Death of the Reprobate: God’s Gift to Gaming?

Developer: Joe Richardson

Publisher: Joe Richardson

Available Platform: Steam

Review Platform: Steam

Genre: Point & Click Adventure

Renaissance Revival

Joe Richardson brings his Immortal John trilogy to a dramatic conclusion with “Death of the Reprobate”. This point-and-click adventure, a whimsical masterpiece crafted from the canvas of Renaissance paintings, exudes a distinctly British humour that would not be amiss in a Monty Python sketch. But does this audacious blend of art and comedy ascend to the heights of a magnum opus, or is it just a bottle of piss?

Paintings Come to Life

Sticking to its iconic formula, this series masterfully blends the visual allure of Renaissance paintings with classical music, punctuated by timely sound effects that reflect in-game events. The artistry of incorporating scenes and characters from various works of art continues to astonish, even into the third instalment. The labour required to seamlessly fuse these elements to make them appear naturally part of the scene is truly overwhelming. The orchestral background music perfectly captures the period setting, and even those unfamiliar with classical music will recognize many of the tunes as they navigate through the game's diverse sections.

One minor critique concerns the revamped dialogue display. While the improvement is mostly welcome, and the calligraphy-style text complements the game's aesthetic, the choice to present it in speech bubbles rather than on strips of paper feels out of place.

A Good Deed Gone Wrong?

Let us be honest, point-and-click adventures are not usually celebrated for their rich storytelling and deep character development. This is perfectly fine for the genre, as the narrative's primary role is to provide a starting point and a clear goal. It simply needs to be engaging enough to keep the player moving forward, with characters serving as puzzles to solve and move on from.

"Death of the Reprobate" follows this formula to a tee, clearly outlining the player's objectives and, upon completion, rewarding them with a brief, darkly surreal ending. Along the way, you encounter bizarre and quirky characters, each with their own problems to solve, serving their purpose adequately.

However, it is worth noting that the plot echoes the first game, "Four Last Things." Instead of committing the seven deadly sins, this time you must complete seven virtuous deeds.

Quick Trip Through the Absurd

The short playtime kept the simple puzzles from becoming tedious in this entry. Interestingly, only one puzzle left me puzzled, though I found a workaround, I am still unsure if it was the intended solution or just an easy bypass. Compared to "Four Last Things" and "The Procession to Cavalry," I found the puzzles to be much easier this time, or I had simply become more attuned to Joe's unique and twisted thought process. Reflecting on my playtime of the previous two titles, it was evident that this one was slightly shorter.

The Book of Quality Assurance

Those who know me well are aware that I have a knack for inadvertently uncovering bugs and glitches in video games. However, this time around, I did not encounter any game-breaking or significant issues. In fact, there was only one minor and inconsequential bug, if I clicked near a building's entrance, the protagonist would sometimes enter the building instead of moving to the desired spot. This was easily remedied by clicking a slightly different spot on the screen, so it is hardly worth addressing.

Blasphemous Masterpiece?

Did I enjoy it? Absolutely. Is it a stellar example of a point-and-click adventure? Without a doubt. Would I recommend it? Wholeheartedly. Should you play all three games in The Immortal John series? Definitely. Is there a “but” coming? Yes, and here is why.

I adore the idiosyncratic and playful essence that harks back to the genre's classic roots. It is a must-buy for any point-and-click fan. Although it is a stand-alone game, I recommend playing all three to fully appreciate the developer’s story that spans seven years.

So, what is the “but”? At its core, the formula has not evolved much across the titles. This leads to diminishing returns, not in quality, but in the novelty and impact of each release. With each iteration, the experience feels a bit less fresh. Consequently, I cannot rate “Death of the Reprobate” as highly as I would like.

Pros

• Masterful Blend of Art & Music
• Humorous Narrative

Cons

• Lack of Evolution

Score: 7/10 – Stays true to its iconic formula, though it lacks the fresh impact of its predecessors.

