Release Date: 05/112013
Played On: Win
Available On: Linux / Mac / Win
Time Played: 1h 15m
Progress: Completed
Developer: Koboldgames / Daedalic Entertainment
Publisher: Daedalic Entertainment
You'd be forgiven for thinking that a classic genre like point-and-click adventure games has nothing new to offer. In fact, for the most part I believe you would be right, as even when we transitioned from 2D to 3D, the format still remained the same. Turns out that it takes a little bit of imagination and circumstantial context to inspire something truly unique and interesting.
Of course though, I'm talking from my own frame of reference, which is always going to be limited in some way. I love adventure games and have played many point-and-clicks over the years. I always enjoy how accessible the genre can be, and how easy it is to take your time and have fun with an entertaining story broken up by weird and wonderful puzzles. That and this seems to be one of the only genres that manages to actually be funny on a regular basis.
These days, having the name Daedalic Entertainment attached to a game is a little like seeing Telltale written on the box. For better or worse, you kind of know what you're going to get from certain companies, and Daedalic have established themselves as one of the go-to sources for light-hearted indie adventure games.
I feel it would be a mistake not to mention the obvious, which is to say that I have no knowledge of Daedalic or Telltale's business practices. As always, I'm talking about the games, not the company.
Anyway, even though Journey Of A Roach is only published by Daedalic, it still carries the kind of charm you'd expect from the Deponia series, or any other comedic adventure game. However, there are a few key mechanics and tweaks in this game that lift it up above many of its contemporaries, who mostly stick to the same formula.
Having said that though, some things don't really need to be messed with. Point-and-click adventure games are some of the most tested games that exist, as we've been pointing and clicking on things for as long as I can remember. The blend between an entertaining story and nonsensical puzzles is an undeniable match made in heaven, so sticking to the formula is far from a bad thing.
Although, we humans will always try to apply the latest and greatest to everything that's been around forever. It was only a matter of time before someone started making 3D versions of point-and-click adventures, but I don't think it's gone as well as we might have hoped. After all, there are some things that simply don't benefit from newer and fancier ways of doing things, and I think adventure games are one of them.
The biggest problem with three dimensions in this genre, is that every location and object has to be designed and placed with a greater finesse than usual. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's played a 3D point-and-click, only to get stuck trying to select some object in the world that's slightly obscured by another. Either that or mistakenly telling a character to walk into danger because I thought I was clicking on the foreground, but the game thought I meant the pit of death in the background.
Sadly, the thing with utilising modern complex technology, is that it raises the complexity of everything around it. Of course you can do some clever things with three dimensions that aren't possible in two, but holy cow it's a lot more difficult and fraught with danger. Not to say that it can't be done, but the potential for stuffing it up increases exponentially.
So when I say that Journey Of A Roach has managed to actually innovate and utilise three dimensions well, it's not without a certain level of reverence. Not least because this is an example of a game that fits well within the context of its genre and vice versa. Sometimes it's not enough to want to make an adventure game, unless the game you want to make would be best served as an adventure game.
Similarly, I believe that there's no benefit in making a point-and-click adventure game in 3D, if there's no contextual reason for the added dimension. I'm not sure that a classic like Day Of The Tentacle would gain anything from being 3D, as it's essentially a perfect game in 2D. The same could arguably be applied to just about every point-and-click games I've ever played, so to win me over with a 3D adventure game, there better be a good reason for it.
At this point it will surprise no-one when I say that Journey Of A Roach features one of the best implementations of 3D pointing and clicking that I've had the pleasure of playing. Not only does it fit the context of the game itself, but the entire interface and control scheme has been adapted to suit the environment. In many ways this is a game that stretches beyond its genre, but simultaneously manages to stay firmly seated within its scope.
Story-wise, the world has been ravaged by nuclear bombs and all that's left are cockroaches and other bugs that managed to survive the fallout. We play as a roach who lives underground and dreams of reaching the surface and seeing the world above. Thus, with the help of our friend and many other bugs we meet along the way, we set out to explore and escape the world we're living in.
The first departure from traditional point-and-click adventures, is that we're able to control our cockroach using the WASD or arrow keys on the keyboard. Instead of pointing and clicking somewhere on the ground, we have the freedom to wander about and explore the environment. This is especially useful when you consider that roaches are able to walk on walls and ceilings without any bother, so we're often wandering into places that may or may not be obscured by the current camera angle.
Imagine trying to click on a point behind a low wall that you can't see. Being able to directly control your character's movement means you can just walk him to any accessible location, whether you can see it or not. The interesting thing is that throughout Journey Of A Roach, the game retains a typical 2D camera angle that scrolls left/right/up/down to follow the action.
What ends up happening is that we're presented with a hybrid between a third person camera angle, and a side-scrolling 2D perspective. The real elegance of this system is that it plays directly into what the game requires, instead of what would be impressive or flashy.
For instance, you don't need the camera to move if you're able to walk behind that low wall I mentioned earlier. You'd only need it to move if you had to click on something you couldn't see. By disconnecting the movement from the camera, we're given the freedom to explore without being limited by what we can see. This then allows the game to focus on limiting progress with puzzles and challenged to overcome.
From start to finish, Journey Of A Roach utilises its three dimensions as much as it can. Puzzles take into account the fact that you can walk on the ceiling, or crawl through out of reach holes in the wall. While it might seem simple to some, I can't quite express how satisfying it is to find an unreachable location, only to eventually reach it by taking a convoluted path along various walls and ceilings. It's as much about discovering the right path to follow, as it is picking up objects and combining them together.
Other than that, the story is enjoyable and entertaining along the way. There are many different characters to interact with, which makes the world feel alive. Some of the pantomimes and interactions are genuinely amusing, while others offer a proper challenge. While I don't remember there being any puzzles that stumped me for a long time, there were definitely some moments of head-scratching along the way.
Although, the real joy of Journey Of A Roach (for me anyway), was finding all the different ways that the 3D environments and movement would be implemented. As someone who is so familiar with traditional point-and-clicks, this felt like one of the freshest takes on the genre I've encountered in a while.
Add to that an entertaining story and a fun soundtrack, and this is one of those little gems that I fear a lot of us could easily miss. Plus, I'm pretty sure you can usually pick it up for a few bucks on sale these days, so it's one for point-and-click fans to watch out for.