Watch Over Christmas

Old-school point & click games were designed to be fairly difficult and time-consuming, given the fact that every puzzle required a series of precise actions in order to be solved. Naturally, it felt quite good to find the solution after a bit of tinkering, a sentiment that is not as common in modern games. However, developers are still going back to that well every now and again.

Watch Over Christmas is a retro point & click adventure game in which you play the role of a young boy as he stumbles upon a mystery regarding Santa Claus himself. The game features all the nice elements one might expect to find in a classic adventure, including multiple possible actions, as well as a bit of exploration. However, the difficulty level is not high enough to pose serious trouble.

The story puts you in the shoes of a boy by the name of Cisco, who goes on a quest in the Christmas Eve after following a strange glow. As it turns out, someone kidnapped Santa and is keeping him prisoner, so Cisco must find a way to free Santa and make everything well again. All sorts of obstacles prevent him from doing this, on the other hand, which is where the players come in.

As you would expect, a big part of the game is about examining every scene for useful items, which can then be used as part of various puzzles. On top of that, there’s a rather long list of possible actions whenever you want to interact with something, such as push, close, open or talk to. This can be a bit time consuming, given the fact that there are situations where more than one option sounds logical.

The hand-drawn graphics are very nicely done, which includes the environments and the characters you meet along the way. Sometimes it can be difficult to spot certain items, but then again this is part of the adventure. The soundtrack is Christmas-themed as well, so you shouldn’t have any trouble getting in the proper mood.

In the end, Watch Over Christmas is a very polished project, especially when you consider the fact that this is the work of a small indie studio. Thus, it deserves a shot from every point & click fan out there.