Pixel quest with traditional gameplay and rich atmosphere of the 80s
Ordinary schoolchildren and teenagers who do not have superpowers, but still bravely fight against alien or mystical threats despite the skepticism and blindness of adults – this is not exactly an original and new plot. However, in recent years it has become especially popular thanks to Stranger Things, a phenomenally successful series from Netflix. Not without themed video games in the universe of the show. Based on the telehit, a couple of far from ideal and very modest products came out. For a long time, no one dared to develop a new niche without a license.
Only when the excitement subsided, the Argentine studio Epic Llama Games created the Unusual Findings pixel quest, which with every element – from the setting and title to the soundtrack, plot and visuals – reminds of Stranger Things. At the same time, the novelty cannot be called plagiarism, since Netflix did not invent either the atmosphere of the 80s, or the images of nerdy schoolchildren, or conspiracy theories about disguised laboratories and experiments on aliens – all these ideas have long become classics. As a result, Unusual Findings is able to simultaneously attract the attention of all those who miss the series, and completely third-party gamers who are completely indifferent to the TV show. Is the novelty able to live up to expectations and be remembered as a good game? This is a more difficult question.
Friends don’t lie
At its core, Unusual Findings is a traditional point-n-click adventure game with conversation, exploration, and puzzles. At each location, the heroes find potentially useful things, interact with the environment, and also communicate with each other and other characters. Chatter in most cases allows you to collect valuable information (especially since hints are hidden in many remarks), while junk from the inventory can be used with much more obvious effect and benefit. For example, a mixture of salt and fertilizer instantly brings a person out of a swoon.
In the story, a trio of school geeks from a tiny town in the United States finally realized their dream – they reconfigured the TV to watch adult films for free. But here’s the problem: along the way, they caught something similar to an SOS signal and saw in the window how an alien ship was falling nearby. Like real nerds, they forgot about the naked girls and ran to find out what happened – including to protect their relatives from an unexpected meeting with evil aliens. Let’s go ahead without spoilers. I will only note that the game has both cruelty and humor, which for the most part is extremely appropriate – the balance between the genres is maintained.
The opening credits feature the legendary You Spin Me Round, but the rest of the game’s soundtrack is original: atmospheric, but unremarkable
One of the strongest foundations for local jokes is the large differences in the interests of the characters. Among them there is a fan who knows everything about cars. And a cinephile snob who prefers pre-war films. And the classic botanist is a kid who is well versed in all kinds of plants. In addition, the chosen setting allows the writers to sneer at the prospects of technology, pop culture and iconic brands. In one of the scenes, for example, the characters are talking about cell phones and do not believe that they will ever become pocket phones.
References, Easter eggs, parodies and quotes are a very important part of Unusual Findings. Posters of “Galactic Wars” come across every now and then, one of the characters is dressed as Marty McFly, children are proud of collectible cards with colorful ponies, and the game starts with a piece of gameplay from an arcade game in the spirit of Galaxian. There are also less obvious hints of pop culture classics: in one of the scenes, you need to call the developers of the fictional game Maze Quest and receive a reward from them for passing. In another, the characters find a multi-page manual on how to tie knots, another reference to Stranger Things. At the same time, all these postmodernist elements by no means deprive Unusual Findings of independence and do not turn it into a pun. The developers managed to demonstrate the riot of their imagination, but not to the detriment of a sense of proportion.
They are also weak to land a fighter
And yet, Unusual Findings is not a virtual museum, and therefore the quality of the gameplay is critical for it so that it is not boring to solve puzzles, fight obstacles and navigate a world full of interesting details. In general, the traditional gameplay for the genre from the developers of Epic Llama turned out to be successful. It was not without a typical problem for many quests: sometimes, after going through all the options and finally finding a way to advance in the plot, you do not admire the ingenuity and wit of the authors, but ask yourself the question “How should I have thought of this?”
As in Stranger Things, the adults help the kids a little too.
In addition, some of the items on the levels are located in such a way that it is impossible to come up with an intelligible explanation for their presence by the standards of the setting. They exist only to participate in the next puzzle. What is really impressive about Unusual Findings is the presence of non-linearity: the main character can influence the characters of his friends with his actions, which later affects their behavior and closes some plot twists, opening others along the way. As a result, the game has three possible endings, and some puzzles need to be solved in completely different ways, depending on the choices made earlier.
There are very few non-linear fragments in Unusual Findings, but it’s still worth beating the game at least twice. The first entry will take only five hours, if you do not take into account the time for admiring the scenery and searching for each Easter egg.
Rating: 8/10
