Adventure games have withstood the trial of time and remained a staple genre of gaming for millions around the world. From their humble origins 30 years ago, this genre has undergone tremendous changes and all for the better! This article will be comprised of top adventure games which are an amalgamation of immensely popularity, innovation and have etched themselves on the minds of gaming community forever. You’d find pure point and click affairs and wholesome action adventure games, so without delay let’s delve into the thick of things!
The Longest Journey
This is one of the legendary titles the fans swear by and set the bar for others to follow in the genre. The developers Torquist wove a nearly flawless story all centralizing the protagonist of the game called April Ryan. Initially, there’s nothing fantastical about the seemingly plain girl, but April has an extraordinary gift which allows her to teleport between two realms. One of the realms called Arcadia is dominated by magic and has all the ingredients one would expect to find in a fairy tale rendition, whereas the other realm called Stark is governed by rules of science. The story of the game transitions slowly at first, as our heroine goes on a journey of self exploration and encounters some colorful characters. The game had some surprisingly very adult oriented dialogs for its time and contained some mind boggling but highly interesting inventory puzzles. The cutscenes are an essential part of the game furthering the plot, and are truly breathtaking. It would be really unjustified to call this game a simple point and click affair with such distinguishing features.
Tomb Raider
The year was 1996 when game designers by the name of Core Design came up with a game that had a butt kicking (not to mention HOT) female protagonist who goes on dangerous adventures around the world. The game brought the action adventure gaming genre into the realm of 3D gaming and paved way for female protagonist oriented games in the market. Since its emergence almost 16 years ago, the game has transcended to become a full fledged multimedia brand that has merchandise and two full feature length Hollywood movies. Apart from heralding the arrival of 3D action adventure games and having a buxom and hot protagonist, Tomb Raider had a lot of other features that made it memorable. The world of Lara Croft, the archeologist heroine was rendered in 3D (it might look dated by today’s standards but it was considered top notch back then) in which Lara battled foes, animals and creatures while searching for artifacts. The story was intricately woven and had Lara trotting to different destinations around the globe. The ending and culminating boss fight was simply put “AWESOME”. This goes without saying that the game was a huge commercial and critical success selling 9 million copies worldwide and had a metacritic rating of 91. This is indeed one of the top adventure games every aficionado of the genre must try.
Myst
This is one title that is instantly recognizable by all old school gamers and my most favorite entry on this list. So, what makes it so special you ask? At once eye catching visuals and gameplay, a game with multiple endings which depend on players in game actions, almost ported for every known platform because of its immense popularity and the record for the best PC game which it retained for 12 straight years! The plot of the game hovers around the protagonist, known only as Stranger. The stranger comes across special book that transports him to the mystic island called Myst. From there, the player has to embark on different journeys to unfold the story of the island. The game was presented in first person view format and mainly focused on exploring and interacting with objects in the game environment to proceed further. There are other books to be found like the one that led Stranger to Myst! These books lead to fantastical and wonderful worlds which are all interconnected with each other.
Further distinctive aspects of the game are no enemies or foes to defeat, no violent moves or weaponry of any kind and the player can’t die within the game. There’s no time limit either which encourages the player to utilize logical thinking, be observant and above all have patience, as it can get very difficult and taxing at times.
Uncharted 2
Uncharted 2 is like Tomb Raider but with a male protagonist. It has the distinction of being the game of the year for 2009 and recipient of accolades and praise from virtually every known gaming site and magazine under the sky. The hero of the game is a gruff and physically fit acrobatic performing guy named Nathan Drake. The game is comprised of puzzle solving, gun totting and of course collection of artifacts. But the feature that really gives Uncharted 2 an edge is the multiplayer and the cooperative mode which received due praise and acclaim.
Well, there you have it folks! 4 of the top adventure games to die for! The next step involves you going out and getting these titles for yourself. Don’t just rely on this post, get the game and experience for yourself the majesty of these immortal games.
