Three buddies learn about a strange occurrence in the neighbourhood. Unusual Findings takes you back to the 1980s. Review of Finger Guns
I’ve begun and finished Stranger Things recently after being so slow to get into it. I consumed it all in a week or so. I haven’t yet seen the season 4 finale, but to me, that just means it won’t be done until I say it is. How come I’m saying this? Without mentioning Stranger Things, I don’t think I would have had a chance to review Unusual Findings; otherwise, it could have been against the law. Even the theme tune for Unusual Findings resembles the intro music for the latter.
The plot of Unusual Findings is similar to that of Stranger: Vinny, Nick, and Tony explore a bizarre meteor crash. The brothers are grounded at the start of the game after unintentionally blowing up their neighbour’s front garden. They try to sneak out to try to see adult movies (together? I’m not here to judge, it’s the 1980s after all), rather than staying inside and following their parents’ rules. When the lads are trying to finish making the necessary changes to get the channel to operate, they hear what appears to be a distress signal on the TV, followed by what appears to be an explosive landing.
They go and look into it like any inquisitive, already responsible teenager. When they encounter an alien who inexplicably vanishes, their inquiry comes to a head. Of course, this is the 1980s, a time when children mostly took care of their problems. Why would you tell the police? When three children can figure it out on their own, where is the pleasure in that?
Born in the ’80s
Unusual Finding is a point-and-click adventure dripping with 80s references and period-appropriate pixel art. You take on the role of Vinny, picking his dialogue options and the objects he can interact with. The game makes fun of the idea that choices have consequences, which usually makes me feel both excited and paralysed with anxiety.
Almost anything you click on as a player will say something, which is an outstanding example of world-building. There are options for you as a player to look at, speak with, or grab. You have three options when speaking to people: look at them, speak to them, or punch them.
This piqued my interest, and if you guessed that I tried to punch everyone I encountered, you would be correct. I haven’t been able to punch anyone yet, but I think it will be awesome when I can.
Like other point-and-click games, Vinny has a duffle bag where you can save all the items you discover that will eventually be useful. Vinny will soon let you know if it was worthwhile once you drag and drop objects to the appropriate person, room, or object. Getting Vinny to chat with practically anyone is something that makes him chuckle the entire time, and he will comment on it.
As the plot develops, you’ll need to visit a variety of places and interact with as many people as you can to give them jobs or enlist their assistance in your search for and destruction of the alien. The game concentrates on trying to hatch your plot successfully, but you finally come up with a way to achieve this yourself.
Strange Fings
There are a variety of places to visit and explore with many references to the 1980s. various neighbourhoods, forests, lover’s lookouts, VHS and comic book stores, and more Even Hawkins Laboratory, a highly secured institution, is available for exploration. Anyone can enjoy the various Easter Eggs and nods to the adored decade. Even though I was not born in the 1980s, I can yet feel nostalgic lifeblood coursing through Unusual Findings.
Together with the synthesised rhythms of the game’s mysteries and enigmas, the 16-bit-inspired graphics blend perfectly.
Unusual Findings did have one major flaw in my opinion, and that is the impression that some parts were still unfinished. I don’t feel like I’ve played the game efficiently because I’ve spent more time scouring every area, clicking on everything I can find, and using all I have in my inventory on everything to match up with something. I’ll admit that I once contacted the developers to see if I was going crazy. To be fair, the Epic Llama team members I spoke with were so kind and lovely that I would never hesitate to contact them again if necessary.
There is a magnifying glass as well, which shows you 99% of the information about the object. For instance, the magnifying glass will indicate “It is standard table salt” if you pick up some salt. Many hints could be present, it was proposed. Therefore, I’ve turned to check each description frequently to remind myself whether there is something that will take me to the next work into somewhat of a biblical task. Only once has something proven to be useful, and even the script makes no mention of it. So you might end up clicking everything at random and combining things like I did.
It is unfortunate because when you do understand something, you get a huge serotonin rush, but this may be followed by a long period of fumbling around in the dark. Despite being engaging within the narrative, certain puzzles lack logic, signposting, and intuitive design. It’s not necessary to make it crystal clear or explicitly stated, but even script references would be beneficial.
In addition, many choices that “have consequences” are made with the knowledge that they will have an effect of some kind. This is so that you, the character, may decide how to respond to a few different discussions. Most of what I’ve played, or at least the bulk, are stock dialogues.
Meaning that you will always say these things to them or have the option to ask the same questions to them. Most likely, you won’t have an opportunity to respond distinctively. It seems as though the main game’s focus on the importance of your attitude was somewhat lost in translation. Only a few places have I encountered this particular attitude result, but the game already hinted at it in the opening dialogue that it will play a significant role throughout.
There is a function that allows interactive items to be briefly highlighted (in the shape of a space invader!) if you’re concerned you might miss out on clicking stuff. which, in actuality, I was extremely appreciative of. This game is intriguing and has many enjoyable minigames, retro references, Star Wars, and video game references, but it lacks focus because there is so much to do and remember at once. The plot is very entertaining and takes an unexpected turn that did pique my interest.
REVIEW : Asterigos: Curse Of The Stars (PC)
