Played: Broken Age, Act 1
I played this while Arden looked on, and that may have made all the difference; this is the sort of game that lends itself to moments of wonder, and patience, and is full of surprises. There is so much about this game that’s just cute, and that’s an aesthetic that’s rarely captured in video games that aren’t aimed at children; even games that don’t include violence as a mechanic have tended more toward mature themes. A lot of Broken Age feels like being wrapped in a blanket and told a bedtime story.
That’s not to say there’s depth missing here, though - it feels like no accident that the one person willing to judge a barbaric society for its arcane, murderous rituals is a young black girl, and the stories intertwine in a way that is simultaneously surprising and delightful. The voice acting is a treat - Elijah Wood as the male lead, Shay, is a joy to listen to, but every character is a highlight (even, improbably, Jack Black as a softly-spoken cult leader, playing heavily against type).
It’s sadly a little short, and even as the first of two acts doesn’t touch on the expansiveness of the old LucasArts games. That said, the product that is here is stunning, and very finely polished; it’s a marker of how the extra money from the Kickstarter campaign that funded it was put towards improving quality, rather than just bolting on more ideas.