Many years gone by without any good new adventure games.
Now pendulo studios (runaway) after the next big thing comes with yesterday.

Then there is daedelic entertainment with edna / harvey, whispered world, deponia and the upcoming dark eye.

There is alpha polaris, a new beginning, the unwritten tales 1+2.

And lets not forget tex murphy might be back in action soon.

I can't keep up with them even, but its nice things have changed if you like good old style adventure games.

Yeah its good news indeed. But as Ron Gilbert mentioned in his interview with Schafer, the genre never died, they still sell just as many copies today as they used to. The genre just didn't grow with all the others.

And lets not forget the AGS adventures. There have been some fantastic games made by some very talented people. I'm playing through the trilby series of games now. Absolutely fantastic.

There have always been good adventure games being produced. It's just that they're few in number and get virtually no publicity. But they're there all the same.

But yeah, I have to agree that now does seem to be something of a Renaissance of late. I just recently completed the Next Big Thing. That one's left me pumped for Yesterday (probably not the best name for a game, but there you go).

There's also Botanicula. That one looks magical. Machinarium all but confirms that it will be.

Like PMIK and Navagon said, there have always been decent adventure games to play, commercial or freeware, it's just that they haven't been in the spotlight of 'mainstream' gaming that much anymore.

And I think a lot of passionate adventure game developers kind of shot themselves in the foot by trying too hard to imitate or pay hommage to their favorite classics instead of coming up with new concepts. What's great about an adventure game like Machinarium is that it tries to be original again - completely new setting, somewhat unusual mechanics, no parodies, references or meta-jokes breaking the fourth wall for a change. Because a big factor in what made most LucasArts classics great (e.g. Loom, Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle, Grim Fandango etc.) was originality, and IMO a lot of adventure games that succeeded them have been quite lacking in that regard (even LucasArts own MI4 was very weak compared to its predecessors, like a poor imitation of the first games, whereas Grim Fandango still had been something completely new).

I really hope that a significant part of those 'new good games' GOG will be releasing - will be just adventure games. This is the genre that haven’t changed much from 90 - and they will fit in well here.

Don't forget this: http://www.gog.com/en/forum/general/are_you_a_fan_of_arthur_c_doyle_fancy_some_holmes

Here's a great example of a gem which flew under almost everyone's radar: The Book of Unwritten Tales.
It's easily one of the best adventure games of the last decade.
http://bout.kingart-games.com/
It's 33% off until March 22nd, there's also a retail version if anyone's interested in grabbing a boxed copy.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Book-Unwritten-Tales-PC-DVD/dp/B005HH46QK/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1330356816&sr=1-1

It's been my experience that an adventure game lives or dies by its setting and atmosphere most of all. Since adventure games don't usually have enormous replay value, the more memorable you can make the experience itself, and the more people want to be inside the world, the better. Of course, that goes for all games, but for adventure games especially.

There are a ton of releases but most of them suck in my experience. Of course maybe I'm just not into the genre like I once was.

I know this thread is about adventure games in general, but I have to issue a warning: Alpha Polaris is super short and rather poorly made.

I would love to see the leisure suit larry series here,I would buy that in a second,that series is so funny.

He's dead, Jim.


(Actually, there aren't many "dead genres" as with the vibrant indie scene there is a game for just about anybody. I just wanted to make that Star Trek joke. Leaving now...)

Grabbed that from GAME the other day for £1.98 Looks to be a good game reminiscent of Ceville & Jack Keane. I've not yet played it but the specs are low enough for my netbook and it looks gorgeous from the reviews I've seen (most of which are 8+)

you could be right, i only played it through the first part after catching the icebear.
seemed decent atleast.

This /