Sometimes the flurry of bullets and style points get old. The streets in a race seem vague and often too familiar, the mountains and shouts have all been played out, and the nth “I’m reloading. Cover me” gets to you in a bad way. Video games span a lot of genres, but when one type starts to trend, it’s inevitable that you’ll get 300 clones of the same. However, whenever you feel like games are hitting a rut, there are always some great point and click titles to turn to. They can span from the Death Row Game to the legendary Secret of Monkey Island, and most of the time they’re of such a high quality that you have to try them out.
10. The Journey of Remus
Point and Click adventures were never really restricted by the bounds of logic, and that’s pretty much the idea behind this title. In it, you play Remus, a friendly Hillbilly on a quest to meet the King. Along the way, his buddy Liam, will play a pivotal role in solving the many puzzles in between them and the King. The game has also spawned a few sequels, so you’re sure to have a bit of a blast going through them all.
9. Blade Runner
Besides being one of the most iconic science fiction films ever created, this title also had a brief stint as a pretty good point and click adventure. The unique thing about this game is that it was a real time adventure game, meaning that if you chose to act out in the middle of the street, you might have ended up getting arrested or attracting attention to yourself. This was pretty new to video games during 1997, and the game pulled it off really well.
8. The Longest Journey
This series took a weird turn during its last days. You see, this game was one of the more familiar point and click adventures during its time, but when consoles came out it tried to mature and meet the standards of the current gaming world. That didn’t work out to well, but it still stands as a reminder of how well made a lot of the point and click series are. Featuring a cast of superb voice actors, striking visuals (for that time), and a story that can get you hooked once you jump in, this game deserves a lot of your attention.
7. Policenauts
Lucas Games overshadowed tons of titles during their reign as masters of the point and click adventure. As a result, many games that had surpassed the quality of their games fell by the wayside. It’s a shame really, because Policenauts is one hell of a game. Featuring some pretty obvious references to American Film Making and a script, which is just a tinge, unhinged, this game was a cult classic. Not to mention it was one of the first titles Hideo Kojima made for the PlayStation.
6. I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream
This game is no kiddie title, and the premise alone should give that away. Heavily based on the ideals of morality, players are faced with making tough decisions involving rape, genocide, and a whole manner of taboo subjects. However, the writing within the title is superb and shows off an artsy feel that hasn’t been well replicated since the First-Person-Shooter System Shock 2. The problem with this one is that no one seems to want to pick it up for a re-release, so you might have to use an alternative method to get it to run.
5. Sam and Max Hit the Road
This wouldn’t be a very good list of point and clickers if there wasn’t at least one Sam and Max game. The duo, Sam and Max, were created during the height of the Lucas Arts boom in clicker games. At the same time, their charming dialogue and strange chemistry made them an instant hit among the fans. This is also one of the few titles from Lucas that didn’t feature the ever present SCUMM gaming system, and that just added on to the inherent charm that these two kept brining in.
4. The Walking Dead Game
If “I have no mouth and I must Scream” delved into the ideas of morality in a controlled space, Walking Dead chose to make it personal to the player. The game has the same idea as most point and click adventures, tasking you with collecting a few tools to solve a problem in hand. What really makes the difference is that it also takes a serious approach to plot line, and the whole thing feels like an interactive short story. If you haven’t tried this title yet, you should as it is available on the PC and on most major consoles.
3. Grim Fandango
This title, while not the most obscure, still deserves a little more attention. You see, nostalgia really brought this title back from the depths of the bargain bin, but it still needs little more attention because it is a brilliant game. If in the Death Row title, you have to aid a prisoner right his wrongs, in this game you’re tasked with being death and solving a great big mystery in the afterlife.
2. To The Moon
This title is not one for the faint of heart. That isn’t to say that the game is violent or depicts gore of any kind. No, instead, it’s about loss, regret, and the last wish of young man who’s dying of a terminal illness. Of course, this game doesn’t really fit into the conventional description of clicker games, and instead lends itself more to the interactive story genre. However, there are enough puzzles in this title to keep you happy, so if you want a sad story that is likely to make you cry, the pick up this game.
1. Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive people
You were probably expecting Monkey Island in this slot didn’t you? Well, if you did, too bad, the game’s been re-released on HD and everyone expects it to be on the top, so instead, here’s a game about a luchador. Created by the now famous TellTale Games, this title is as unhinged as it can get. Often it throws back to old school adventure games, making it an even deeper experience than it already is.
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