Over the last couple days I was thinking what to best start this blog with. That is, what to write about after doing the introduction post. I already want to write about a couple games, have started a draft for one of them, but I would like to start with a game that is somehow special to me. A game from my childhood, that is also good and still worth mentioning in present day.
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| The Neverhood box |
The Neverhood is one of the most memorable games I have ever played.
It is a classical adventure game with unique aesthetics - every effect seen on the screen was done in clay. Considering the game was made in 1996, back when 3D graphics were still quite blocky, this medium was quite a good choice for the game. It allowed the game to age quite well - if it wasn't for the resolution of the game, and quality of the video, if The Neverhood was made today not much would look different. Same goes for the audio - sounds might not be much to listen to, but the soundtrack accompanying the whole experience is very pleasant to listen to.
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| New game begins... |
The setting? Well, you start the game in a pinkish room (as seen above), with no real back story or other explanation to what is going on. You take on a role of Klaymen, a silent protagonist that has to figure out what has happened in his world of Neverhood. The backstory is delivered by video recordings you find, but the game even goes beyond that. You can find the entire history of the origin of the universe written down in one of the locations you will explore. And trust me, it is as long as it is interesting. Exploring the mystery of what is really going on is part of the fun of the game, so I will purposely not reveal anything related to it. Seriously, I could rant about it for a couple paragraphs, it's that interesting.
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| "These disks tell a story..." |
The gameplay? It's an adventure game, so you can expect either to solve some puzzles, or rub items against one another until something happens. Luckily, the game is most of the first type. Some puzzles are quite simple, like a sliding blocks puzzle, or getting through a mouse-sized hole in the wall, but there are a few ones that require you to take notes of symbols and patterns you find during your exploration. Overall, they aren't repetitive, and some of them are quite interesting to figure out.
Another aspect of the game is exploration of the world. Some segments are in first person perspective, but the bulk of the game is a normal, third person view of the entire segment of the world. The world is colourful, diverse, and quite fun to just get lost in. And the game encourages that a bit - there are little hints, secrets and references to the bigger story scattered here and there.
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| A hidden room and small reference to the bigger story. |
Why is this game worth checking out? Well, because overall it's a quite solid game, but most of all, because it is funny. Seriously, this game has a lot of goofy gags littered everywhere. You have a radio playing "Little elf sings his ABCs", tree that makes you belch like you've never belched before, and a manhole sized drain that looks as inviting as this:
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| How much more encouragement do I need? |
Overall, I quite enjoyed this game when I was much younger and still look back fondly at the time spent with it. The visuals are nice, just like the audio, and the story. It is one of the best, if not the best adventure game I've ever played, so do yourself a favour and check it out if you haven't already. It is an old game, but you can still find people selling it on
Amazon. Also, there is talk about porting the game onto some new platforms, but nothing has been released yet.
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| "It all start with Hoborg, a being who had to create, because..." |
Images found either through Google, or taken from YouTube videos (currently I`m strapped for time, so I didn't have enough time to replay the game and deliver my own screenshots).
If you enjoyed this post, or The Neverhood, please comment and share your thoughts;).
