The next game on my top 10 countdown should be a given considering my love of the Blackwell series, and that is the latest game from Wadjet Eye Games.
#6: Unavowed
Unavowed is definitely the shortest game on my list this year, but what it lacks in quantity, it makes up for in the quality of design and storytelling by Dave Gilbert. Taking place once again in New York where Dave lives, we go from one paranormal expert to a team that must fight to keep the city safe.
As with his previous games, the writing continues to be on point– with each character being well-defined in their own unique ways. For the first time from Dave, you are playing a silent protagonist which fits well with the game’s twist that I’m still not spoiling here.
The flow of Unavowed continues from the Blackwell series, with each case being its own vignette of characters, a threat, and puzzles to solve. This is also the first game designed from Dave that gives the player more choice in terms of how they handle each case. You are always partnered up with two members of the Unavowed, with the limitation being that one of the original two members must be in your party.
Even with that limitation, there is a lot of variance for an adventure game in terms of the dialogue you hear based on who you take along. Do you go for pairings that make sense? Or do you try to shake things up and see how everyone responds. The puzzles are all solvable in their own ways no matter what pairings you take; something I’m sure took Dave a lot of time to figure out.
For my money, Unavowed is a great counter to how limited a lot of other adventure games have become; where the focus is entirely on story without any interaction from the player. With that said, Unavowed is not going to test your puzzle-solving skills that much; for that, you should check out last year’s Thimbleweed Park.
And as always, when I finish an adventure game from Dave Gilbert, I’m now waiting to see what comes next from the developer. For more on the game, don’t miss my video and audio cast interview with Dave we did in 2018.
We move into the top 5 next time with a game that is a pitch-perfect blast from the past
