The history of gaming is written at a brisk pace. Not too long ago, LucasArts and Sierra fought it off for the throne of the adventure game kingdom. Nowadays most gamers don’t even recall what aclassic point & click gameis, let alone that Sierra and LucasArts even existed.
Let’s freshen up everyone’s memory with some of the best adventure games ever made by what I believe was the best adventure game studio to ever exist.
Loom (1990)
Loomis the black sheep of LucasArts’ adventure catalogue, but it’s not a bad game. It features a very experimental take on point & click gameplay, and it’s one of the very few LucasArts titles to mostly do away with comedy to pursue a more serious storyline in a hard fantasy setting.
Loommostly achieved what it set out to do, as its story got a lot of praise by the time of its release, but I’m just not crazy about its overtly complex take on gameplay.Loomdidn’t sell very well, so everything LucasArts came up with forLoommostly died with it — and we’re also not likely to see a remaster anytime soon.
The Dig (1995)
The Digis the other game in LucasArts’ catalog to deviate from the norm, and also to mixed results. WhereasLoomwent for Fantasy,The Digwent for Sci-Fi, but it had a few more cards up its sleeve than its predecessor.
The Digfeatured fantastic presentation that included a movie-worthy soundtrack, excellent voice acting by Hollywood pros, fantastic graphics, and even state of the art cutscenes.The Digfelt mesmerizing due to its highly-immersive environment, but most complained about it being hampered by gameplay that felt challenging in an unfun way.
ThoughThe Dighas enjoyed a deserved positive re-evaluation in the years since it’s launch, it’s also yet to receive a remaster.
Maniac Mansion (1987)
This is the first LucasArts adventure title, and also the game that put Lucasarts on the map for its prowess in the adventure game genre.
Maniac Mansioncame out in 1987 and is yet to get the remaster treatment so yes, it will feel considerably dated to someone picking it up nowadays — especially if they’re new to the genre. Still, it features a very memorable cast of characters and a wide collection of great jokes, so it’s still an artifact worth unearthing for some.
The Secret of Monkey Island (1990)
This is both the most iconic series to spawn out of LucasArts, and also the one still living, as proven by the fantasticReturn To Monkey Island.The Secret of Monkey Islandis where it all started and, despite being a little rough around the edges for today’s standards gameplay-wise, it still has a bunch of jokes that instantly became classics.
Did you knowThe Secret Of Monkey Islandis the reason why thePirates of The Caribbean: Curse Of The Black Pearlexists? That’s how awesome this game is. The only reason I’m not ranking it higher is because it also the reason why the sequels exist.
Detective work is a staple of adventure games, and one of the best titles in the detective point & click adventure genre is, interestingly, a spoof of the genre.
On top of some great puzzles — the lifeblood of the genre — this beautiful game based on the comics by Steve Purcell stars Max, the rabbit part of this detective duo, who’s a complete psycho and one of the funniest characters in gaming.Deadpool & Wolverineproved once again that buddy comedies are the way to go, andHit The Roadremains an absolute classic of the genre.
And, best of all, naysayers can’t criticize it for doing law enforcers dirty, because Sam & Max aren’t police — they’refreelancepolice!
Full Throttle (1995)
Adventure games tend to put players in the shoes of characters who tend to have more brains than brawn — is my kind way of avoiding calling them nerds.Full Throttleis a great antidote for that, as it allows players to embody one badass — one who’s also pretty smart.
Full Throttlemanages to have a bit more of a darker edge, but not without doing away with Lucasarts’ classic charm and comedic flair. It’s also filled with memorable puzzles that oftentimes come accompanied with beautiful 2d animation sequences.Full Throttlealso enjoyed the remaster treatment, so there’s no excuse to avoid trying it out nowadays.
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (1992)
Living in a time when anIndiana Jonesvideo game is better than anyIndiana Jonessequel feels unprecedented, butIndiana JonesandThe Great Circleisn’t the first game to do it. Before that, we hadIndiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, the rare point & click adventure that surpassed most of the movies it was based on, and, interestingly, also gave players the kind of gameplay freedom people are praisingThe Great Circlefor.
The controls are a bit dated by today’s standards. A nice simple remaster is way overdue, but, if you likeIndiana Jonesand/or games with intricate puzzles and a fun story,Fate Of Atlantisis still worth checking out.
Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge (1991)
Monkey Island 2is one of the greatest sequels of all time. It outdoes the already great predecessor in just about every thing it did right, then even adds a lot of welcome elements to the mix.LeChuck’s Revengefeels darker, and with the darkness comes a much opportune higher level of difficulty and depth for its the puzzles.
The series went back to its lighter tone for all the remaining games in the series, soLeChuck’s Revengeis both awesome and unique.
Maniac Mansion: Day Of The Tentacle (1993)
Day Of The Tentacleimproves upon the original in every way, so much so that even though they play similarly, it feels like its very own thing. It’s quite a strange feeling, but one completely in tune with this game where a sentient tentacle — yes, as in the octopi appendage — becomes super smart and decides to take over the world.
Day Of The Tentacleplays to the strength of LucasArts adventure games, which is their humor.Day Of The Tentacleis a hallmark of all-around hilarity. Good games writing sometimes isn’t even something you read or hear from a character, rather a deeper part of the game’s design, andDay Of The Tentaclesure has that in spades — tough it also features great jokes of the regular kind, if you’re worried about that.
Grim Fandango (1998)
Though their games tended to go toe to toe quality-wise, Lucasarts’ games tended to sell less than those of Sierra.Grim Fandango‘s numbers turned out so low that they paled even when compared to the lowest-selling Lucasarts titles. Quite disheartening, as not only isGrim Fandangoarguably the greatest adventure game ever made — it’s definitely the funniest game ever made as far as I am concerned — and also the most modern title ever made by either company.
And sure, even the most modern title to come out in the late ’90s doesn’t feel all that modern now, but no problem, as the remastered version is sure to have covered all the rough edges from the original release. I honestly do believe that regardless of your — and its — age,Grim Fandangois the rare title that might change how you see and play video games as a whole.
