Intro and Gameplay
Adventure games hold a place a special place in my heart as countless hours of my childhood were spent hovered around a dim 14" CRT monitor, taking in all the Sierra, LucasArts, and even Access Software. Playing adventure games at the end of 2016 is a challenge. A challenge in how to digest, play, and score said experiences mainly due to the fact that most modern adventure titles either go for pure, pixelated nostalgia or old school gameplay on a gorgeous new engine. Yesterday Origins, and props to Pendulo Studios, really doesn't fit into any sort of description or box. It's a strange mix of old and new, working perfectly in many scenes and just feeling out of sorts the rest, not knowing what type of game it wants to be. The plot immediately starts with a man being accused of Satan's Son and it only gets weirder from there, jumping between different eras of time and that's all I say for now..
The new control scheme, which definitely requires a good controller, was a source of inspiration and pure frustration throughout the game. You don't point and click anything. Rather, every item has a button context and you have to figure out using just said buttons on how to interact with, combine, and use items throughout the game. The idea is definitely innovative but some of the execution, especially when interacting with characters. Either way, this is a unique adventure and definitely strays from the norms we are seeing in the adventure genre.
Graphics and Sound
Once again, a mixed bag in this department ranging from absolutely brilliant to extremely poor in the graphics department. As you can see in the screenshot above, there are some gorgeous moments and even though the game runs in full screen window mode and not true exclusive fullscreen mode (BOO!), it still run great and has it's 4K moments of glory. That being said, when you zoom into most characters or items, the warts start to show in textures and details. Look, I understand that adventure games aren't graphical showcases but for every gorgeous moment, there were several strange ugly moments right after.
Sound is solid throughout most of the game and voice acting is quite solid with a few bumps along the way. You definitely get something unique in the soundtrack and the wide range of characters accents and styles. Either way, well done overall.
Fun and Conclusion
As I mentioned in the beginning, this is a very tough game to summarize and score. The intro is very different in both gameplay and tone as the second and following scenes. While it all ties together, I think being so strange is the game's biggest strength yet it's biggest weakness. It tries hard to be different than most adventure games and it both succeeds and fails at doing. I can say this, if you want to try something totally different, dive right in. The shower scene above is a huge WTF moment but very intriguing, just be ready to get used to the controls for the first hour or so.
