Broken Age

 PC
User Score
6.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 130 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 62 out of 130
  2. Mixed: 48 out of 130
  3. Negative: 20 out of 130
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  1. ritardedartkid
    Nov 8, 2015
    7
    There was certainly a lot of hype around this game and as a backer I was along for the ride. Fast forward 3 years and we finally have a completed game. After playing both acts I would say that the game is decent, but not a must have. There’s certainly a lot of charm from the hand painted artwork to the dialogue and music, but charm doesn’t make a great game. While act 1 was fun and full ofThere was certainly a lot of hype around this game and as a backer I was along for the ride. Fast forward 3 years and we finally have a completed game. After playing both acts I would say that the game is decent, but not a must have. There’s certainly a lot of charm from the hand painted artwork to the dialogue and music, but charm doesn’t make a great game. While act 1 was fun and full of potential, act 2 felt disconnected. The puzzles became illogical, the story was inconsistent, and there was too much running back and forth across maps. All in all, this was a bit of a letdown for me. I still recommend it, but have realistic expectations - this isn’t a magical unicorn that will single handedly save adventure games.… Expand
  2. CorleyMinivan
    Jul 10, 2019
    5
    I was never planning on reviewing this game, but I feel like I have to. At this point, everyone who’s interested in this game has bought it, so I’m not sure this is gonna change any minds. I’m just doing this to vent, I guess.

    I should preface this by saying Full Throttle is my all-time favorite graphic adventure, followed by Monkey Island 2, and then Grim Fandango. My parents bought me    I was never planning on reviewing this game, but I feel like I have to. At this point, everyone who’s interested in this game has bought it, so I’m not sure this is gonna change any minds. I’m just doing this to vent, I guess.

    I should preface this by saying Full Throttle is my all-time favorite graphic adventure, followed by Monkey Island 2, and then Grim Fandango. My parents bought me Monkey Island when it first came out in 1991, and there is no genre of game that has left as significant a mark on me as the adventure genre. So, Tim Schafer is probably the singular most important person in relation to how I view and appreciate games. I’m also a HUGE Brutal Legend fan, and enjoyed Psychonauts. So, this is hard for me to write.

    Broken Age is far and away the worst game he’s developed.
    From the baffling decision to go with Nathan Stapely over Lucasarts veteran Peter Chan as the lead artist, to the remarkably lopsided nature of the game between Acts 1 and 2, the whole thing is of a much lower quality than other Schafer games.

    The story starts off great, and the twist at the end of Act 1 is remarkable. Then, about an hour into Act 2, things start getting stale. Going through the same locations, speaking with the same characters, lots of backtracking, all of this adds up to a frustrating experience. The way it ends though is what’s really inexcusable. What’s really going on is never fully explained, and it’s totally possible to miss the little bit of exposition there is by not clicking on a computer terminal about 5 minutes before the game ends. Then there’s a laughably done throwaway scene that shows a character from the very beginning of the game who turns out to be bad all along, only to have them immediately disappear again. There’s actually a lot of “happily ever after” –type stuff during the credits in the form of rough sketches, but why? Why do it there? Even the goal of what to do to end the game is kind of silly and counterintuitive.

    To be fair, the most common criticism of Act 1 from players was that it was too short and too easy, so Act 2 definitely addressed this, but grinds the story to a halt. The wiring puzzle at the end of the first part of Vella’s Act 2 campaign – and the way you obtain the solution – just straight-up pissed me off. I think I’m in the minority when It comes to not liking the art, but whatever. I didn’t like it when I first saw it, and then when I watched the Double Fine Documentary (worth a watch) and saw Peter Chan’s and Scott Campbell’s art that didn’t make it into the game, it blew my mind.

    The lack of hand-drawn animation is also very disappointing. I realize that most modern adventure games use Flash-style animation, and there IS a lot of work that goes into it, but it still can’t hold a candle to the older graphic adventures from back in the day. I went back and played through Day of the Tentacle, Sam & Max, and Full Throttle within the last couple of months, and ALL of them look so much better than Broken Age. It’s like watching the “special” editions of the original Star Wars trilogy – yeah the CG animation is newer and more fluid, but at the end of the day it ages SO much worse than the old stuff.

