Started on a replay of Broken Age. It looks and sounds absolutely gorgeous. The writing is really strong, of course, but I'd forgotten how gentle this game is, especially at the start, and that includes the puzzles. It's not as exciting a replay as other Schafer adventures. I have only just broken out into the hubs for both characters, though, so maybe I'm being a bit harsh.
I didn't mind the first half being easy when I first played, as I was enjoying the world(s) so much, but it's a little more noticeable on replay when you know exactly what's happening. I guess part of it is that the story revolves around two kids breaking out of a gentle, cloying routine, so the opening sections mirror that. You're not kicking down doors and smashing people's faces into bars or whatever.
Am into part 2 now and really enjoying it again. The build up of puzzles is really nice, it has a perfect oscillation of gaining new goals and finding their solutions. Plus, having all the different characters getting mashed up in different combinations and locations is really cool, bolstered with a load of story reveals.
The only thing is, I'm now stuck on the last steps of these sections for both characters! I'd really like to be able to solve it on my own, but I might have to resort to a walkthrough, which would be a shame. Can't remember if I had to use a walkthrough my first time playing it, but I don't think so!
Okay, checked a hint through, and I probably would have solved it after a break and then coming back for a wander - I had thought the 'tell a joke' puzzle was impossible to do with dialogue alone, but I just need to find the right combination apparently (I suspect I fluked it last time), and I didn't really think about where a till-then unused inventory item could help.
Finished! The ending does feel a little abrupt - might have been nice for the villains to play more of an active role, and perhaps for Shay and Vella to get to do some more awesome stuff too (they were getting the massive ships to fire death rays and grabbers and stuff but again it felt a little indirect) - but a lot of the wrap-up is built-in already and any loose ends are tied up with the credits illustrations, so overall I think it's a cute, tidy way to finish it. Also would have liked a 'look at' function just to get more Tim Schafer writing in there, but never mind. Overall, looks and sounds gorgeous, loads of interesting characters and locations, and fun satisfying puzzles. It's not up there with DOTT, FT and GF, and it's hard to rate it separate from my experience as a backer with all the prior knowledge and everything, but it's definitely one of the better adventure games I've played.
Rating: gentle but great
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