Weird Park Trilogy (Broken Tune)

 
Developer: Alawar
Steam Release: Jun 2015
Hours Played: 4
Most Similar To: Dark Arcana: The Carnival / Nightmares From The Deep: Cursed Heart
Rating: 5/5 Parsnips




**This entry is for Broken Tune (the first in the trilogy).

GAMEPLAY

WPT is a hidden object/adventure game with an old-school feel. Much like Dark Arcana, that came afterwards, it is set in an abandoned amusement park but inhabited by a dwarf-sized jester and the spirit of an evil-looking clown who likes to smash mirrors and windows. The place is riddled with mysteries and unexplained deaths, and as an investigator sent to find a missing person you'll start at the gates of the park and then enter to uncover areas and locations as you delve deeper into the mystery. This is done by solving puzzles, adding items into your inventory and then clicking with them on various spots to initiate actions. The variety of items include all yer favourites: from belts and batteries to power objects, lighters and explosives to destroy things, to hammers and wrenches to hit and twist things. It's all here!

BALANCE & PACE

With no indicators to guide you on what to click on, you'll spend a bit of time scouring pictures with your cursor in the hope of finding something... and it is possible to miss key areas and points of interest at times. There is also no map so as you unlock more locations and complicate the plot, you'll need to back-track more often and commit more ideas to memory. However, although this may prove tricky for some, most players should have enough of an instinct for what objects can do... and this makes honing in on locations to put those items to work pleasurably intuitive. Being able to switch instantly between locations also makes that backtracking less painful and, as you get to know your way around, the game really does start to trot along at a breezy pace. In fact, I rarely felt totally baffled and I'd say the game is neither too easy or too difficult.   

PRESENTATION & DESIGN

WPT does the creepy park motif extremely well. The rides within have that traditional, old-fashioned feel with a classy veneer and the art-work is finely detailed throughout giving the authentic impression that the park has been neglected and abandoned for two years. The UI is fairly basic with a book in the bottom-left revealing clues and information as you go, and a monkey at an organ grinder who operates the cooldown time for hints. There are a large amount of hidden object screens as well (used multiple times) and these are highlighted with sparkles. You'll need to stumble across these or find them at certain points to collect items that allow you to continue your journey. These are all well-designed with a good clean click and a satisfying animation being triggered when objects are found that help make them all fun. 

PROGRESS SYSTEM

There are no indicators, progress bars or stats to show progress so you're left to guess at how far you have got. It really is just about unraveling the mystery by unlocking more areas and entering more locations. This, after all, is not the collector's edition so there is no guidebook or chapter guide here. Also, as mentioned, there is no map so you don't really have a sense of how big the world is. There is a point, when you get inside the circus tent and where the game gets more surreal, where you'll be cut off from the main park. While this helps reduce backtracking and gives you the feeling that you're closer to solving the mystery, you're still never really sure how close you are to the finish line.
 

 

CONCLUSION

Overall, this one is a definite thumbs up. For a start it makes a nice change not to be the stereotypical scared and vulnerable female protagonist (your character's gender is unspecified and they do not speak). Secondly it involves a reasonably well-paced and intriguing story that doesn't go too far off into fantasy-land. Thirdly, if you're into satisfying and not-too-difficult hidden object scenes (which I am), you'll get delivered these in spades. Finally, your inventory never gets overloaded. On the negative side, although created with an old-fashioned and traditional looking aesthetic, some of the puzzles were a little tedious and pitched a little too hard for my tiny brain which I did find myself having to skip. That, though, is no deal-breaker as most components of the game added up to a fine whole overall.