    There are some bright spots. The voice acting is spot-on, and the writing of the dialogue remains damn good. The score by Peter McConnell is also amazing. I’ve been a fan of his for 25ish years, and he’s one of the most underrated musicians in the world, in my opinion.

    I can forgive all the cosmetic stuff if the story was well-told, because that is the most valuable currency that Schafer has always had. It’s just too bad that this fell short as well. He's said that he's not sure if he'll ever do another adventure game, but I hope he does. But I'll be a little cautious about my expectations with it, for the first time ever.    … Expand
  3. SuperkenGaming
    May 4, 2015
    7
    Broken Age
    Great world, not so great game.
    Broken age is split up into 2 acts and 2 perspectives On one side you play as vella A spunky girl about to be honorably sacrificed by her village to a monster called mog chothra, but you have other plans Your sacrifice turns into a hunt to take the monster down. On the other side you play as shay A boy with over protective spaceship    Broken Age
    Great world, not so great game.
    Broken age is split up into 2 acts and 2 perspectives
    On one side you play as vella
    A spunky girl about to be honorably sacrificed by her village to a monster called mog chothra, but you have other plans
    Your sacrifice turns into a hunt to take the monster down.
    On the other side you play as shay
    A boy with over protective spaceship parents.
    Their goal is to keep you protected, but you come to realize that comfort and safety requires a sacrifice of itself, freedom.
    Shay repeats the same cycle day after day until hes fed up with it, ready to grow up.
    During the first act of the game you meet dozens of unique and charming characters.
    The characters and dialog are easily the highlight of this game, and the worlds seem almost magic and mysterious, sadly though the story, world, and characters are all this game really has to offer, and if im being completely honest.. I didn’t find the ultimate ending of act 2 to be worth the journey.
    Act 1 ends with a great cliff hanger, from that point forward I kind of fell out of love with the game and the adventure it was taking me on.
    Broken age is a very unique experience in the sense that it doesn’t really feel like you are in control, broken age feels in control.
    This is more of an interactive story than a game.
    When it comes down to it, you don’t do much in broken age but figure out ways to get around the obstacles thrown at you.
    Like other point and click adventure games, this done by listening to dialog and combining items, nothing really all too tricky.
    Broken age took me a little over 7 hours to see and do everything there is, and there are tons of cute and clever interactions to be found, but there is no reason to replay it, you have no control over the outcome, you have no influence in dialog, this game is really just, talk to everyone you see until the dialog options are exhausted and then find someone else to do this again, and then trade them what they want for what you want, nothing more.
    The second half of the game felt grindy to me and much less charming as no new characters are really introduced, while I did love the characters, I didn’t love them enough to want to keep seeing them over and over.
    Puzzles do get more challenging and clever here, but nothing that will have you searching guides for clues, all puzzles you can easily figure out on your own.
    I’m not the greatest with point and click games, but still found broken age to be a very casual and hilarious experience.
    This is some of the best writing I’ve ever seen in a game, I just wish there was more game here, something that required my input.
    Maybe point and clicks aren’t my thing, because oddly enough I still found this to be one of the best point and click games I’ve ever played, the pacing is really perfect.
    For what it is
    Point and Click Action Adventure: 8/10
    Overall: 7/10    … Expand
  4. malcolmm
    Jul 14, 2016
    5
    Not the worst adventure game I've ever played but far from the best. Act one is pretty good - the story is interesting. Now many puzzles in Act one but at least almost all of them are logical.

    Act two kills the game. The same locations are reused and there is lots of running around trying to find the person who will advance the puzzles you are working on. The puzzles are more    Not the worst adventure game I've ever played but far from the best. Act one is pretty good - the story is interesting. Now many puzzles in Act one but at least almost all of them are logical.

    Act two kills the game. The same locations are reused and there is lots of running around trying to find the person who will advance the puzzles you are working on. The puzzles are more challenging but only because the solutions border on the absurd.

    Technically the game is quite good - the graphics are nice and the voice acting is of a high quality. But story and puzzles count the most for me so I can't recommend this game.    … Expand
  5. GolovA
    Jun 19, 2018
    7
    Good.

    Plot could have been taken deeper, but instead felt rushed and a bit flat without a tangible closure at the end. The dramatic ending was also thrown off by the tediousness of the hard end-puzzle.
    Super voice-acting, creative visuals, atmospheric backdrop and theme.

