Sidekick
High Developer: CMMN CLRS [Common Colors]
Free Game: Entry for the 2017
Adventure Jam
As stated in my review of Diary of a Roadie, I seldom if ever examine
free games. But this offer from the same developer appeared to pique my
interest. Common Colors is the name of the Belgian-German-based indie
game development team who presented yet another short and inventive
point and click Adventure Game.
Mechanics
Requirements listed on the download site are minimal. Delivered in a
zipped file, once expanded it is a self-executing program with a small
footprint on your hard drive. There is no installation required. You
simply click on the .exe file and the game begins. There are no saves.
This may be an issue for some of you because when reloading the game,
you have the same three choices offered as the first time you opened the
game. No choice of Continue or Load Save is offered. You get the same
three choices when returning those are:
Start New Game,
Show Credits or
Quit.
Upon completion of the intro, another box appears
providing user information:
Left Click to Interact,
Right Click to look,
Mouse Wheel + i key to open and close inventory,
Hold the space key to show item hot spots and
Esc Key to quit.
Having to start over each time can be off-putting, though you can
quickly click through speech and move to your previous exit point in
short order. A clock is ticking on the upper right corner of the screen,
counting down from one hour to zero. You have one hour to complete the
game or you lose. The smooth-running game is fully point and click.
The Story
Two small groups of students with random super powers are
selected to compete for placement in a private high school. Locked in
separate rooms, each group is told to discover a way out. The first to
do so is accepted into the exclusive school. The losing group will be
put to death. The two teams plot to work together to defeat this evil
scheme and save both groups.
Game Play
The graphics are exceptionally sharp and crisp with pixel hunting at a
minimum. There is a higher quality of voice acting than expected for a
free game. Character discussions are displayed on the screen in text
form as well as the optional question choices offered in the
conversation tree where you are able to get answers to move the game
along. All puzzles are inventory based with many requiring you to play
two different characters, one from each team. The inventory is located
at the bottom of the screen upon activation when you follow the step
described in the mechanics section above. The entire game is played in
the two rooms switching from one to the other as you change characters.
Puzzles are not overly difficult but challenge you to think outside the
box. Yes there are a number of items to pick up, some require mixing and
matching inside the inventory screen. The game is short. Length is
highly dependent upon your ability to figure out game given clues rather
quickly to save both teams.
Summary
For a short game I found this to be a bit of fun in spite of having to
start over if you are forced to exit before you complete your hour. In
spite of the running clock I did not feel rushed. As previously stated,
upon launch you have but three choices, Start New Game, Show Credits or
Quit. There is no "Load Save" or "Return to Game" ability that I could
locate. This design should be corrected by allowing a player to return
where he or she left off. In addition to surprisingly good voice acting,
a mellow, unobtrusive background musical score underlines the scenes as
you play through the game. For the cost, (Free) you cannot go wrong.
You can find it at
Game Jolt. Sidekick High is a one hour diversion that is sure to
entertain.
GameBoomers Review Guidelines
June 2017
design copyright©
2017
GameBoomers
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