Broken Age Reviews
Broken Age is a wonderful experience that I can't recommend enough. As someone who grew up on the LucasArts-style adventure games of old Double Fine has pulled through with just enough nostalgia and modern aesthetic, offering up a fresh and funny classic in an age where blockbuster games rule the roost.
There's not much to dislike, especially for die-hard fans of the genre. Double Fine promised a classic point-and-click title when it launched its crowd-funding campaign three long years ago, but the developer didn't just rely on nostalgia. Instead, it made a game that captures the humor of the games Tim Schafer worked on at LucasArts while creating a modern aesthetic that totally suits the story.
Broken Age is a short game and it's ending feels rushed, most likely originating in all the development problems Double Fine had. But i can forgive Tim Schafer, why? because even though the game was split in two and took forever to complete, this is one of the most loving, and heartfelt graphic adventures, not that much far from classics like Monkey Island or Fate of Atlantis. The magic of Double Fine Productions is found in the dialogues and interactions between characters. Amazing writing overall. Sequel?
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Puzzle solutions are always a few short minutes away and long gone are the genre's nonsensical conundrums that have plagued gamers for years.
Incredibly polished, with gorgeous visuals and terrific voice acting, only some difficult late-game puzzles stop Broken Age from being the absolute pinnacle of the genre.
Do you like stories? Play 'Broken Age.' Do you like solid humor, beautiful graphics, interesting characters, or old school adventure games? Play 'Broken Age.'
While Broken Age doesn't break much new ground in the genre, it does deliver a wonderfully enriching adventure that's buoyed by sharp writing and likeable characters.
Against all odds, Broken Age has proved to us that adventure games are all but dead, and that Double Fine and Tim Schafer still have the ability to surprise, astound, and humor us.
By the end of Shay and Vella's stories, I may have had a tear slide down my cheek. It was not a tear of sadness, but of joy.
All in all, Broken Age is a fun, well-executed adventure game with a gripping storyline and tons of humor, marred only by its cumbersome puzzle design.
In its finished form, Broken Age is every bit the modern point-and-click classic its strong first act implied it would be. With an entertaining story and clever puzzles wrapped in a modern sensibility and impressive production values, Tim Schafer's return to the genre that made him lives up to the high standard of his earlier work.
Broken Age is exactly what Schafer fans expect, which makes it an automatic success. The creativity and imagination is here in spades, the strict adventure style is prominent throughout (and it doesn't deviate; there are no ill-inspired action sequences, for instance), and that atmosphere and charm ties it all together. You could say some of the puzzles get a little tiresome and the lack of direction is annoying at times.
Technical issues aside, Broken Age is a wonderful point-and-click adventure which, while not for everyone, will definitely please fans of the genre; the great story, fun characters and unique setting all combine to create a very memorable experience which is well worth the price of admission.
Taken as a whole, Broken Age is still a easy-to-recommend, extremely charming game with some lovely messages about growing up. But it isn't quite the landmark achievement in video game narrative I spent its year-long intermission hoping for.
When all's said and done, Broken Age makes an excellent case for why the adventure game genre deserves to exist in this medium. Indeed, it's a wonderfully charming title that really feels like a celebration of the point-and-click format. Sure, it doesn't necessarily do anything ground breaking, but it doesn't really need to. If you're a fan of Tim Schafer's previous work, then this is unmissable.
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Broken Age is full of attitude. The parallel storylines, the aesthetics, and the music bundled with the humor gives the game its personality and is definitely a game that is highly recommended.
Despite the large wart that some of the more hardcore puzzles present, however, Broken Age remains a beautiful game, overall. Yes, it has its blemishes and frustrating personality flaws. Deep inside, though, Broken Age is a good guy — or girl — with its heart in the right place. Give it a shot if you like classic point-and-click adventure games.
An adventure game with warmth, humour and heart, Broken Age is a joy from beginning to (almost) end. Easily among Double Fine's best.
Broken Age: The Complete Adventure is a Double Fine title unlike anything before it. While it has its problems and inconsistencies, it's worth playing through once just to see Shay and Vella overcome the odds.