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Albatroz: Lost in The Wilderness

 

Developer: Among Giants

Publisher: SOEDESCO

Available Platforms: PS5, Steam, XBox Series X|S

Review Platform: PS5

Genre: Survival RPG

Trailblazing Or Stumble into The Abyss

Albatroz combines RPG, survival, narrative, and open world into what it describes itself as a “Backpacking RPG”. Journeying as Isla, in search of her brother, retracing trails he loved to traverse. Along the way companions accompanying us in our quest. Has the developers, Among Giants, produced a captivating hiking adventure or is it a misstep off a ravine?

Beautiful But Flawed Journey

As I progressed through the game, I often found myself pausing to take in the breath-taking scenery, captivated by the stunning vistas before me. Immense care and effort went into capturing the natural beauty, reminding us why we venture into the wilderness to be awed by such moments.

However, despite the voice acting brilliantly bringing the characters to life, the music and sound effects sometimes detracted from the experience. Sudden and misplaced sound effects would physically make me jump at the unexpected loudness, while music triggered at certain points would clash with the ambient background music as the ambient music failed to stop playing. This left me marvelling at the landscapes while gritting my teeth at the jarring audio.

Mystical Lore and Personal Quest

The storytelling truly excels in Albatroz, whether it be understanding Isla’s personal story or uncovering the rich folklore of the land. Isla’s search for answers and her path to accepting what has occurred are beautifully woven through flashbacks that provide crucial context and interactions with the companions she meets along the way.

Sence, a wannabe shaman, adds a mystical layer to the world, sharing tales that intertwine with the main narrative, and her light-hearted banter often provides much-needed comic relief. The final companion, Serpi, unfortunately, feels a bit underutilized and forgettable, like the NPCs in the villages.

Despite these flaws, the game offers an engaging and intriguing storyline that kept me invested.

Survival Shenanigans

Personally, I found numerous issues with the mechanics and gameplay loop. The survival component felt unnecessary and often got in the way. While you and your companions have different abilities intended to ease progression, I quickly realized they were redundant. The stats only decreased for the character you were controlling, so if your hunger was causing health to drop, you could just switch to another character. This made the game feel like a brute force exercise, leaving little incentive to upgrade skills.

Additionally, the immersion was broken during interactions when you had to eat, drink, or use a companion's ability due to low stats. Albatroz encourages exploration, but the survival mechanics clash with this, as limited resources discourage straying from the designated path. A more linear approach, focusing on the storyline and environmental puzzles to reach the next plot point, would have been more effective.

Glitchy Adventure

From the get-go, it was clear that the game lacked polish, and the bugs and glitches only worsened as I delved deeper. The framerate struggled consistently in both cutscenes and gameplay, making navigation, especially while driving, a unique challenge. I lost track of how many times I had to reload a save after getting stuck in the environment, being flung into the air, and becoming stuck like a scene from "The Matrix," or finding myself spawned inside an object after a cutscene. Some overlays would stubbornly remain, rendering the game unplayable.

Now, I understand why there was no autosave feature and why you had to find a save point, the whole survival aspect, but it quickly became frustrating when I had to reload and lose considerable progress. To their credit, Among Giants reached out and asked me to provide a list of issues, and they have been diligently patching the game.

Stunning Yet Lacking

This project is clearly a labour of love, infused with time, passion, and dedication. However, despite its stunning visuals and compelling story, it falls short of greatness. The console release needed more time to iron out its faults. Coupled with a significantly higher price tag than on Steam, it is hard to justify the purchase. A more compact, streamlined, and linear game would have been preferable to the open-world survival version we ended up with.

Pros

• Gripping Storyline
• Stunning Scenery

Cons

• Very Buggy
• Survival Mechanics

Score: 5/10 – Enchants with its gorgeous views and storytelling but stumbles with unnecessary survival elements and glitches