Broken Age Act 1

I dislike McDonald's. I don't like the burgers but the salads aren't bad. The ice creams are kinda crap but for under £1.50, what else is there? I could get a Solareo or a White Chocolate Magnum but the McFlurry is just more satisfying, somehow. It needs a little more in it but it's just good to round off a meal. On the plus side, they have Super Mario toys in stock. That's awesome.

And until my internet at home kicks back in, I'm stuck turning up here, every day, just to use the Wi-Fi. Ugh...What makes it worse is just the fact that my internet isn't working for no reason.

Ugh...I need something utterly divine to take the edge off my frustration...

[size=+1]Broken Age[/size]​

Oh my word! Oh by The Divines! Oh by The Nine! Oh by Celestia's sainted knickers! Oh by Kalros! Oh by Tim Curry! Oh by all that is holy and wonderful! Oh by the wonders of this artform! Oh, oh, oh!

I loves it! I really, really like this. It's fluid, it's hugely entertaining. It's imaginative. It's intelligent and very pretty. It's just a good game that turns out to be worth most of that money everyone gave Schafer and his crew way back when. He got so much, they had to figure out what to do with what's left.

I call it 'Credit Crunch'! Geddit?!​

Ugh, here comes the hard bit: telling you why. I always get like this with something I really like. Telling why something is worth your time is haaaaaard! Think of the Love Letter I wrote Dear Esther. Or The Stanley Parable. Well! Here we go!

The story is split up into two halves.

One half concerns Vella (voiced by Masasa Moyo who you might recognise from somewhere in the Saints Row games). This is the daughter of a baker in a town of bakers. She has been chosen for what is known as the 'Maiden's Feast' where pretty girls are dressed up as tasty food and then offered up to a gigantic monster known as Mog Chothra. It's a tad bizarre how perfectly happy to just offer up sacrifices these people are. I can understand being afraid but come on! That is insane!

The other half is about Shay (voiced by Elijah Wood, of all people), a young man on a ship that he's grown out of years ago. The ship is overseen by a computer that believes it's Shay's mother. And seems to still think Shay is about 5 years old as she is overbearing while also all controlling. He's far past being patronised in the way he's been for what seems to be a long, long time. It's shown in a surprisingly clever method of creating monotony that you have to find a way to break before you go utterly nuts.

The link between the two stories is the idea of breaking the tradition and cycles of their lives that they're unhappy with in any way they can. This is then about that journey in their attempt to escape these cycles. After escaping 'The Maiden's Feast', Vella is trying to kill Mog Chathra to save her town while Shay just wants to be able to do something more worthwhile than saving stuffed toys from ice cream avalanches. He eventually gets his wish when a mysterious wolf appears, telling him about a special mission he has for the responsibility-starved Shay.

This is probably the most interesting and stand out part of the game. The story is just enthralling. It's interesting with it's own nutty logic that manages to just lend clues to the puzzles provided to you to play though. Furthermore, the characters are all just charming. Even the cutlery in Shay's half of the story has it's own little lines!

And let's look at the gameplay for a sec. Bottom line? It's pretty good. It's definitely not a game I'd require insane levels of intelligence to beat but I'd also not require psychic powers so I can channel whatever the level designer was thinking at the time. If Puzzle Agent has the hardest puzzles I've ever tried in a point and click adventure and Back to the Future has some of the most baffling then Broken Age manages to get it somewhere in between the two. A nice equilibrium of comprehendible and challenging. I was stumped a couple times but not necessarily for long. I was generally very pleased once I had a puzzle figured out. I didn't have to resort to just rubbing everything on everything after a while or anything like that.

Even better was the logic behind some puzzles. Each environment is very well directed and explained so that you can piece things together if you spent long enough talking to people. And you'll want to because the characters are very enjoyable. While there's no dedicated hint system, Vella and Shay will give occasional hints if you just sit there, thinking. That's a reasonable touch.

And, it looks gorgeous! It's often been likened to a story book and I can see why. It's all bright colours that look like they've been done with crayons or chalks, it's all marvelous looking. The character designs are all interesting, the environments can be breathtakingly beautiful but they're all separate, giving you a definite sense of moving forwards. Animation is just very smooth. Sure, it might be a little simple on characters but it's all so imaginative on most of them I really don't care. Everything else sort of masks any limitations of the software here.

If I had to pick at it, I would say it is short. It's hard to pin that to the game as a negative though. I mean, if you're looking for something longer and meatier, I can't help you as this is actually half of the full game that will then be added to much later when it's complete.

Yeah, I know! £20 or about $25 for half a game? That sounds really crappy! I wouldn't be too eager for such a deal either. I wouldn't blame you if you just waited for the full thing to be made and added in.

Is this a con? Well, not really. I know that's a lot of money for only a part of a game but that then makes this a guarantee. That sounds like a rip off but it's some damn good couple of hours right here with the promise of several more on top. I got through the game within two or three hours but they're finely crafted and memorable dollops of time. Almost like a gourmet meal in a fancy restaurant. It's very tasty if not very much. Again, like The Stanley Parable or Dear Esther for the same reasons here. They're all rich experiences and stories. I think this deserves the investment!

Otherwise, for nitpicking? I dunno, while the voice acting is pretty good, Vella seems a touch flat...maaaaaybe? I don't think she's as well acted as Shay, which I find bizarre but Mr Wood is great in this. This really is me just looking for bad because I still enjoyed Vella's character. She's still very likeable, I think I'm just being very, very picky...

As for other complaints I've heard, I found the difficulty of puzzles about right for me although I don't consider myself the best at them and £20 is a lot but I think the first half does a lot to not only justify it's price but encourage investment in more.

I'm sorry but I'm really smitten with this. I can't find much to find wrong here! Go buy! Seriously! Go! It's a good game that deserves your support! It's smart, funny and enthralling! If I ever used a rating system, this would break it! Go!

Mr Schafer is not full of money yet!

He's like a Luma from 'Mario Galaxy' only he eats your cash and explodes into good games.​