![]() Shelly Shenoy’s Amy is faultless, and there are excellent turns by Felicia Hudson as the menacing leader of the rebels, Danton, and Abe Goldfarb as Aristocratic baddy, Tiberius. It’s also a remarkably grim setting, with surprisingly dark moments, which manages to be offset by some absolutely splendid voice acting. ![]() Locations are distinct, enormously detailed, and pleasing to explore. Shardlight is beautifully crafted, Ben Chandler’s ever-better animations and backgrounds doing wonders with a smattering of pixels. Crazy that this is a thing to celebrate, but in this genre, it’s a rare treat. But it remains a full-length, always intriguing tale, with a broad mix of characters, and a player character who doesn’t let you down with stupidity, weary sarcasm or random cruelty. There are elements after finishing it (and seeing all three very different endings) that I would have liked to have seen fleshed out further, characters whose lives I’d like to have learned more about, and certain mysteries perhaps a little anticlimactically resolved. The story manages to not offer anything stunningly original, while still being captivating. The game’s second half does then go on to make the classic slip-up of becoming so focused on telling its story that it becomes increasingly linear, decreasingly open, until you reach the point where there’s only one place to go at a time, one thing to be doing, as you head toward the dénouement. It then gradually expands outward, at just the right speed to ensure there’s always somewhere new to visit, without overwhelming or leaving you directionless. At first there are few locations to visit, but each is densely packed with people to speak to, objects to find, and puzzles to solve. And as you attempt to fix a power supply in a dangerously crumbling sewer, you encounter a dying man who gives you a clue to a secret, underground rebellion.įrom here on, Shardlight really delivers a masterclass in pacing an adventure game. As such, she has taken on a “Lottery Job”, menial or dangerous tasks given out by the Aristocracy in order that citizens can earn lottery tickets for access to the limited stocks of vaccine. ![]() You’re Amy Wellard, a mechanic who has contracted the disease. And indeed there’s a new authority, the Aristocracy, a pastiche of the Elizabethan era of powdered wigs and whited faces, who live in decadence while the masses are dying in the streets of a disease called Green Lung. But there are markets, businesses, a functioning society. Times are very hard, the regular citizen has no access to electricity, and fresh food is hard to come by. ![]() Set years after the bombs have dropped, when a new generation of adults barely remember the times of plenty before, Shardlight’s setting is interesting within the hoary trope of post-apocalyptictown mainly by how destitute it isn’t. ![]() But of course it would be of no use were it not within the structure of a well composed, well paced, smartly puzzled traditional point-n-click. I think that’s what makes Shardlight most special. It’s a rare and genuinely special thing when a post-millennial adventure game is unafraid to just tell you its story. Does the post-apocalyptic tale of oligarchies, underground rebellions and deadly plagues manage to maintain momentum? Here's wot I think: When I played the first half or so earlier this year I was pretty taken with what was on offer. The latest adventure from top producers Wadjet Eye, Shardlight, is out today. ![]()
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