L
ikeAlphaProtocol,stories
Untold is the sort of game
where I’ve made up my
mind about it during the opening
credits. This time, though, it’s
fabulous news. Floating keyboards,
brown wallpaper, and music that
whispers, ‘remember when you
were young? Things were less
frightening then’. It’s brilliant.
Each section in Stories Untold is
essentially a different game. It’s the
first one, The House Abandon, that
makes me properly engage with the
setting and presentation. It’s a neat
little story. You’ll see the twist coming
but enjoy the creepy journey there.
It’s an hit of nostalgia for anyone who
ever loaded games from a tape.
When I first played Stories Untold,
I was slightly disappointed that all
the games weren’t different takes on
the text adventure, but now it makes
perfect sense. It’s a tactile love letter
toknobs,keyboards,dialsandother
analogue inputs. It’s perfect for
anyone who, like me, feels a rush of
excitement when they realise an
in-game toilet is flushable. It’s also
one of those games that forces you to
think outside the constraints of what
you see on screen, which is massively
refreshing. At one point, I had to find
a real-life pen and paper to solve a
Morse code puzzle. And once you
realise that the game is going to
approach everything in such an
oblique way, it feels oddly liberating.
I’m less keen on the first-person
bit in the third chapter, The Station
Process, but that’s only because I’d
grown accustomed to the comfort of
sitting and staring all those buttons,
and doodads. It’s the same feeling as
having to go to the shops aftera
whole day spent playing
games. Lord, let me stay
inside and twiddle Stories
Untold’s dials forever.StorieSUNtoldcelebrateseverythinganalogue
EXPECttOPaY
£7DEvElOPEr
NoCodePublishEr
Devolver DigitalNeedtoKNowWear Kurt Russell’s hat from
The Thing for full arctic immersion.rEviEW
SwItCh CraFt
85
B
rokenSword 3 isherealmostby
means of an apology – I’msorry
for not loving you more back in2003.
You were nowhere near as badasI
thought. It’s a thoughtful, heartfelt
3D modernisation of point-and-click
games that works surprisinglywell–
classic adventure puzzles blended
with George and Nico’s newfound
ability to climb almost everything.
It’s endearingly daft – it starts
with a patent lawyer crashinghis
plane and a journalist clambering
across balconies to get her story,but
the two leads have enough charmto
carry it off. It’s like a BBC radioplay
of the Uncharted games, which
is absolutely one of the
highest compliments it’s
possible for me to pay.
BroKeN Sword 3
78
I
knowit’snaughtytostartareview
with an anecdote, but I just found
a fat dead old man wedged in my
clock and I need to tell someone.
Also, it let me click on his nipples.
Rusty Lake Roots is the Inside No
9 of adventure games – a sinister,
hand-drawn nightmare that feels like
being trapped inside grandma’s
scariest painting. But it’s also an
enjoyable adventure game, with calm,
meandering puzzles that almost
make you feel guilty for figuring
them out so quickly.
Did you really just decide to write
a love letter to your future wife using
her nosebleed juice? Yes, you did,you
pervert, and so did I. Points
knocked off because I can’t
play fullscreen.rUStylAKerootS
81
T
hiswasmadein1992,soit’s
okaytoexpectdisappointment,
right?Nope.I’mafool.It’sstill
brilliant.Fromtheglorious,farty
musictotheopeningcreditswhich
haveIndytumblingthroughhis
universityloftinsearchofalost
statue,thisisperfectlypitched. It’s
witty,reverential,andwonderfully
animated.Solvingpuzzleswiththe
SCUMMenginefeelsfiddly
now,butsomeelements
remainimpressive.iNdiANAJoNeSANd
theFAteoFAtlANtiS
90
George Stobbart: gaming’s
most seductive patent lawyer.Grandpa found new ways to
make hide-and-seek exciting.It’s not Indiana Jones without
a selection of exotic pots.