I’ve never really played traditional point-and-click adventures. I mean, I’ve tried, but much of the logic used in the gameplay mechanics never made much sense. A rubber chicken with a pulley in the middle? Really? A balloon Robert Frost? Spreading jam on a cockroach then sticking a paperclip to the back of it, then luring it to complete an electrical circuit with a digestive biscuit. Yep. How you are supposed to work this out is beyond me. When the latest Broken Sword title fell on my doorstep, I was hoping it would be something different, you know, having originally released at the end of 2013 rather than the mid-nineties, but it didn’t. For fans of the genre, it’s great. I know that’s a cliche to say, but as a game that hits all the beats of the old school point-and-click adventure it’s rather fitting.
Now, I’d never even heard of, let alone played, any of the Broken Sword games. By rights, I probably should have done. European developed, six million-selling, apparently infamous for a particular goat, the series had slowly sold less and less as the popularity of the point-and-click genre declined. The developers, Revolution Software, took to the fans on Kickstarter to help make the next title in the series and now, 14,032 people and $771,560 later, Broken Sword 5: The Serpent’s Curse is here.
The game follows series stalwarts George Stobbart and Nico Collard as they take to the streets of Paris for an investigation after a priceless painting is stolen and a gallery owner murdered right in front of them. The story itself is excellently crafted featuring a unique cast of characters, some occasionally charming dialogue and a direction that feels strong, taking you in places you don’t necessarily expect. The plot hits that unique sweet spot of having balance of character motivation, situational circumstance and plenty of mysteries to drive you through the events and keep you surprisingly hooked. George and Nico, voiced by Rolf Saxton and Emma Tate respectively, feel fleshed out and brought to life by mostly great performances despite a couple of lines that could have used a couple more takes.
It’s almost greatness continues into the games presentational values. I love the 3D animated characters on the beautiful 2D backgrounds. Seriously, some of that 2D art - especially the Parisian locales - I would frame on my walls. It’s fantastic. While I like the look of the 3D on 2D, some of the animations on the characters is more than a little awkward. Some of the movements and motions are stiff and slow with the characters seemingly passing invisible objects between them rather than puzzle pieces and clues. The user interface could also have done with some more work, it’s functional but ugly in comparison with the rest of the art. The sound design, however, is spot on. The score fits the tone of the story perfectly with the smallest of sound cues indicating when you’ve finished a puzzle. Simple but effective.
Moment-to-moment in Broken Sword 5 you are doing just what the genre demands, pointing and clicking. I mean yeah there is a little selecting and dragging to do, but don’t let that distract. The key mechanic is grabbing and interacting with objects in the environment to get a clue into the case, or to solve a puzzle that will give you a clue into the case. You may have to combine items together, or may you multiple items in succession. From what I’ve played of other, similar games, Broken Sword 5 does nothing to really shake up the formula. The puzzles are ok, some seeming sometimes too straight-forward, some so obscure I wonder how you can manage without a guide, and some timing based ones that, combined with the more slower character animations, made my brain bleed with boredom. There is a nice difficulty curve to the puzzles, and none of them are really banal, but much of the process of working them out is just pure trial and error by just clicking on areas of the screen and randomly combining items. That is irritating, especially with mouse controls transferred to the Dualshock 4, and the payoff never is enough for the patience I’d lose to puzzle.
Maybe that’s just a problem I have with the genre itself. The way I see it, I’m just not cut out for the lateral thinking puzzles. I, plain and simply, don’t know enough about the gnostic gospels, or anagrams, or how to rid of a cockroach using a matchbook and a biscuit. Endlessly clicking on hidden objects in the environment and randomly combining them, well, I just don’t find it that entertaining or rewarding. With the fantastic art style and a story that almost defines what my cup of tea should be, I initially expected to be hooked on The Serpent's Curse, but I just didn’t take to the lack of control, the lack of player agency, the lack of common sense in the puzzles. It’s not a problem with Broken Sword 5. In fact, the game is close to being absolutely fantastic, it just fits too close into the tropes of the genre it lives in. Great for players with experience of the previous games in the series or those wanting to get into the traditional point-and-click game in 2015, bad for Daniel Hobbs.