Broken Age, the return to the classic adventure genre from Doublefine is a big deal. Not only for the studio and writer/designer Tim Schafer but that this was the game that brought Kickstarter into the spotlight and radically changed game development since late 2012.
After delays and the game being split into two parts with backers getting both, the first half of the story is now out and time to judge. What we have is a bridge between the old and new style of adventure games, but the question remains: Will it please the fans and backers?
The following analysis will focus on the gameplay elements of Broken Age with light spoilers about the basic plot. Nothing about the ending or how the story advances will be mentioned here
Broken Age is a story split between two characters trapped in unusual circumstances and wanting to break free. Shay is on a spaceship with an AI “mom” who treats him like a baby with his entire life stuck in a child proof world. Vella has been chosen to be featured in the maiden feast, where the villages of her world sacrifice women to appease a giant monster so that it won’t destroy them.
Both decide to do something about their fate and in the process set events in motion that neither could predict. At the start of the game you can choose to play from either Vella or Shay’s storyline but there is no gameplay purpose for it.
Both stories are self contained with no cross over in terms of puzzle solving which for those who remember the days of the Lucas Arts adventure series may be let down.
Puzzle solving is always a tricky thing to analyze in a game, as some people may have nothing but trouble while others may just breeze through everything. Broken Age is especially interesting as it is following in the footsteps of Telltale’s adventure series that have dialed back puzzle solving in favor of more storytelling.
The various character models all look very good with just enough detail despite the 2D style.
From my point of view, the puzzles were definitely a step up challenge wise compared to what has come from Telltale, but still nowhere near as crazy as older adventure games.
Aesthetically speaking, Broken Age is a good looking game with a great art style and voice actors.
The game has a storybook like look to it with characters having that flat appearance of being stuck in a book, but it doesn’t come off as being cliché or hokey. The voice talent is practically a who’s who of big name voice actors both from previous Double Fine games and in the industry in general.
It can be fun to play “spot the voice actor” given the huge cast. Speaking of the cast, Broken Age definitely fits with Tim Schafer’s storytelling theme of having these weird and random characters in his worlds. The characters stand out thanks to their quirks but this is one area where Broken Age feels more like the classic adventure games than being a new experience.
After Telltale raised the bar with their character design, specifically with how characters grow and act to the situation around them, the characters in Broken Age feel like they’re set in stone. In the sense that however they are when you first meet them, is how they’re going to be for the rest of the game.
Part of this is due to the difference in pacing compared to the two developers. Telltale’s stories are designed around being split into these 5 part narratives which gives characters time to grow and change. Broken Age was originally pitched as a single 8 hour adventure which has now been split in half due to funding issues.
Broken Age is entirely linear despite having two main characters, both stories have an “end” for part one which the game wraps up with a “to be continued”.
Broken Age part one is interesting from the standpoint of being the game that brought kickstarter to the forefront, but for those expecting something revolutionary, it is a bit of a letdown.
While I enjoyed Broken Age part one, something was lacking to me. I don’t know if it’s because the game was split between two parts or the puzzles being somewhat straightforward. But while I was interested to see how Broken Age will end, I’m not at the edge of my seat in anticipation the same way that I am for The Wolf Among Us or The Walking Dead Season two.
The story takes some interesting turns which will hopefully pay off once part two hits at some point.
Another factor is the price, with a price tag of $25 ($22 if you preorder), feels somewhat high to me, considering both the content that’s there and that we all know how much Doublefine made in terms of funding.
As it stands, Broken Age part one is a great game, but not a mind blowing one in my opinion.
I would love to see a sort of cross between Doublefine’s puzzle solving with Telltale’s attention to storytelling and character development.
Hopefully with part one setting the stage for the adventure, part two will be where Broken Age will cut loose.
