Bronzepunk

Classic point & click adventure games featured the most intriguing and complex puzzles out there, since you only need to remember series like Myst or Day of the Tentacle. Modern games have tough puzzles as well, but most of them offer some kind of guidance when it comes to the mechanics that govern their worlds, while older titles did no such thing.

Bronzepunk is an interesting adventure game with point & click mechanics, in which your goal is to find out how to solve a variety of puzzles without too much guidance. In fact, exploration and trial & error are your best friends, because there are no clear instructions on what you should be doing. If you truly are a fan of the genre, then this should really trigger your nostalgia.

You play the role of a young boy trying to make a living during the bronze age, and you have to complete a few quests in order to get some items. Most of these quests are pretty vague, but you can figure out what needs to be done after a short period of tinkering. Not only that, but you can also interact with a few other characters along the way, depending on what puzzle you are tackling.

Just like in a veritable puzzle game, there are all sorts of unknown languages you have to decode by following the clues and putting everything together yourself, which is much tougher than what you get from other adventure games. Granted, it can also be quite frustrating if you just want to explore and have a good time, but then again there are plenty of games for that as well.

The graphics are nothing out of the ordinary, especially since they are designed to look very retro and simple from a technical point of view. The pixelated landscapes may lack resolution, but the style is incredibly nice and artistic, which is great for the atmosphere. However, you may have trouble with the interface sometimes, because arrows and clickable objects are difficult to spot every now and again.

In the end, Bronzepunk is not for everyone, but it should find a hefty player base if it manages to reach it. Hence, the tough puzzles and interesting world are all that matters for those seeking for an old school challenge.