It’s interesting that The Inner World – The Last Wind Monk comes out at the time it does. The game has a lot to say about things like discrimination, acceptance, purpose, and willful ignorance and goes about it in humorous and sometimes surprisingly deep ways. It has everything a good point-and-click should have from meaningful world engagement and enjoyable dialogue to good, old-fashioned, item-heavy puzzle solving. That said, it’s clearly a journey that Studio Fizbin isn’t out to bar anyone from for the sake of nostalgic difficulty. Their adaption of point-and-click mechanics to modern times with things like the hint system ensures that the only thing keeping a player from moving forward at any point is their own stubborn resolve. It could have better character animations at times to go with all of the solid and wonderful things built visually, aurally, and mechanically around these characters. However for the most part, The Inner World – The Last Wind Monk makes a strong case that point-and-click adventures still have a lot to offer in modern gaming.
The Inner World: The Last Wind Monk is a worthy sequel to the first game and it offers just what you would expect from a point 'n' click adventure: a wonderful fantasy world, a beautiful story to tell, funny dialogues and a lot of smart (and sometimes crazy) puzzles.
Every Adventure-Fan should definitely give The Inner World: The Last Wind Monk a chance (after you’ve played the first game), because otherwise you’ll miss out on a lot.
I did not find The Last Wind Monk as thrilling as the first Inner World, because the effect of novelty has faded, but I still feel the need to recommend it to point’n’click lovers, especially those who enjoyed the original game. [13/2017, p.59]
Though still an enjoyable adventure with high production values, The Last Wind Monk marks something of a tonal shift in the series. Part of what made The Inner World so appealing was its charm, and the sequel ends up leaving a little of that behind in favor of a darker story full of challenging puzzles.
While the game is a pleasure to play, it pales in comparison to its predecessor in feel. For some reason, I’m not feeling the same emotional bond with Robert and the mystery of the world fails to tickle my fancy. The voice acting could have been better directed and it would have been nice to be able to interrupt actions after having clicked on something instead of having to watch the character walk all the way to the object just to click through the ensuing VO to get out of it faster. If you didn’t feel you got enough of Asposia from The Inner World or are just aching to reconnect with Robert and Laura, get The Last Wind Monk. If not, let the original stand on its own.
SummaryThe Inner World - The Last Wind Monk takes you back to Asposia on a quest to find the last legendary wind monk. Accompany Robert, Laura and Peck on their journey, encountering many strange characters and saving the family of the flute noses.