Point and click adventures have come back pretty recently in a very strange way thanks to developer Telltale Games. They have actually become the primary reason I have finally jumped on board this type of game thanks to their recent re-release of Lucas Arts’ Tales of Monkey Island. It appears that now that I have grown older, I have gained the patience to play these types of games, and read books, and complain about other drivers on the road… and kids these days.

Dave Gilbert of the one man development team Wadjet Eye has recently seen a broad release of his popular adventure series about the Blackwell family on Steam. The Blackwell Legacy is the first of four games he has created and the introduction to the story that might as well be a TV show pilot based on the quality of its writing. Also, by a TV Pilot, I mean a TV pilot for a show with a lot of potential. The script for the Blackwell Legacy is what will keep players interested and moving forward. The game has a good sense of pacing and characterization, that while its mediocre voice acting may hurt, will still keep players interested.

The Blackwell Legacy follows Rosangela Blackwell (Rosa for short),  a freelance book reviewer for a local newspaper who is currently dealing with the loss of her only living relative. Rosa’s Aunt had spent the last 20 years of her life in a mental institution on sedatives and other drugs that kept her in a near constant comatose state. Rosa had visited her Aunt on occasion, but honestly barely knew the woman, and admittedly only did it for some unspoken sense of responsibility to the only family she knew. Rosa learns by talking to her Aunt’s psychotherapist that the psychosis that had infected her Aunt, had also infected her Grandmother, and might be something hereditary. What follows is Rosa’s discovery that she is a medium and that a certain ghost from the 1930′s, all dressed up like a noir detective, is her families spirit guide. Joey Mallone, as the ghost is called, appears to her and pushes her right into her mission in life, a mission that both her Grandmother and her Aunt; to some extent, had denied and paid the price for with their insanity and eventual death. Rosa’s purpose as a medium is to help ghosts move on by discovering what it is they need to do to find peace..

This story may sound rather familiar to the likes of those familiar with the TV show the Ghost Whisperer, or maybe even the Sixth Sense, but it is still quite compelling due to the characters and the underlying mysteries of the Blackwell family. Rosa is a shy and awkward young woman that just moved out to New York and has a hard time communicating with people. She seems like more of a shut-in that would prefer to be left to her own devices, but is now being forced to interact and communicate because of her family’s legacy and purpose. It is interesting to watch her try to talk to people and accept her fate, as she also gets over all her social issues in the process. Joey is your typical noir detective type, and his brash nature is what helps push his ward into moving forward with what she is supposed to do. He admits that he isn’t quite sure what is going on either, and is only learning as time goes on. There is no real understanding on his part on why he is connected to the family, just that there is a job to do. He is a ghost, he did die, and he has also had to deal with his afterlife being connected to a family that doesn’t want him around. His mystery is just as interesting as the rest of it.

The Blackwell Legacy looks and plays like the old classic Lucas Arts style games, down to the pixelated graphics, retro cursor, and 2D scale. It is certainly a call back to the classics, and it is rather good at what it does. The puzzles themselves are never too difficult, though there are also moments that the amateur nature comes into play. Such as in the early portions of the main case when you are supposed to be gathering more information on a college student who had just committed suicide and her friends; one of which is the ghost you are now supposed to help move on. You are forced into an awkward situation, that if a line of dialog had not been selected earlier with the ghost Joey, you will likely get stuck for hours. Skipping over this line of dialog is easy to do, considering that it wont push you into talking to him, nor would it feel important to. Also, the ending itself comes out of left field and feels really cheesy, which was disappointing since the story itself to that point was gloriously told. I can say that it wasn’t bad enough to ruin it for me, but it did tarnish the experience some.

Outside of that one mishap with an early part of the adventure the game itself is pretty simple and fun if you enjoy this genre. The soundtrack is pretty good overall, and there is even a song that comes on the radio at the Mental Hospital that I had to stop and listen to a moment. It is this classic bluesy, almost outlaw country like song in style that was interesting to hear at that moment since the music before then was simply an accent to the experience and never something I paid attention to. The music is all given that near midi like treatment to keep with the classic appeal of the graphics, and it does its job.

The puzzles themselves wont be difficult to solve, and the ability to combine clues in the notebook to form new dialog options and the research tools (you can use your home computer to do research on individuals and get more notes to help solve the case) are all nicely implemented. The Blackwell Legacy is about the story and its characters, and it moves along at a rather brisk pace. While the voice acting work could have been a bit better, it becomes more tolerable over time because of the stellar writing. The art direction is also a plus as the sprites and the character portraits are well drawn and look identical to the quality of games it is emulating, if the voice acting was a tad better, this could easily be placed alongside the classics.

Final Call: The Blackwell Legacy is a good adventure game, there is no doubt about it. While it blunders a few times, it is forgivable thanks to what it does right. Dave Gilbert has done a fine job with the first installment, and I am glad to see the series getting a wider release with steam. The ending of this pilot may sting a little bit, but the overall concept of the story is very good, and I can’t wait to sink my teeth into the next three games in the series. Don’t expect the experience to last long either, this is a short game, but then again, so are all point and clicks.

Rating:

4/5 it is boardering on a 3.5, but its story and character's are honestly so very well realized and are the driving force behind playing the game. Plus, for the price, it is a must buy for fans of the genre.

Make sure to support indie games and give them your time, there are a lot of small developers out there putting out games that feel far more fresh than most of that stuff out there in the mainstream. To download the Blackwell Legacy, follow this link to Steam: HERE

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adventure games, Dave Gilbert, indie game, lucas arts, lucasarts, point and click, Review, steam, the blackwell legacy, Wadjet Eye Indie Reviews