Broken Age
Released: January 28, 2014
Game Length: 10 Hours
Grade: A-
Expectations: There are two distinct things I remember reading about this game. The first was how insane it was that Double Fine (the creators of Psychonauts) was putting up a Kickstarter Project to create an adventure game on a $400,000. Not only did they reach it in 9 hours but what originally worried the developers excelled to around $3,300,000. The second thing I recall is how many people hated certain puzzles that were in the game. "Beware the Knot Puzzle" is something that was being spread around on the forums. I didn't know much more than that, so I'm pretty oblivious to how my experience is going to go.
Reality: There is something very enjoyable when you are able to switch between two stories. That nagging question of "how are they related" always pops in the back of my mind. The developers did a great job hiding a ton of secrets and did a better job telling a story. Not only are the characters relatable, but they managed to get some awesome voice actors in - Elijah Woods, Jack Black, and Wil Wheaton to name a few. I knew within the first few hours that I was going to enjoy it greatly like I did with Machinarium. I particularly liked how they carefully positioned the color-coded subtitles on the bottom of the screen, over the characters, and attached specific emotions when necessary. The puzzles weren't quite as ridiculous as Monkey Island, but still required the same amount of exploring and out-of-the-box thinking. The animation was incredibly smooth and the art was pretty spot-on. The game welcomes you to try every item on every thing with some of the funniest comedic responses as your reward.
Act 1: The game distinguishes itself between two separate acts. The first act was released January 28, 2014 and holds to be the best experience you would want from a game of this caliber. The puzzles aren't too difficult and the story is zany enough to work. I never felt like my attempts of assembling together a solution was a waste of time. Every single thing you did was unique. You get different responses depending on who and what you show off. If there was dialogue still available or things you could interact with, there is a good chance that there is still something there you need to do. The developers did a wonderful job having even the slightest response from a character be a critical hint to what was required.
Act 2: The second act was released on April 28, 2015. At this point, your entire perspective of the game is turned upside-down as everything you knew beforehand was a lie... in a good way. The two main characters physically switch places and learn about each other's predicaments from the first act. However, the puzzles get pretty horrendous. First off, some of the puzzles from one character's viewpoint require you to know certain things only obtainable from the other story. This only gets worse when you must follow-through certain actions from each character to obtain the final goal at the end of the story. Second, the puzzles require you to have a pen and paper handy. The "knot puzzle" requires you to explain a specific knot to a person without knowing if it is the right one until you try out the results once... which also could be wrong in themselves. They tried to redeem themselves with the "shoe puzzle" by giving you a piece of paper as a reference, but there is no way to interact with the chart in the game. Then there is the whole "wiring puzzle" where you have to hook up wires a specific way so your little buddy will perform certain actions. I think I filled a half-page with all my notes and procedures with that one. Let's just say that I was not a happy camper with the more obscure solutions this time around.
Opinion: Despite the puzzles, you would still find me laughing all the way to the end of the game. It took me 10 hours to complete, and I actually thought about playing it over again with what I now know of the story. Sadly, I'm not real sure if I would recommend it to other people for its $15 price tag. I'd wait for a bundle to come along before trying it out.
11-13-2020