Older people, as a rule, think that video games are some kind of stupid “shooters” for people who are frankly narrow-minded. But younger people understand that modern video games are a full-fledged type of media, which currently stands at almost the same level as cinema or fiction.
There are an insane number of video game genres out there, and many of them are relatively recent. However, today we will touch on the grandfather genre – Point-and-click. This is what a typical point-and-click game looks like: a charismatic hero, puzzles, colorful locations, an interesting storyline and only mouse control. By the way, in the common people games of this genre are called simply “quests”.
Now we are going to show you 10 of the best escape rooms in recent years!
1. Grim Fandango Remastered
Release date: January 27, 2015 (original – October 30, 1998)
Developer: LucasArts Entertainment
Publisher: LucasArts Entertainment
Platforms: Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch
1998 saw a revolution in the gaming industry: LucasArts released Grim Fandango, the first point-and-click video game to use 3D graphics with painted backdrops. In early 2015, a remaster of this classic game, Grim Fandango Remastered, was released. Fortunately, in the remastered version of Grim Fandango, only its visual component and user interface were improved – this is the same dark but funny story about the conductor of the dead Manuel “Manny” Calavera.
2. Full Throttle Remastered
Release date: April 18, 2017 (original – April 30, 1995)
Developer: LucasArts Entertainment
Publisher: LucasArts Entertainment
Platforms: DOS, Mac OS, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Windows, iOS, Xbox One
The events of the Full Throttle game are developing in the near future. The main character is a bloody cool dude named Ben, who, for a minute, is the leader of the local biker gang “Ferrets”. Ben is in trouble: he and his gang are being hanged for the murder of the CEO of the country’s last motorcycle company. Ben will not only have to figure out who and why decided to set up the Ferrets, but also to clear his good name. Full Throttle Remastered is a Full Throttle remaster that allows the player to switch between original game animations and enhanced ones.
3. The Neverhood
Release date: October 31, 1996
Developer: DreamWorks Interactive
Publisher: DreamWorks Interactive, RiverHill Software
Platforms: Windows, PlayStation
A game with such a unique visual component as The Neverhood is extremely difficult to recommend to modern players. But if you love “clay” stop motion, then we strongly advise you not to miss this DreamWorks Interactive project by yourself. In “NEVERVHUDO” (the unofficial name of the game on the territory of Russia) you will watch the surreal adventures of Clayman, who has to save the world of Never-Hood from the villain Clogg. I would like to warn you right away that The Neverhood is an extremely difficult game, sometimes requiring considerable mental effort from the player. In general, the game is clearly not for everyone.
4. Day of the Tentacle Remastered
Release date: March 22, 2016 (original – June 25, 1993)
Developer: LucasArts Entertainment, Double Fine Productions
Publisher: LucasArts Entertainment
Platforms: DOS, Mac OS, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Linux, OS X, Windows
Dr. Fred’s mutated purple tentacle prepares to enslave the world! Bernard Bernoulli, Houghi and Laverne will do everything in their power to thwart the evil creature’s plans. Day of the Tentacle Remastered refined the original LucasArts game from the 90s with significant redesigns of the graphics and soundtrack. One of the benefits of a remastered version is the ability to switch between original and enhanced visuals.
5. The Walking Dead
Release date: April 24, 2012
Developer: Telltale Games
Publisher: Telltale Games
Platforms: Android, iOS, MacOS, Windows, Linux, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Ouya, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
The Walking Dead is one of the best adventure games released by the now disbanded Telltale Games. We are talking, of course, about the original, the first season of the game “The Walking Dead”, and not about all subsequent ones. So you take control of University of Georgia history teacher Lee Everett, who has been charged with the murder of a state senator who slept with his wife. The game begins with Lee being taken to prison in a police car. The hand of justice never reaches Lee: the car pulls off the road and smashes into smithereens. Further events will bring the protagonist together with another important character – Clementine. It is for the adventures of Lee and Clementine that you will watch in The Walking Dead.
6. The Wolf Among Us
Release date: 11 October 2013
Developer: Telltale Games
Publisher: Telltale Games
Platforms: Windows, Xbox 360, OS X, PlayStation 3, iOS, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Android
Remember fascinating stories about all kinds of fairy-tale characters and creatures that you may have read about as a child? Fables is a kind of comic book series from DC Comics, where the main characters are fairy tale characters. In 2013, Telltale Games decided to create an adventure game based on the comic book Fables – The Wolf Among Us. You are BigBi aka Big Bad Wolf, sheriff of the fairytale enclave of Fabletown, located in the center of Manhattan. In Fabletown, something amiss is brewing: fairy-tale characters have begun to fall prey to a mysterious killer. Can you, BigBee, find the villain, emerge victorious in the cycle of terrible events and restore peace to Fabletown?
7. Sam & Max Hit the Road
Release date: 1993
Developer: LucasArts
Publisher: LucasArts
Platforms: Windows, Mac, DOS, Amiga
Aha, before you is another iconic project of the LucasArts studio! Sam and Max are private detectives with an office in the Big Apple. The main characters are sent to investigate the case of the missing Bigfoot in the local wandering circus – they are drawn into the whirlwind of the strangest events. Animation, music, voice acting, script – all this at Sam & Max Hit the Road at the highest level, at least for 1993. And if you like it, we strongly recommend that you also familiarize yourself with the Sam and Max quests from the Telltale Games studio.
8. Tales From the Borderlands
Release date: November 25, 2014
Developer: Telltale Games
Publisher: Telltale Games
Platforms: macOS, Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, iOS, Android
Some players doubted that Tales From the Borderlands would come out with anything worthwhile. The fact is that Borderlands is a looter-shooter series that shares absolutely no game mechanics with the adventure games genre. In general, it was not completely clear in which direction Telltale Games would take their new game under license. But the worries were in vain! Tales From the Borderlands is a stunning point-and-click game that non-stop pampers its player with great humor, clever plot and script, and incredibly detailed characters. And you know what’s the best thing about it all? Even fans of the core Borderlands games love Tales From the Borderlands, and that says a lot.
9. Thimbleweed Park
Release date: March 30, 2017
Developer: Terrible toybox
Publisher: Terrible toybox
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Linux, Android, iOS
Thimbleweed Park takes the player to a small town filled with tons of secrets that you will have to unravel. In Thimbleweed Park, you can move between a variety of locations, and you are given control of not one, but as many as five characters. If you are into cult TV shows like Twin Peaks and The X-Files, then this neo-noir story is definitely for you.
10. Life is Strange
Release date: January 30, 2015
Developer: Dontnod entertainment
Publisher: Square Enix, Feral Interactive
Platforms: Windows, Linux, macOS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, iOS, Android
Life is Strange is by no means a classic quest, nevertheless it is undoubtedly a representative (albeit peculiar) of this oldest genre. The location of Life is Strange is Arcadia Bay, a small coastal town in Oregon. Max Caulfield, the heroine of the game, witnesses the death of his longtime girlfriend, Chloe Price, as a result of which he gets at his disposal the ability … to control time and space. Max rewinds time and saves Chloe – the girls become participants in dark events. Life is Strange will not let you get bored even for a minute!