Where to Buy
All Platforms
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 30 Critic Reviews
75
67% Positive
20 Reviews
20 Reviews
33% Mixed
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 30 Critic Reviews
75
67% Positive
20 Reviews
20 Reviews
33% Mixed
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
The Next Big Thing is a prime example of what a graphic adventure should be. It's got it all: an entertaining story, great writing, creative but logical puzzles, good voice acting and music, beautiful artwork and a killer sense of humor.
The biggest achievement of TNBT is that it simply doesn't seem to have any shortcomings of Runaway series. The puzzles are well-balanced and the story is great once again – If only it wasn't so short. [June 2011, p.93]
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 53 User Ratings
7.3
60% Positive
32 Ratings
32 Ratings
28% Mixed
15 Ratings
15 Ratings
11% Negative
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 53 User Ratings
7.3
60% Positive
32 Ratings
32 Ratings
28% Mixed
15 Ratings
15 Ratings
11% Negative
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
The Next Big Thing is a lovable adventure game from the makers of the Runaway series. The graphics are beautiful and the characters are funny, entertaining and absolutely lovable! The Next Big Thing is an unique and unforgettable adventure experience that I will always hold dear.
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PC
For anyone out there that can't get enough of this genre, and can't wait the month for the next Telltale release of whatever they are working on, this is a pleasant buy. Anyone else who might be getting leery of this content feel entirely free to watch some videos of the funnier stuff on YouTube.
Even though The Next Big Thing seems to have a lot in common with the Runaway trilogy, it is an absolutely great game. What a shame that the puzzles are not always as challenging as you expect them to be.
The Next Big Thing, then, is not exactly what it says on the tin - but we still got plenty of laughs out of it. If you're on the prowl for a point-and-click adventure, this will easily tide you over until the next Telltale title comes knocking. Never before has a game produced a character who was so... disconcerting.
With its classical but efficient gameplay, The Next Big Thing is an affordable point & click, much more attractive for its funny cartoon universe and its great dubbing than its too short story.
The Next Big Thing creates a lush vision of an alternate-reality Hollywood, but its knockout visuals can't make up for its frustrating puzzles.
Great Characters, voice acting, humour, graphics, story. A fun game that's worth the price, and worth the time. Recommended for point-n-click enthusiasts.
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PC
We are facing another point-and-click graphic adventure which follows the Monkey Island trail here. Its difficulty is based on puzzles that consist on a stuffed inventory, item combination and traversing the dialog tree till exhaustion. The good old formula that ruled the genre before it was replaced by narrative driven press-A-precisely-when-i-tell-you mechanics Tell Tale has exploited to the point the company has fallen flat directly inside its grave. At any rate, that doesn't mean Pendulo Studios has resisted the temptation to slide one combinatorial (in appearance) puzzle midway into the game. One I somehow managed to solve by trial and error, and my character kindly explained me the logic I apparently had just applied. Another puzzle I recall as extremely unfair involved a surreal item combination I once again solved by entering the use-anything-on-anything mode. This last one takes place within a character's dream, which makes getting stuck on it simply priceless. Be that as it may, with the exception of these two examples, puzzle design is top-notch.
Regretfully, the writing in this game leaves a lot to be desired. The game never takes itself seriously, which isn't a bad thing per se because it grants designers more freedom in the puzzle department. Unfortunately, this light hearted stance permeates the plot conferring it the complexity of a SpongeBob SquarePants chapter. You never feel any kind of relevancy to your actions: never does the game achieve to convey what is so evil about the force you are fighting. In addition, characters are quite one-dimensional, "functional" is the nicest adjective I can say about them.
The humor in this game is the childish one expects from a Monkey Island applicant, based on wacky situations. Plus, in this game, with the constant recall to the player of certain traits of our two protagonists: he is a womanizer, sports-loving freak that loves to smash things with his bat, she is simply crazy. While you play this game, laughing is totally ruled out, you mouth will adopt the kind of crooked grin you get while watching one of those Nordic/Central European straight-to-tv romantic comedies.
On the other hand, the game is a technically nice, Pendulo Studios is well-known for the quality of its 2D artists and it doesn't disappoint as usual, plus the spanish dubbing is great (I played the Spanish version, which is called Hollywood Monsters 2 BTW).
Unfortunately, if we want to play a classic point-and-click adventure, since they don't get released anymore we are virtually dependent on a finite backlog. If you already played the big ones (Gabriel Knight saga, LucasArts ones, Discworld Noir, Grim Fandango...), you can't get too discriminating. The Next Big Thing has a great gameplay but weak writing. If you are here for the puzzles, you will enjoy the ride.
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PC
This is a very poorly made game. Despite the fact that the graphics are some of the most beautiful ever seen in an adventure game, the story is mediocre, the puzzles fall short and are completely nonsensical most of the time. Pendulo Studios are responsible for the amazing Runaway series (which likely brought the adventure genre back to life) and I can't get my head around how they failed at this so badly. The writing is poor, the characters aren't memorable and there is very little captivating about the game except for amazing graphics... which is a shame because it's a waste of a massive potential that this game had. Not worth it unless you pick it up during a sale.
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PC
Playing this in 2019, the graphics are amazing. I really like the art style. The dialogue is unique and pretty funny at times which pains me to give this game such a low rating.
That being said, the gameplay is where this game falls very short. The puzzles are ridiculously nonsensical and you'll often find yourself mix and matching items in your inventory with no logic for much of the time spent in-game. This amounts to unnecessary frustration and time wasted.
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PC
Les mongolos des studios Pendulo nous chient une nouvelle grosse pendule qui serait soit-disant un jeu vidéo... et a fortiori un jeu d'aventure comme on en faisait dans les années 90 quand on ne savait pas trop quoi faire en fait... Alors, on faisait de la merde avec des dialogues stupides, des énigmes absconses et des espèces d'histoires à la mords-moi-le-noeud.
Ici, Pendulo nous ressert ce qu'il sait faire :une histoire à la mords-moi-le-zob à forte tendance mongolo-mongoloïde avec des graphismes grotesques en 256 couleurs, des dialogues stupides, des situations ridicules (heureusement que ça ne tue pas...) et un ennui à couper au couteau. Ce pseudo-jeu est une mélasse abrutissante, très bête et dont l'humour (?) tient des mongoleries les plus mongoles qu'on puisse trouver.
Alors, le prochain gros truc pour cet ersatz de jeu, c'est la grosse poubelle : il y sera parfaitement dans son élément et tout-à-fait à sa place !
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PC
Summary After having put the adventure game genre back into the spotlight with the Runaway trilogy, which had captivated more than a million players during the last decade, Pendulo Studios is back with an original, great adventure game. The Next BIG Thing revisits with class and humor the fantastic movie genre with a modern, funny adventure pack...
Rated E +10
for Everyone +10
Platforms:
- PC
Initial Release Date: Apr 21, 2011
Developer:
- Pendulo Studios
Publisher: Focus Home Interactive
Genres: