Demetrios: The Big Cynical Adventure

The big adventure of Demetrios isn’t all that cynical, but it certainly is forgettable. I can’t say the game is bad, because it’s not, but also I certainly wouldn’t tell you it’s good. Instead, it’s nothing more than a name added to a list of titles I’ve beaten, and it will never be anything more than that.

Demetrios is a valiant effort from one-man developer COWCAT at reviving the witty point and click adventure game, but ultimately its selling point - the humour - is its downfall. The gameplay is fun and puzzling, the graphics are quirky, and occasionally the dialogue does get a giggle, but the characters are too unlikable and the jokes too obnoxious to make all ten hours (a good amount for a game of this genre) enjoyable.

While not a revolution in the point-and-click adventure genre, the crude humour and amusing story keep Demetrios feeling fresh and fun. While it won’t be to everyone’s tastes, if you’re a fan of cynical commentary and games that self-satirise, then you won’t go far wrong here.

If you’re the type of person who’s more of a fan of Demetrios’ intentionally crass sense of humor, it may be worth a whirl, especially given its modest fee.

Demetrios – The Big Cynical Adventure isn't the best game I have played but it certainly is fun and has its moments that will make you laugh. It also offers a fair amount of actual gameplay before the credits roll. With the addition of trying to reach all of the achievements, there is plenty of gameplay to go around.

Demetrios: The Big Cynical Adventure has a lot of qualities going for it, all of which centred in the gameplay department... but it stumbles in at least two of the main draws of a point-and-click adventure.

While the typical genre trappings are all here: searching for objects, talking to people, and solving puzzles using your inventory items in sometimes unusual and unexpected ways, it’s consistently the game’s humor that strays from the norm. Whether in the form of Bjorn’s simple comments on items he encounters, the dialogue he gets into with others, or some of the things you can do to kill (you’ll come right back to where you left off, why not find out what happens?) or entertain yourself this really is what makes or breaks the game. Can it venture into the more juvenile, sure, but there’s no doubt an audience that get a kick out of it. Aside from that it’s a mostly generic experience but I’ll give it credit for choosing a lane and sticking with it, providing something a little different in the process.

Not everyone will appreciate the crass world of Demetrios but those who enjoy point and click adventure games and ham-fisted humour will definitely like what this Big Cynical Adventure has to offer.

Demetrios is a hilarious but simple point & click adventure game. It's not the best in any aspect, but it's good enough to give you a cheap laugh and keep interested and smiling for a whole game.

Demetrios is nothing that great. Or special. The crudeness is unnecessary. The amount of things to sift through is unnecessary. And unfortunately, nothing entirely makes up for these downfalls.