Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon

 PC
Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 32 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 32
  3. Negative: 0 out of 32
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  1. Armchair Empire
    72
    Needless to say, this type of gameplay is hardly challenging, thought provoking, or enjoyable, for most serious gamers. However, what Broken Sword does do is very polished and offers a slick level of gameplay for the occasional gamer used to solitaire and minesweeper.
  2. PC Gamer
    72
    Good but not great, it's sweetly bland adventure porridge. [Feb 2004, p.79]
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  3. Game Over Online
    71
    One of the worst interfaces I’ve ever seen in an adventure game.
  5. Computer Games Magazine
    70
    The PC controls are so awkward that even when you know what to do and where to go, you find that you really need 360-degree character rotation to avoid staggering drunkenly into certain death. [Mar 2004, p.81]
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  6. Yahoo!
    70
    The plot, graphics and general fun of discovery should be enough to keep you happy despite the fact that 12 hours is about all the time it'll take you to complete the game.
  7. games(TM)
    50
    Many of the puzzles are somewhat straightforward in design, and while ensuring players are less likely to hit those infuriating brick walls typically found in the genre's great titles, your input into the proceedings once again tends to feel slightly shallow and less rewarding than before. [Christmas 2003, p.108]
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Awards & Rankings

36
#36 Best PC Game of 2003
50
#50 Most Discussed PC Game of 2003

User Reviews

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User Score
7.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 128 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 74 out of 128
  2. Mixed: 39 out of 128
  3. Negative: 15 out of 128
  1. DantheMan
    Jan 12, 2012
    0
    The controls on the game are so broken as to make it impossible to play expect for the most dedicated of fans. The Sleeping Dragon is the onlyThe controls on the game are so broken as to make it impossible to play expect for the most dedicated of fans. The Sleeping Dragon is the only installment that is not point-and-click. In fact, it's impossible to use the mouse for anything. Instead all major actions in the game are done by the keyboard. The game manual brags about this "hybrid" system but it's horrible. This is implicitly acknowledged by the fact that the fourth installment went back to the point-and-click system. People who can shudder their way through the UI might find an otherwise excellent game. But the UI in this game is so totally different than the other three games in the series that I strongly advise anyone thinking of purchasing The Sleeping Dragon to download a trial or play a friends game. This is not what you'd expect from the Broken Sword series and it's unfortunate that they tried this experiment in the middle of the series.… Full Review »
  2. SpizyChicken
    Jan 4, 2011
    3
    Low rating because of the EXTREMELY POOR controls. The difficulty of the game is figuring out the default controls. There are few options toLow rating because of the EXTREMELY POOR controls. The difficulty of the game is figuring out the default controls. There are few options to customize the controls. You will spend the first hour trying to figure out the controls to make your charter do the obvious. I quite playing and uninstalled this game because of the extreme frustration factor in the key controls. The game play is VERY basic, and not fun at all.… Full Review »
  3. IamKing
    Mar 3, 2012
    10
    The story, voice acting, dialogue, and lovable characters make you forgive the "eeh" controls. While the box puzzles are repetitive, theThe story, voice acting, dialogue, and lovable characters make you forgive the "eeh" controls. While the box puzzles are repetitive, the others are very clever. One of the best adventures ever.… Full Review »
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