2019-05-01+Official+PlayStation+Magazine+-+UK+Edition

091

REVIEW

NO

IS IT BETTER THAN?

It may be 20 years old

but Tim Schafer’s

classic is weirder,

funnier, and packs in

more puzzles.

NO NO

Other point-and-click

genre legend Ron

Gilbert’s latest is a

more challenging

adventure overall.

It’s him again. Schafer

has dominated this

genre for almost 30

years. Yes, Broken Age

is a better game.

reachfor,andtheopeningcrawl
aswefollowa tinyVWcamper
vanwobblingitswayupa
windingmountainroadis pure
WesAnderson.TheAnderson
influencecarriesthroughinto
otherareasofthegame,with
panningshotsandsweepsthe
A-listdirectorwouldenjoy.At
timesyoujustwanttopause
andlookaroundthescreen,
admiringtheartistry.
There’sa wittothescript
tomatchtheartdirection.
ThegamedropsTwinPeaks
referenceswiththesame
passionasDaleCooperdrank
hotblackcoffee,andeventually
everythingbecomesa meta
marathonjogtowardstheend
credits;a game-within-a-game,
world-within-a-worldfroth
thatgenuinelysurprises.
It’sjusta shametheart
directionandstoryareoften
morechallengingthanthe
puzzlesyou’reaskedtosolvein
ordertoopenupmoreofthose
beautifulsets.Theanimation,
too,couldbea littlebetter,as

whilethesetslookincredible

andthecastofcharactersfeels

uniquelydesigned,occasionally

shortcutsaretakeninbringing

scenestolife.Thiscanbe

overlookedinthemain,but

whenyousolvea puzzleand

expecttoberewardedwithan

engagingsequenceandinstead

thecharactersslowlyand

clumsilydraga sceneout,it

canbedeflating.

There’sa lottoloveabout

Trüberbrook,fromthe

ambitionofitsproduction

designtothequirkinessof

itsscript’sbetterreveals,but

if you’reoftenleftfeelingits

influencesarealwaysoutof

reachandovershadowthe

actualgameyou’replaying.

VERDICT

THE OPM BREAKDOWN

Right A glowing
green bog?
That’s a big clue
right there.

Below It looks
stunning – there
are moments
that take your
breath away.

Above left Your adventure has some very weird twists and turns.

Not as inventive as Wes

Anderson’s films, as bizarre

as Twin Peaks, nor as quirky

as Double Fine, Trüberbrook is

merely a casual, occasionally

surprising, but always gorgeous

adventure. Ian Dean

4% Taking too

long overthinking

a puzzle because

you believe it

should be

much harder.

10% Tapping

along to the

soft, jazzy

soundtrack.

2%Feelingsmug

asyougetthe

TwinPeaks

reference.

12%Loving

the meta twist in

the final act.

WHAT YOU DO IN... TRÜBERBROOK

44%

Hovering over a

random object.

What’s it for?

28% Admiring

the really

spectacular sets.

STAT PACK

Hours – the time

it will take you to

complete the

game. But which

ending will

you get?

Quirky

characters to

meet and puzzle

your way past.

You’ll warm to

some, at least.

Minutes long

• the ‘doom jazz’
  soundtrack
  inspired by Tom
  Waits and Mark
  Lanegan.

67 12 10 4 0

1967 – the year

Trüberbrook is

set. The game

deals with

themes of

friendship.

COMPEL-O-GRAPH

Lookatthelittle

campervanscurryup

themountain!

Anotherpuzzle

completed...this

istooeasy.

Lovelycontrols.

Everything’s

soeasy.

What?!?

Thingsjust

wentvery

meta.Loveit!

0 TIME 8 hours

WORLD VIEW

You’ll marvel at the digitised model

sets, and the dev has used real

lighting rigs to ensure each location

feels touchably lifelike.

TOO CASUAL

Is it the streamlined controls or just

a simplistic approach to puzzling?

Trüberbrook’s brain teasers aren’t

as deep as the genre’s best.

LOVING/HATING