I finally could play all the games from the $108 Adventure Game Challenge, and boy was I shocked by the overall quality. I’ve been following the jam closely since I first joined it in 2020, and there’s always been great games, but this time the bar has been set very very high.
I’ll write a post about my entry and how I approached the jam, but for now I want to talk about the other games, how they surprised me and why I feel they could be an interesting choice for the adventure game fan who has 30 minutes to spend. So, in completely random order, here are my picks from the jam.
Gurk in Trouble – A Yip Quest Story
Ramón Wilhelm is a very active person in the adventure game community, but I never really played anything from him before his 5th place in 107AdvChal, Yip Quest. I loved that game, with its charming writing, nice graphics and great use of the multiple characters. So my expectations were high for this year’s entry.
What I didn’t expect was a game that genuinely looked and felt like a forgotten section from Day Of The Tentacle. Those backgrounds are stunning. The character art is great too, and I hope we’ll get a post-jam update with a bit more animations because this game will be perfect with them.
Great writing as usual, good puzzle design, overall a very funny entry that fans of the genre will appreciate.
Also I love Bertrand Guégan’s music.
Dumbass/smartass
When I recognized the name apicici in the submission list I was thrilled. I still remembered their unfinished AdvJam2023 attempt, Ines In: Not Enough Time, because despite the short length it was a surprisingly good entry and I knew I could expect a lot from them in the future. And I wasn’t wrong.
In my opinion, this is the game that best captured the theme in all its points. The protagonist is clearly the smartest, they all believe he’s dumb, and the whole plot is centered around this fact.
But this game shines in everything: graphics, writing, puzzle design. If I were to pick a winner for this jam, I’d choose this one.
The Big Spooky Mansion
I know Bennethon because he’s a PowerQuester. I played both of his previous games from the PowerJams and I knew that his entry would have been very funny and sweet. I wasn’t disappointed.
What I loved the most about this game is the two character mechanics. It worked really well for this game, resulting in some interesting solutions.
The game is a bit on the short side, which is why I definitely suggest to check it out if you have 15 minutes to spare.
Dumbfellas
I got to know DuckMadeOfWood during AdvJam2023, where he got 5th place with D3AD HAND (which he then expanded to a commercial game – check it out on Steam). Since then he’s been very prolific and I was waiting to see what he’d come up with in a jam with a very restrictive theme.
The game is very good. It’s also very long! What I liked the most is that your missions have two different solutions, and you could or could not approach the side quests, and it all has an influence on the kind of ending you’ll get.
Extra points for the “parmesan on seafood pasta” bit, which needs to be the new “pineapple on pizza” of the Italian cuisine faux-pas.
The Tensor
Rubén López is one of the developers behind Aruma Studios, makers of Intruder in Antiquonia and the upcoming Shadows of the Afterland. This alone is a guarantee that we’re talking about someone who knows the genre very well, which is a great starting point for this sort of jam.
And of course he delivered. An interesting story with a surprising ending, well designed puzzles with great signposting. The theme is followed very well, especially in the final revelation.
Very charming graphics too. One of the best games of the jam in my opinion.
The Path to Enlightenment
Dan is another PowerQuester that I got to know in AdvJam2023, when he got 3rd place with The Alignment Paradox, proving that his developer name is underselling it. I’m glad he joined this jam, because I wanted to see him tackle the very restrictive theme.
I’ll begin by saying that this one’s my favorite in terms of background art. There’s something about the palette that just hits all the right notes for me. The story is very simple but follows the theme precisely. The writing is funny, I especially liked how intelligently clueless the protagonist is.
It’s neither a difficult nor a long game, but it’s well designed and definitely worth playing.
Honorable mentions
It was hard to make a selection with so many great games… but that’s the point of these recommendations, isn’t it? I can’t just say “go play all 23 of them” even if I’d really love to. However it feels wrong not to mention other games that – even if I spend less words on them – are just as good as the five I shortlisted. So here they are, again in random order.
With Our Eyes Wide Open – Oof, the production value on this one. It looks like something out of Wadjet Eye Games. Great plot, maybe the pacing is too slow for my liking.
The Cold-Blooded Conspiracy – Interesting plot, great graphics. Puzzles are good, but I found it to be too linear – a little bit of parallelism and it would have made my personal top 5. Extra points for the reference saying that a “hair of the dog” sounds like “an adventure game”.
Shipshape – I watched a few videos on Greek shadow theater before playing because I wanted to understand the look and feel they were going for, and they nailed it. The crowd commenting your actions made me laugh out loud a few times. Very very charming game.