Recent reviews by TurianShepard

I've had the pleasure of following Intruder in Antiquonia's development since its initial concept stages.

Slowly watching the game be pieced together has been fantastic, so I was very excited when I finally got the chance to play the complete game (after having already played the demo during Steam Next Fest).

Intruder in Antiquonia is a very fun point & click adventure game which follows main character Sarah, who is found unconscious outside a town called Antiquonia. After being rushed to the local hospital and starting to recover, we realise she's completely lost her memory. She doesn't know who she is, where she came from, or why she was found in the road. The only lead we have in an ID card with her name on.

The story in Intruder in Antiquonia is fantastic. I love mystery games, and this one kept me guessing throughout. Any theories I put together turned out to be completely wrong, and I found myself wanting to play more and more to discover Sarah's past. There's flashbacks that take place at key moments to reveal little clues about Sarah's past, and each one gives you just enough to learn something new, whilst craving a little bit more.

The artwork and soundtrack are also great and set the vibe for the game perfectly. In fact, the artwork is some of my favourite that I've seen in a modern adventure game. There's also a day/ night cycle of sorts that sees the art and music change too, a nice little touch which really does change the feel of the game very nicely.

The characters we meet in Antiquonia are lots of great, and each have their own personality which shine through very well. This is helped by the little icons of their faces on the dialogue boxes when they speak, which have a variety of facial expressions to show what the character is feeling when the deliver each line of speech. I think this is a very nice touch, especially as the game doesn't have voice acting, and sometimes emotion can be lost in text in adventure games.

In terms of puzzles, I'd say Intruder in Antiquonia is on the easier side for the most part. But this is by no means a bad thing. I don't buy into the whole "adventure game puzzles need to be difficult" thing. In fact, sometimes I want the opposite, to unwind and not think too much about solutions to puzzles. And the puzzles in Intruder in Antiquonia are a lot of fun. I found myself thinking "just one more puzzle, then I'll head off to sleep", but of course, that one more puzzle turned into yet another puzzle, and before I knew it, I was even more hooked.

Now, there are actually a few puzzles in the game which aren't as easy. I won't spoil what they are, but there's some pretty unique puzzles in the game which don't just involve using inventory items, but incorporate things such as calculating sums and decoding words. This gives a great deal of variety with the puzzles, and some really did make me think. It's worth noting that I didn't run into any moon-logic solutions either.

I'd quite like to see Aruma Studios' next project have voice acting, as I think if done correctly, it could really raise their next game to the next level. Although, I do of course accept that voice acting can literally make or break a game, so I imagine the circumstances, and voice actors would need to be absolutely right for the project.

All in all, the game took me 2.5 hours to complete, but I will mention that adventure games are very much my thing, and I've played some of the most difficult adventure games out there. I would guess most players would take 3-4 hours, maybe even 5 to complete this one, which is by no means short. I also enabled the mechanic to click to advance the dialogue, which probably shaved a lot of time off of my run through the game (I'm a fast reader) and some players definitely won't want to enable this.

If you're looking for a fun adventure game with a story rich in mystery and intrigue, that will have you wanting to play just a bit longer, Intruder in Antiquonia is well worth your time. Really looking forward to seeing what Aruma Studios do next, whether it be in the Intruder in Antiquonia world, or something completely new!

The Back-Story

I won’t give away too much of the plot because I want you guys reading to go and play this for yourself. But here’s the gist of it.

We play as a middle aged man who arrives in Oslo, Norway on a bus.

He decides he fancies a beer and asks the bus driver where the nearest bar is. After being given directions, he heads off to the nearest place, called The Underground Pub.

He quickly realises that his quest to find a regular pilsner isn’t going to be simple though. Everywhere now seems to be full up with young hipsters sipping over-priced craft ales and participating in pub quizzes!

There also seems to be something hidden. A panic around the word ‘pilsner’ and a shiftiness to the bar staff in all of the different drinking places.

A CONSPIRACY!


Classic Point and Click Style

So let’s talk a little about what you can expect from Dude, Where is my Beer.

The first thing you’ll notice is it uses the classic point and click interface with the standard verbs such as ‘use’, ‘give’, ‘pick up’ and so on.

There is a new addition though, a drunk-meter in the top corner adds an extra dimension. How many beers you drink affects how drunk you get. This in turn affects whether you’re able to make certain actions.

And I’m a big fan of this. Sometimes you’ll need to be drunk to do something a little gross, other times you’ll need to be completely sober to do something that requires a lot of precision and a steady hand.

As with your typical point and click adventure games, you’ll need to solve many different puzzles to get items for people, gather information, and uncover mysteries.

I wouldn’t say the puzzles are difficult as such, but they do require a lot of thought and analysis. Something that I really enjoy, but certainly not a game you can just speed through on your first playthrough.

I’m not a fan of flying through games without having to stop to work out the solutions to puzzles, but I know some people are.

For that reason, I’d say the puzzles are quite difficult, but not impossible or illogical in any sense. They’ll have you scratching your head, but not banging it against the wall in frustration.


Music & Animation

One of my favourite things about Dude, Where is my Beer is the soundtrack that plays throughout the game.

It’s relatively simple, and there’s only a few tracks but they set the scene and vibe of the game perfectly.

Often with indie games, I’ve found they have good soundtracks but they don’t really add to the overall experience of playing.

That, or they just don’t actually match what you’re playing.

This is different though, and combined with the quirky, hand-drawn animation style, I found both drew me into being entirely immersed in the game and it’s environments.

I could just wander around the streets of the game without needing to solve the puzzles. Just experiencing the streets and the people in the game is fun on its own.


Potential Improvements for “Dude 2”

Throughout my time playing Dude, Where is my Beer, I’ve been lucky enough to be in regular contact with Arik (one of the developers who created the game).

He tells me that he’s open to the idea of making a sequel to Dude, Where is my Beer.

And, in the final episode of my series, I went through a couple of points that I thought could be incorporated into a potential sequel if it were made.

First up is having little cutscenes to show changes that happen as a result of solving certain puzzles in the game.

Given that the puzzles are often linked, solving a puzzle in this game will cause a character to change location to elsewhere in the game, or a completely new person to show up.

Having a small cutscene showing this as it happens, would help guide the player to what they need to do next, instead of having to wander the game to discover what they need to do.

I also feel the story could’ve been expanded just a tiny bit. I won’t go into this too much because I’d like to avoid spoiling it for those of you who’ll go on to play it yourselves.

But an evolution of the story and the main character would definitely take this from being a very good game, to a fantastic game.

It is however worth me reminding you that this is Arik and co’s very first game and I’m sure their story telling will only get better and better with future games they produce.

Perhaps having some voice acting could be a feature in a potential sequel? This would of course be an added financial cost to the project, and bad voice acting can actually ruin a game in my opinion.

Done correctly though, it might really add to the playing experience.


Final Thoughts

Overall, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time playing Dude, Where is my Beer.

Indie games can be a little hit and miss but this was a wonderful experience to play through.

This was only enhanced by my conversations with Arik who regularly checked in with me to see how I was enjoying the game and if I’d encountered any bugs or problems.

This is something I feel more indie developers should do. Getting to know their players is something that can only benefit them and their future projects.

I’ll be eagerly awaiting the next game released, whether it be a sequel or a different game entirely.

9/10