As both a developer and occasional publisher, Double Fine is well-known for consistently releasing unique games with an indie feel and the polish of a mid-size development team. Founder Tim Schafer started his career at LucasArts, making classic poi🗹nt-and-click adventures like The Secret of Monkey Island, so it’s no wonder that Double Fine has made a name for itself through a mix of inventive game design and whimsi🌳cal storytelling.
In the two decades since it was founded, Double Fine’s signature style has resulted in dozens of critically acclaimed games. From the mind-bending Psychonauts to the heartwarming Broken Age, there’s ple꧒nty to enjoy. Choosing the best Double Fine game comes down to a combination of gameplay, story, and legacy. The developer’s greatest releases succeed in all three areas.
10 🔯 Honorable Mention: Knights And Bikes
While Knights and Bikes was only published by Double Fine and was actually developed by Foam Sword Gamཧes, the result of their collaboration looks right at home in Double Fine’s catalog. Set in the fictional Brit🔯ish island of Penfurzy, Knights and Bikes tells the story of the Penfurzy Rebel Bicycle Club and their quest for a legendary — and possibly cursed — treasure.
Exploration — much of which is done on your customizable bicycle — is central to the gameplay, but some puzzle-solving and combat are thrown in for good measure. Adding to the game’s charm are the items you♋r characters use to battle and navigate the world, consisting of equipment like water balloons, frisbees, and plungers. The entirety of Knights and Bikes can꧃ be played with two players locally or online, so it’s a great choice if you’re looking for some co-op fun.
9 ꩵ The LucasArts Legacy: Grim Fa꧂ndango And Day Of The Tentacle Remasters
Before founding Double Fine, Tim Schafer led the development of Day of the Tentacle and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Grim Fandango at Lu🤪casArts. Both of these adored adventure games were later rꦡemastered by Double Fine for the PS4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One.
A sequel to the point-and-click game Maniac Mansion, Day of the Tentacle has you control three friends, Bernard, Hoagie, and Laverne, as they travel back and forth in time in an attempt to prevent a future where tentacle monsters rule the Earth. Many of the game’s puzzles require you to alter the past in order to open up pathways in the future. Likewise, some tasks in the past and present ar🤪eas of the game can only be completed if you bring back 🉐key items from the future. This time-hopping mechanic still feels innovative today, nearly 30 years after the original release.
Grim Fandango follows a grim reaper named Manny who work๊s for the Department of Death, helping souls on their journey through the Land of the Dead. The game blends elements of noir films with Aztec folklore to create a fantastical journey through the afterlife filled with memorable characters. Like Day of t⛎he Tentacle, its importance to Schafer’s pre-Double Fine career makes it a key part of the company’s history.
8 Turn-Based Trick-Or-Treating: Costume Quest (And Grubbins O🌸n Ice)
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Costume Quest is an RPG that shapes both its story and gameplay around a unique🎃 Halloween setting. Controlling a party made up of three trick-or-treaters, you go door-to-door collecting candy and explore the town to acquire parts which unlock new outfits. During the game’s turn-based battles, your party members transform into🏅 massive versions of your chosen costumes — including favorites like a robot, a ninja, and french fries — to face off with monsters.
Costume Quest’s expansion, Grubbins on Ice, furthers the plot of the original game. Adding in new 🍌costumes, the DLC has you journey to the monster’s home turf — the snow-covered world of Repugia — to challenge their leader and save a kidnaped party member.
While Costume Quest’s combat doesn’t have the most depth, what it offers remains entertaining throughout wha꧟t should be a relatively brief pla♛ythrough. Considering that it was released as a downloadable title in 2010, Costume Quest helped demonstrate that Double Fine’s charm could translate well to smaller releases.
7 A Sweet Sequel: Costume Qu🐭est 2
Taking place immediately after the conclusion of the original’s Grubbins on Ice DLC, Costume Quest 2 expands on the previous game’s turn-based combat mechanics, bringing in features like counterattacks and type-based weaknesses. These improvements keep battles more engaging throughout what’s 🔯still a short and sweet story — this time focusing on a sinister, time-traveling dentis♉t.
With Costume Quest 2, Double Fine created a sequel that gave fa🍰ns of the first game more 🅠of what they liked. But the changes made probably don’t go far enough to bring you in if you’re someone who is on the fence about the original title. That said, what Costume Quest 2 does right — such as its unique setting, rewarding exploration, and awesome battle transformations — still earns its place as an occult classic in Double Fine’s catalog.
