Adam's Venture: Origins

 Xbox One
Metascore
48

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 5 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 5
  3. Negative: 3 out of 5
  1. Wccftech
    Apr 17, 2016
    66
    Adam Venture is a good attempt at an exploration puzzle game. Although it isn't perfect, there is a lot to like within the game. Whether this can be improved in the future is yet to be seen, but for now there is enough to enjoy, although maybe not for the price tag on release.
  2. GameSpew
    Apr 6, 2016
    50
    Much of the ‘action’ in the game… hints at excitement but never pushes the boundaries to make for really thrilling gameplay.

User Reviews

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User Score
2.1

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 36 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 36
  3. Negative: 28 out of 36
  1. GBHBL
    Apr 20, 2016
    5
    Adam Venture: Origins is a third-person puzzle solving adventure. It’s style of gameplay is more point & click than anything else because itAdam Venture: Origins is a third-person puzzle solving adventure. It’s style of gameplay is more point & click than anything else because it lacks action & you effectively transition from one puzzle to another.

    The game reminds me a lot of the Broken Sword series but without even a quarter of the charm.

    That’s not to say it’s a bad game but unless you like these kind of linear, story driven adventures you’re more than likely to not get much out of it.

    The story begins with Adam Venture, an arrogant young man being woken from his slumber in his fathers office. His father wants him to go find his assistant & than track down a book he needs within the library. This is where control is given to the player & the first problem becomes apparent…Adam moves so stiffly. Moving him around doesn’t feel like you’re moving a person, he’s slow & irritatingly chipper.

    Every word that comes out of his mouth is laced with some kind of pun or sarcastic remark. I don’t know if he is supposed to come across charming but it doesn’t work. In fact his dealings with the opposite sex borders on sexism at times (when escaping the airport, listen to the conversation he has with Evelyn about who should drive). I know, it’s set in the 1920’s & things where different then but it just feels unnecessary & hardly endears you to him as a character.

    In fact I found myself regularly muttering abuse aimed at him every time you opened his mouth to utter another charmless sentence.

    Anyway….so your first task is to find your fathers assistant in the huge house. A chance to explore & get to grips with the tank-like controls, right? Not quite…you see this is where the second problem with the game arises. It’s very linear, almost every door in the house is locked forcing you to take the only path available. Doors that open only reveal small rooms where you can’t interact with anything.

    This is continues throughout the entire game as later you’ll be in huge underground caves but unable to explore as there is just one route & that’s the route you have to go. As I said above this ends up making the game feel as though you’re just moving from puzzle to puzzle.

    So Adam meets his father’s new assistant Evelyn & together they find the book. Using it they discover a secret cave below the house which Adam explores uncovering a secret that will see the pair travelling across the globe to halt a religious battle that threatens the entire world.

    Now it has to be said that this game is actually a remake of a trio of games that were released between 2009 & 2012. Here the game has been streamlined, updated & given the next-gen once over. Locations are varied & often very nice to look at…from a distance. The game suffers from a lot of texture pop-in & seems to worsen the closer you get.

    With so little to do in each location though you’ll just rush through them, you can’t really interact with anything or anyone save for a little piece of pointless dialogue.

    The majority of the game is made up of puzzles & there are a lot of them with some real brain-teasers thrown in. I enjoyed a lot of these & I liked that the game didn’t hold my hand for most of them. Initially confusing it quickly turns to satisfaction as you begin to unravel the solution. Guess work isn’t going to fly here, you need to work for your reward…which is often just another puzzle a short while ahead.

    Ultimately Adam’s Venture: Origins major selling point is its story & it keeps you interested for the most part. Adam & Evelyn’s blooming romance is extremely unconvincing especially considering how much of a **** he is. Worst of all though is the ‘bad-guy’ whose dialogue is horrendous, his motivation sketchy & threat extremely unconvincing. Seriously, during one of his speeches at the end of the game the character of Evelyn started doing stretches as if she was bored even though he had her captive! Even she wasn’t worried about him!

    If you’re coming into this game hoping for a mesh of Tomb Raider style puzzles & action with Broken Swords epic story-telling you’re going to be disappointed. It lacks so much in so many departments but does tell a interesting story & doesn’t over-stay it’s welcome (can be finished fully within 4-6 hours). The puzzles are fun, challenging & visually the game looks pretty good.Adam Venture: Origins is a third-person puzzle solving adventure. It’s style of gameplay is more point & click than anything else because it lacks action & you effectively transition from one puzzle to another.

    The game reminds me a lot of the Broken Sword series but without even a quarter of the charm.

    That’s not to say it’s a bad game but unless you like these kind of linear, story driven adventures you’re more than likely to not get much out of it.    … Full Review »
  2. YevheniiHura
    Oct 24, 2022
    5
    Sometimes this game is annoying, especially in missions with mazes and guards. But, surprisingly, I liked the story)
  3. SuperkenGaming
    Apr 8, 2016
    8
    Adam’s Venture Origins
    A surprisingly awesome adventure
    Adam’s Venture Origins is an action adventure puzzle game where you play as Adam…    Adam’s Venture Origins
    A surprisingly awesome adventure
    Adam’s Venture Origins is an action adventure puzzle game where you play as Adam…
    and are accompanied along your journey with a lady named Evelyn.
    That’s right
    a story about Adam and eve set in the 1920s
    And as you may or may not have guessed, this game tries its hardest to be uncharted with puzzles, and it surprisingly comes quite close to pulling it off
    at least with the relationship of Evelyn and Adam..
    They are constantly going back and forth with each other giving the other a hard time, and I loved it...
    Their lingo did break the immersion a bit
    the banter seemed extremely modern for being set in the 20s
    I think it would’ve been even better if they threw in some copacetic and bees knees
    And while I loved the copacetic setting these chapters took place…
    Some laziness would coincidentally ruin things like the water for example…
    it’s completely non interactive...
    Even when it’s part of the main story path… no splashes… no weight…
    again breaking the immersion a bit…
    To add to the uncharted similarities, chapters go across the screen when a new one begins… there’s platforming, ropes to swing across… and then there’s the ancient treasure…
    you’ll take a trip to the garden of Eden as well as Solomon’s temple
    But unlike uncharted, there’s no combat here.. There are some sly cooper like stealth sections... but the meat of this game is its puzzles... admittedly some puzzles felt a little too close together.. But for the most part I felt like they were spread near perfectly through this 4 and a half hour journey.
    These puzzles are all fairly simple to understand and are ever changing throughout the game...
    sure you may do the same styled math puzzle 3 times in a row in one chapter… but you’ll never see it again later on…
    Some puzzles you may not get the rules too..
    I for example never understood the 2 dynamite puzzles...
    luckily I still got through them by winging it…
    so even if you’re stumped, you can get through most if not all puzzles by trial and error
    While Adam’s Adventure’s budget and lack of care for detail does show every once in a while..
    I completed the game wanting more...
    I laughed at the jokes…
    I cared about the characters... and I loved solving the puzzles
    Witch careful crafting, there’s some potential magic here…
    I give Adam’s Venture Origins
    a 7.5/10    … Full Review »
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