"Broken Age" Review

Let me get this out of the way first: I have never been a huge fan of the point-and-click genre. I generally find them restrictive. So, for me, making the decision to purchase "Broken Age" on Steam was a big risk to take. "Broken Age" is the new point-and-click adventure game from Tim Schaefer...which is apparently a big deal. I hadn't heard of him until this, but evidently he was a major name in the genre about sixteen years ago. But anyway, I was looking over the trailers and related things for Broken Age and it really seemed like it was going to be a strong story-telling experience. And I am proud to report that it is. It really, really is.
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The visuals in Broken Age are impressive, if cartoony (1).

Before I delve into the storytelling, I'd like to first comment on the game's look. It has a very distinct "somewhere in-between 2D and 3D" kind of art style in which each individual object stands out from the background, but at the same time maintains that sort of 2-dimensional feel. It is an incredibly unique art style that brings a certain kind of childish beauty to the universe. The visuals in both the stories in Broken Age are impressive in their own rights, looking separate from each other but still bound by a certain art style.
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The maiden's feast will bring honor to the family (2). 

The first story I'd like to talk about is the story of Vella. Vella lives on a planet made up of villages with specific focuses (such as baking or sandcastle building). Once a year, each of these villages hosts a "maiden's feast," in which a number of young maidens are sacrificed to Mog Chothra, the gigantic monster from the sea who will destroy the village if he is not given maidens to eat. Now, Vella has recently become of age, and the maiden's feast is upon her village. She is one of the maidens being sacrificed to Mog Chothra, but unlike the other maidens (who feel that being sacrificed is a huge honor, and fight endlessly over who will be eaten first), Vella doesn't want to be sacrificed. She talks about slaying Mog Chothra and liberating the planet, but nobody else is too keen on that idea. As Vella, you escape the maiden's feast and scour the farthest reaches of the planet searching for means of slaying Mog Chothra and preventing any other maidens from being killed. It is a story that we have heard several times: a strong young heroine flying in the face of tradition for the greater good. But in a time period where we are pretty much swamped with these kinds of stories, Vella's story is one that stands out. Vella is witty and sensitive, and she is a child of her time. Unlike the sea of heroines who go out into the world and lead armies to conquer injustice, Vella understands that what she suggests could cost thousands of lives, and she is careful when suggesting it. But she doesn't let others telling her it is impossible keep her from working towards her goal. Vella is the kind of protagonist that is both unique and admirable, and her story is one that is heartfelt and honest.
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"Sigh" (3). 

The next story I'd like to talk about is my personal favorite of the two, the story of Shay. Shay is, I'd like to say, eighteen (but with Elijah Wood as his voice actor, it is kinda difficult to nail down an age), and he has been alone on a spaceship traveling the galaxy since he was born. He is watched over by the ship's computer, an AI who takes on the personality of a mother. The character development in this story is phenomenal. I found myself beaming with joy whenever the computer and Shay interacted. You see, Shay was an infant when he was put on the spaceship...so most of the things on the spaceship are meant for infants. There is just an alltogether silly atmosphere on the ship, and the computer is right there with it. I'm going to take a moment to talk about the computer, who I'm going to call "Mom" now. She is a fantastic, self-aware character. She was charged with protecting this last resident of a planet, so you know that, if we're being totally honest, she is protecting him because she was programmed to. But then she utters lines like "I really wish you would call me 'Mom,' sweetie," and you see that there is something more here. But Shay is going through a familiar bout of rebellion, and he is sick of everything being so safe all the time. He longs for adventure and danger, and when he meets a mysterious castaway on the ship, he soon finds the opportunity for both these things. Shay's story is a story that, like Vella's, we have seen many times before: A teenager, sick of his overbearing parents, seeks adventure in a dangerous newcomer. But unlike such 1980's teen movie stories, Shay's story is not about him seducing the girl next door into dancing or doing drugs. I can't really explain it...but you should take a look for yourself and you'll see what I mean.
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"Look at me! I'm being repressed!" (3). 

The story of both Shay and Vella leaves off in a cliffhanger that was compelling and unexpected enough to make me want more, and because of that, I am really looking forward to part 2 later in the year. And there are little things scattered throughout the story that I really enjoyed. There is everything from silly yarn creatures that love hugs to discussions of the elitist themes of a piece of modern art in a lumberjack's house, so there is a little something for everyone. Broken Age is a game filled with memorable characters from a variety of notable voice talents (Elijah Wood, Jack Black, Jennifer Hale, etc.). There is a talking tree that is a heavily outspoken anti-human activist, and it mercilessly makes fun of modern activism in that this tree is all talk and no action. He stands there using large words that he probably doesn't actually know the meaning of and insults Vella, talking indignantly and with a smug sense of superiority. I laughed all the way through the tree's role in the story. My point is that Broken Age really does have something for everybody, everyone who plays it is bound to find something to laugh about in it.
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One of the more frustratingly vague puzzles in Broken Age (4). 

But Broken Age is not a perfect experience. Thus far I have only talked about the positives, so what is it about Broken Age that prevents it from getting a perfect score? The Puzzle-Solving. There is simply no middle ground in the puzzles of Broken Age. The solution to literally every puzzle is, without exception, "click on it," or "go to the most obscure parts of the map and randomly click on things in a certain order until you make progress." And, unfortunately, most of the puzzle solutions are the latter. Most of the puzzle solutions are so ridiculous, so hidden, and so out of the box that the only way to even come close to figuring them out is to click on everything in sight, which is annoying. For example, there is a point where you are looking for a missing technological piece to complete a machine. The solution is, you go to a certain stained glass window and you take down the sun panel from it and use it in the technology...umm...what? Do you see what I mean? Solutions are oftentimes so outside the box that, if you're like me, you only come across them when you desperately click on the background stained glass in someone's house. There is simply no thought required for anything in Broken Age, which sort of defeats the purpose of a game involving puzzles. When you have a game where all you have to do is click around, how is it any different from Facebook games?
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Broken Age is a game filled with a charm all its own (5). 

But despite the subpar puzzle solving, Broken Age is a game worth the $25 admission. It is a game that will point, click, bake cupcakes, and fly with the aid of a whipped cream gun into your heart. It is not a perfect game, but it is a game that is both memorable and enjoyable despite its flaws. I have never played anything by Tim Schaefer before, but if the games he rose to fame for are anywhere near a fraction as good as Broken Age, then he has entirely earned his fame in the industry.
8/10
Excellent job, Tim Schaefer, excellent job.


Picture Sources:
Cover, (1): www.gamespot.com
(2): www.gamezebo.com
(3): www.pcgamer.com
(4): www.technobuffalo.com
(5): www.skidrowgames.net