6 ꦏ Tower Defense Meets Mecha M꧋ayhem: Iron Brigade
Combining the strategic elements of a tower-defense game with the adrenaline rush of a third-person shooter, Iron Brigade h𒊎as you face off against hordes of robotic creatures while piloting a mecha in an alternative post-WW1 setting. If any of this sounds like the premise of an indie comic, you’re getting the right idea.
Allowing up to four players to battle the robot menace side-by-side, Iron Brigade’s gameplay consists of customizing your mech before missions, setting up tower-defense-style “emplacements,” and taking down giant robots with a vast array of weaponry. After successfully completing a mi꧋ssion, you receive new parts for your mech.
Th𒉰is combination of satisfying gameplay and frequent unlockables results in a rewarding loop that makes Iron Brigade one of the most purely🀅 fun games Double Fine has developed.
5 🔯 Marvelous Matryoshka: Stacking ꧑
Stacking should inspire developers to take a look at unlikely sources of inspiration when designing a game. This puzzle adv♍enture has you control Charlie Blackmore, a very small Russian nesting doll. Charlie has the ability to leap into and take control of other doll characters that are one size larger than he is. Likewise, the dolls he controls can cont🍎inue to create this “stacking” effect by jumping into another slightly larger doll. To solve puzzles, you’re able to stack and unstack your dolls to access the special abilities that some dolls have.
A one-of-a-kind premise and gameplay that perfectly complements its setting make Stacking a game that caꩵptures the idea of a “Double Fine game” better than almost any o🦩ther release in the company’s history. On top of this, Stacking also received widespread critical acclaim — with a Metacritic rating of 84 on Xbox 360.
4 A Rockstar-Studded Adventure: Brütal Legeꦛnd ꦇ
Double Fine’s first major project after Psychonauts, Brütal Legend blends action-adventure, r🌸eal-time strategy, and heavy metal to create an experience that’s full of memorable characters and overflowing with style. Brütal Legend stars Jack Black as protagonist Eddie Riggs, a roadie who i🃏s prophesied to either save or destroy the world.
The♔ game also features numerous tributes to metal icons — some of which are voiced by actual musicians, such as Ozzy Osbourne as 💞the Guardian of Metal.
Although Brütal Legend’s ambitious real-time strategy elements were seen b꧋y some critics as one of the game’s weaker points when it was released, the stage battles that have you command units while also participating in combat directly can be a joy to play once you get the hang of them. The story and setting are far less controversial, with the game’s strong voice actingꦡ and heavy metal influences receiving nearly universal praise when it was released.
3 Raz Retuꦡrns: Psychonauts 2
Released over 15 years after the first Psychonauts, the sequel to the cult classic action platformer manages to hold onto what made the original experience so memorable, while also updating the gameplay for a new generation of psychically gifted individuals. Thanks to the considerable performance improvements game consoles have seen sin♈ce 2005, using Raz’s psychic powers and entering into a series of surreal mental worlds feels better than ever.
With the Xbox One release scoring a 91 on Metacritic, it’s clear that tight platforming and clever writing is a combination that continues to pay off. While matching the quality gameplay, story, and setting of the original Psychonauts is a tall order, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Psychonauts 2 proves that Double Fine is still up to the task.
2 A Beautiful Point🎐-And-Click Journey: Broken Age
Split into two episodes, Broken Age serves as Tim Schafer’🌳s return to 🌜his point-and-click gameplay roots. The game has you control two teenage characters in seemingly separate worlds. With amazing artwork and vocal performances (including Elijah Wood as co-protagonist Shay) that bring its characters to life, Broken Age represents Double Fine’s storytelling at its finest.
Broken Age&rsquo🐼;s development is also an early Kickstarter success story. Surpassing its original funding goal by roughly $3 million, this crowdfunded release paved the way for other classic adventure game developers to seek support on the platform.
1 The Brain Child: Psychonau🃏ts
As Double Fine’s first game, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Psychonauts established the developer’s signature style. In this action-platformer, you play as the young Razputin, a camper with a variety of psychic powers, including telekinesis, invisibility, and levitation, amo🥀ng others.
The game is split between the campground and the mental worlds of the campground’s residents. The campground itself is where exploration is the focus 🥂— it’s filled with secrets and collectibles. The mental worlds serve as more linear levels, with settings that range from a floating suburb in the mind of a security guard to a giant strategy board game where you move game piece♛s to defeat (and help) a Napoleon impersonator.
While Psychonauts was considered a commercial failure at the time of its release, the story of Raz's mission to save his fellow campers and become a full-fledged Psychonaut had too much heart to simply fade into obscurity. The game has become a hidden gem with a sequel that proves there’s still plenty of interest in the series. Due to its imaginative level design, hilarious characters, and importance to the developer’s history, Psychonauts has earned its place as Double Fine’s greatest achievement.