Adventure games have changed a lot over the years. Back in the ‘70s, graphics were limited and you interacted with virtual worlds with just a few words. In the ‘80s, games like King’s Quest expanded the genre, but the experience was still tied to keyboards. That all changed with the advent of ‘point-and-click’. Titles like Indiana Jones: The Graphic Adventure, Police Quest, and Maniac Mansion began to gain popularity, moulding adventure games into something more approachable. This push led to iconic hits like Day of the Tentacle, Broken Sword, and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Monkey Island, all of which continue to have a hold on 🎉🙈the genre today.
168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Röki is fit to be among their ranks - it’s a cla🅷ssic adventure game with a modern coat of paint.
Like the games that inspired it, Röki is rich with puzzles, open-ended levels, and youthful visual charm. The classics always reminded me of Saturday morning cartoons both in aesthetic and humour, often having layered jokes that would get a chuckle out of a kid and a hearty laugh out of their parents. In a space that was constantly trying to be realistic - and still is trying to be realistic - adventure games were a welcome respite. Games were desperate to emulate life just 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:as so many are now, but we also had Day of the Tentacle’s contorted, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Willy Wonka-e🐲sque setpieces surreali🌟stically folding in on themselves.
Röki embodies the genre’s initial appeal. It’s 2D, beautifully drawn, and rich with childlike wonder, but it also tells a poignant story that tugs at the heartstrings. It begins with you playing in the Scandinavian woodland outside your log cabin with your brother. It’s nostalgic and bliss, but that changes whe꧑n the two of you rush back to the house. You find dad slumped in his rocking chair. There’s a bottle carefully placed on the floor by his dangling hand. He’s snoring, a c🍷aricature of grief as we uncover that the family is reeling from the death of their matriarch. Shortly afterwards a living shadow starts to tear down the abode. Dad is caught in the flames, leaving you trapped in the basement.
But it’s not just a point (and click) of going from A to B. The environment is interactable - everything you click adds context, allowing you to unravel protagonist Tove’s inner thoughts. 168𒆙澳洲幸运5开奖网:The house is shabby and teeming with mementoes; the toilet is lo༒cated outside in what appears to be a makeshift shed; there’s a basement with a sledge and a bunch of unpacked boxes, like you never really moved in - not properly, anyway. Why are you so secluded? What happened to Tove’s mother? Background details are as interesting as the main storyline, just like when we explored Captain Smirk’s house or Mac Devitt’s bar all t🐻hose years ago.
The genre as a whole has become more cinematic over the years, losing that explorative giddinesജs that brought the classic worlds to life in a way films never could. It’s become akin to watching a movie unfold with trickles of choice and interaction peppered throughout, often in the form of arbitrary quick-time events. Rö💟ki manages to retain that newfound cinematic edge while shirking the loss of exploration. It bridges the old and the new to create something spectacular, raising the bar for what a modern point-and-click game can be.
One moment sees you lose your brother in the woods, right after the house is burned to cinder and ash. In a modern adventure game, it’s likely that we’d walk in a straight line, the protagonist panicking as they stumble through the snow in search of their loved one - the focus would be on the camerawork and emotions. Röki is different. Instead, we have to keep an eye out for raised patches of snow as some harbour🧸 marbles, helping us find out which path Tove’s brother has taken. Pick the wrong one and you circle back to the beginning. 𒉰There’s an emphasis on environmental puzzles as some of the visuals look like marbles but are actually pebbles or berries. All the while, Tove’s emotions are still highlighted - her fear and determination are palpable but never overshadow or diminish the puzzle. The two work in tandem.
Point-and-click adventure games can learn a lot from Röki - being cinematic doesn’t mean you have to drop the adventure. It shows that there’s still a place for the classics, that the old fo🦩rmula of the ‘80s and ‘90s is applicable even in the 2020s and can be tweaked to suit modern audiences. Röki is the gold standard - it’s what point-and-cl🎀icks should strive to be going forward.