You're welcome, TJL and thanks!
I can understand about the retro graphics. Even though I started playing games in the 80's, I'm not necessarily nostalgic for VGA graphics. It took me awhile to get started on the Wadjet Eye games, as it felt like "going backwards," but I'm glad I eventually did. I do think their latest games have gotten a lot prettier; they can probably afford to make them a bit nicer now. I'm also glad I started late, as the earlier Blackwell games are really short. That way I could dive into the entire story at once.
But understandable if the graphics aren't your thing.
I agree with you on The Lost Crown, it is a masterpiece. And yes, it doesn't look like Blackenrock is coming out when originally anticipated.
I'm hoping we'll at least get some more news on it this year.
I definitely recommend picking up Grim Fandango when it's on sale.
The Cat Lady
is depressing; I would call it more profound than anything else, and there are a lot of horror elements. Though others did, I never found it scary (I found The Lost Crown a lot scarier), but it is very dark. So keep that in mind if you decide you do want to give it a try.
GOG is usually very good about getting older games to run on newer computers, so I think The Longest Journey should probably work for you. It's my personal "ultimate masterpiece," so
maybe you'll consider it up there with The Lost Crown. It does have a lot of fantasy elements in the Arcadia world, though, so you'll just have to see what you think.
I'd definitely recommend giving it a go, though, as it's one of the best adventure games ever made.
Let's see, have you played the Gabriel Knight games? The original has a remake with prettier graphics -
https://www.humblebundle.com/store/gabri...rce=search_bar. GK2 looks older but uses live actors, so it may not be as jarring to you as VGA. I think it has the best story in the series, though they're all outstanding. GK3 is very early 3D, so not as pretty, but it has an amazing story and what I consider the best puzzle in any adventure game, Le Serpent Rouge.
There's also Jane Jensen's 2011 game, Gray Matter, which I thought was really strong, even if not quite up with the GK games. It's available on GOG for $9.99 -
https://www.gog.com/game/gray_matter.The Moment of Silence is a fantastic game as well, and it's included in the sale -
https://www.humblebundle.com/store/the-moment-of-silence?hmb_source=search_bar. It's a futuristic conspiracy game. The writer of this game is working with Daedalic now, and he has a new game coming out next year called The State of Mind, which also looks really good.
Culpa Innata is another of my favorites. I could only find it on Steam -
http://store.steampowered.com/app/12310/. It's another futuristic, philosophical type game, where the characters live in a supposed "utopia." Later, the protagonist starts to see the cracks. The only problem is that this game needs a sequel, and they were unable to make one, as the publishers never paid them.
It does wrap up, so to speak, but there are a lot of unanswered questions going on in the background that were supposed to have been addressed in the sequel.
I assume you've played the Syberia games? If not, I definitely recommend them. Part 3 is supposed to be out in December.
Also, I assume you must have played The Wolf Among us since you've played The Walking Dead games and enjoy detective elements. But just in case, here is the link for that one -
https://www.humblebundle.com/store/the-wolf-among-us?hmb_source=search_bar.