    RECOMMEND.
  6. Underpants158
    May 18, 2015
    7
    What is this game?!: A point and click adventure game with two protagonists that you switch between and solve puzzles and meet quirky characters!!
    Pros:
    -Great writing and voice acting -Beautiful graphical style -The logic is zany but only mildly so making the puzzles much more...well, logical but still fantastical. Cons -Recycled areas between act 1 and 2 start to make the world    What is this game?!: A point and click adventure game with two protagonists that you switch between and solve puzzles and meet quirky characters!!
    Pros:
    -Great writing and voice acting
    -Beautiful graphical style
    -The logic is zany but only mildly so making the puzzles much more...well, logical but still fantastical.

    Cons
    -Recycled areas between act 1 and 2 start to make the world feel stale as you get towards the end.
    -I myself wasn't a fan of the end/story and that's all I'll say about that/
    -There are some frustrating puzzles that make checking walkthroughs very tempting. I'm thinking of you wire puzzles!

    Conclusion: It's a game I wanted to like a lot but ended up getting tired of and at times frustrated with. Yet I still do like it.    … Expand
  7. ozzsoffy
    Mar 30, 2020
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Finish main story 27/45 achievements in 16 Hours.
    This is a modern point and click adventurer game, the story is split between two characters a boy and a girl, and merge the story between them.

    Game-play wise, I got stuck in a few places in the beginning and the middle of the game, the game was very good, and very compelling, specially at the end.

    this game cannot consider a classic of its kind, but it is a fun and nice game for it's type.
    I recommend it.    … Expand
  8. bskierys
    Mar 31, 2019
    7
    Disclaimer: I played the game as a whole - long after the release of both episodes.
    Summary: Tim Schafer promised us a return of mogical point and click platformer from the times of hand crafted worlds, engaging stories and deep, interesting characters. In my opinion he delivered exactly this. Thanks to that he was one step from making a great game... but he didn't make that step. And    Disclaimer: I played the game as a whole - long after the release of both episodes.
    Summary: Tim Schafer promised us a return of mogical point and click platformer from the times of hand crafted worlds, engaging stories and deep, interesting characters. In my opinion he delivered exactly this. Thanks to that he was one step from making a great game... but he didn't make that step. And then he made a step back with some unfortunate and annoying gameplay decisions.
    Pros:
    + Fascinating world with interesting characters,
    + Superb game visuals, voice acting and music,
    + Most puzzles are enjoyable - with lots of hints from characters yet still challanging. In one of them I even had to take a pen and paper to write the schema down!
    + Great story with one huge plot twist...
    Cons:
    - ...but only this one, and it is in the middle of the game, which makes the game ending satisfying but so predictable that almost boring,
    - Bad design decisions: e.g. camera that moves around with the character and makes clicking any object a challanging mini-game,
    - Some puzzles are annoing. Game teaches you something and when you already know you can't do that, then it forces you to do that. I had to reach to walkthrough few times because of this,    … Expand
  9. aditya1101
    Oct 5, 2017
    5
    Really nicely done point and click game, I loved the art and the story was pretty nice ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  10. mno
    Sep 25, 2018
    7
    The tech of the adventure is very good and it offers beautiful art but the game is made for children. The story is rushed and feels incomplete. Some characters are okay whilst others are simply annoying. Not every puzzle is great or challenging but the game also includes a couple of very good ones. You can enjoy playing the game once but you don't want to play it a second time.
  11. hileger
    Dec 3, 2022
    7
    отличный квест хули недовольны, сосать лежать пендосы ......................

Awards & Rankings

88
#88 Most Shared PC Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 19 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 19
  3. Negative: 0 out of 19
  1. Riot Pixels
    Jun 15, 2015
    79
    There are two almost independent episodes living under one name. The first one is a beautiful, smart, exciting adventure game that is pure happiness, though it is short and without an ending. The second part is… Well, simply ignore it. Repeat after me: you do not need to play Part Two.
    Read full review
  2. Pelit (Finland)
    Jun 14, 2015
    80
    Broken Age doesn’t quite reach the heights of Psychonauts or Grim Fandango, but it still manages to be a solid and fun old school adventure game. [June 2015]
  3. Gamestyle
    May 27, 2015
    50
    Upon completion it does feel pretty much worth the effort, although even then it is still a little bit confused and there are unanswered questions.
    Read full review
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