Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse

 PlayStation 4
User Score
7.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 59 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 59
  2. Mixed: 18 out of 59
  3. Negative: 8 out of 59

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  1. arcanester
    Nov 8, 2015
    10
    Incredible. I have to say, being a massive fan of the first two growing up, I was had doubts they could pull it off, (especially with BS 3/4 falling so short for me) But this really does feel like I'm playing a game from the same series as the first two. The art style, the voice acting, the story, the humour. I just hope if they decide to make another, they don't deviate again.
  2. Bloodnes
    Feb 2, 2020
    8
    Атмосфера игры немного угасла по сравнению с предыдущими частями, но это все тот же Джордж Стоббарт и его новая история. Играть фанатам обязательно, остальные могут не понять. Моя оценка 8/10 заслужено!
  3. GamingDrake
    Aug 11, 2016
    7
    I've never played the other games in the franchise so I'm new to the series. The story was compelling and gripping and it kept me going to the end although i did feel like some of the puzzles were filler but generally they was good. The art style was stunning, beautifully hand drawn sketches, most of the characters were good aswell. However i felt the end was rushed and pretty bad and alsoI've never played the other games in the franchise so I'm new to the series. The story was compelling and gripping and it kept me going to the end although i did feel like some of the puzzles were filler but generally they was good. The art style was stunning, beautifully hand drawn sketches, most of the characters were good aswell. However i felt the end was rushed and pretty bad and also the end of the story. I don't think it's a game you would play twice but for the most part i did enjoy it.… Expand
  4. AJC3317
    Oct 6, 2016
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Broken Sword 5 - the Serpent's Curse is a point and click adventure game that follows the adventures of the art insurance claims adjuster George Stobbart, and his girlfriend but not really, journalist Nico Collard. The two of them find themselves in Paris at an art show, where the mysterious painting known as La Malediccio gets stolen. What follows is a story of fraud, religion, and murder, where George and Nico must unravel the mystery and discover who is responsible.

    The most noticeable thing about the Broken Sword 5 when it first starts is the art style. It looks as though the game is taking place in a painting, which makes sense considering the story is based around a piece of artwork. The backgrounds are vibrant and still, save for a bird flying in the sky here or there. Interestingly enough, it's also one of the few games in history where the cutscenes look worse than the real time graphics. The cutscenes all look muddy and out of focus, which is jarring when they are transitioned to and from. Thankfully there are only a scarce few cutscenes in the game, so most of the time is spent looking at the lovely in game artwork.

    The story of Broken Sword 5 tries to hit a lot of notes, but ultimately feels unfocused. It begins with George attempting to track down the rightful owner of La Malediccio, and ends with a man attempting to raise Lucifer to destroy Jehovah. Not exactly a natural progression. The game was originally released as two separate chapters, and split up the differing stories make more sense: the first chapter dedicated to the insurance fraud scandal, and the second to the religious significance of the painting. But when the chapters are paired as one game, the story drags on and on. The sense of dragging is not helped when there are far too often long dialogue heavy exchanges between actual gameplay sections. Many minutes can pass between button presses, and Broken Sword 5's story is too predictable and not engaging enough for the game to get away with it.

    The gameplay is standard point and click adventure stuff. Unlike many other games in the genre, however, Broken Sword 5 attempts to be as straightforward as possible. Many solutions to puzzles are fairly easy to find, and the game will not allow you to leave an area until you have solved all the puzzles and gathered all the items you need to. This helps to avoid the worry that there may be something else in a different area that you may need to solve a puzzle in the area you're currently in. Even any dialogue puzzles are solved simply by just choosing every available option. The best thing Broken Sword 5 does is immediately leave an area when you click on an exit, rather than wait for the character to walk over to the exit. This is nice because George and Nico have no idea what urgency means, and will always walk as slow as possible even when, say, chasing after a kidnapper and his victim. All in all, most players won't have too much trouble with the puzzles.

    That is, however, until a couple puzzles toward the end. The first takes place in a fully blackened cave where you need to find a light source. The interactable area of an item is very small in Broken Sword 5 as it is, and when you put the items in pitch black it makes it that much more frustrating to find them. That puzzle slows the pace of a the game to a crawl. The second puzzle then grinds it to a full stop. It requires you to translate markings into english using a guide. The problem is that no markings that you are translating actually appear on the guide. The game expects you to make some very large assumptions on what the markings actually mean in order to solve the puzzle. It is a very out of place ramping up of difficulty in a game that otherwise is mostly uncomplicated and easy for a point and click game.

    Broken Sword 5 is a great game to introduce someone who is unsure about point and click adventure games to the genre. The puzzles are fairly easy to solve and the game isn't going to purposefully try and misdirect you. If you're a veteran of the genre then there probably isn't going to be much here to entice you. You will find the puzzles too easy, and the story will become long and predictable if you don't play the two chapters separately with a break in between.    … Expand
  5. J_Holdz
    Nov 10, 2019
    5
    Far from a bad game, but a rather disappointing entry in the Broken Sword series that lacks the same level of cleverness & wit that was threaded into the writing & dialogue of the first two games. This is unquestionably due to Dave Cummins leaving as writer after Broken Sword II, as he was responsible for writing the brilliant dialogue & humour in those games. I really felt his absence inFar from a bad game, but a rather disappointing entry in the Broken Sword series that lacks the same level of cleverness & wit that was threaded into the writing & dialogue of the first two games. This is unquestionably due to Dave Cummins leaving as writer after Broken Sword II, as he was responsible for writing the brilliant dialogue & humour in those games. I really felt his absence in this game more so than in any BS game after BSII.… Expand
  6. DickPain
    Jul 19, 2023
    2
    Fan of series, but this is bad. The game is sluggish. The puzzles are uninspiring. There's no sense of thrill. While this game as it is would have seemed fantastic in 1996, today, it's a relic. It's a shame, I love the voice acting and the art, but the game itself is poor.
  7. UnsoldReview1
    Jul 12, 2020
    10
    I am a fan of this series of games since the first part. Unique atmosphere, humor and spirit of adventure in the style of Uncharted only in the quest format. I am always happy to buy new Revolution Software projects. Waiting for another return of George Stobbart. From Russia with love :)
  8. bergcamp101
    Dec 4, 2020
    9
    Wonderful, beautiful, challenging game! Great adventure, like it has always been in the Broken Sword series.

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
72

Mixed or average reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. Everyeye.it
    Sep 22, 2015
    74
    Genre fans will of course be happy of this revival, but the writing isn't as good as we hoped.
    Read full review
  2. GamesVillage.it
    Sep 18, 2015
    75
    Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse is an intriguing proposal for the fans of the adventure genre. The price is right, and the game itself is pretty good.
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  3. PlayStation LifeStyle
    Sep 13, 2015
    75
    It’s definitely a shame the animation is so awkward and stiff; it pales in comparison to the visual splendor of the hand-drawn backgrounds, and it’s nowhere near as impressive as the graphics of The Shadow of the Templars were in 1996. Still, it’d be an even bigger shame if that put anyone off from experiencing this classically-inspired adventure.
    Read full review
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