Broken Age

The disappointing second half lets it down, but even at best, Broken Age is far from the genre's greats.

Taken as a whole, Broken Age is still a easy-to-recommend, extremely charming game with some lovely messages about growing up. But it isn't quite the landmark achievement in video game narrative I spent its year-long intermission hoping for.

Though there were plenty of puzzles with outlandish solutions that left me unimpressed by their logic, my grousing never caused me to lose sight of the fact that "Broken Age's" esprit is charming enough that I could imagine returning to it again.

It's a dreamy, gentle, melancholic game, created with tangible passion. It's utterly beautiful, and while not nearly challenging enough, it's entertaining to play.

When all's said and done, Broken Age makes an excellent case for why the adventure game genre deserves to exist in this medium. Indeed, it's a wonderfully charming title that really feels like a celebration of the point-and-click format. Sure, it doesn't necessarily do anything ground breaking, but it doesn't really need to. If you're a fan of Tim Schafer's previous work, then this is unmissable.

Broken Age was a long time coming, but it's a story that was worth the wait for all players and not just the game's Kickstarter backers.

Do you like stories? Play 'Broken Age.' Do you like solid humor, beautiful graphics, interesting characters, or old school adventure games? Play 'Broken Age.'

Broken Age is a shining example of the point-and click adventure genre, and is thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish. The gameplay delivers on a tried and tested recipe and while it doesn't take any risks, the rewards are in the story, visuals and voice-acting. The pastel-style imagery and playful characters are truly memorable, and the stellar voice-cast deliver a script full of laugh-out-loud moments. Another Tim Schafer classic.

Broken Age is a faithful callback to the Golden Age of point-and-click adventures. While this holds in back in some respects, the game was a joy to play with fun puzzles and a captivating story.

Puzzle solutions are always a few short minutes away and long gone are the genre's nonsensical conundrums that have plagued gamers for years.