I see people saying this sort of thing often, and quite frankly it makes me sad. The truth is, more people are making good adventure games now than were ever made during the “golden age” of the 90s. For example: 🧵
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Also THIS game, which I will plug at every available opportunity because it's one of the finest things I've ever played and I emerged from playing it as a changed person. https://dreaming-door.itch.io/gt1
I am so glad I found this on my discover feed. I -lived- for Myst when I was a kid. Excuse me while I gather a Steam Wishlist here. You're a gaming lifesaver.
Saw a post awhile ago saying "Nothing has ever topped Psycho Mantis reading your Playstation memory card to see what games you like, why don't games do cool stuff like that anymore?"
My brother in Christ, they do! You're just not playing them!
Not only are there tons of great indie and AA point-and-click games, but Cyan, one of the progenitors of the genre, is still active. I guess if it's not mainstream it doesn't exist to this person, which is a shame because the genre is never gonna be mainstream again.
and that's why I'm doing a French-language program on you tube and twitch, devoted to adventure game news, since adventure games unfortunately no longer have any visibility in the video game industry.
We're in a new golden age of adventure gaming !
This is very true for text adventures - excuse me, interactive fiction - as well. Most people think this genre is dead, yet if you look around, you find that there's tons of them being made today, and they're some of the best games ever.
I think the issue is that those games, those LucasArts classics, were kind of mainstream at one point and now they are not. Now you have to actively go after them, when, in the 90s, the next LucasArts was covered like the next coming of Christ or something. And thanks for the recommendations!
The only thing I’ve heard from nostalgia fans so far that makes a bit of sense is that games are much easier than back then. Of course some bordered on insanity, but they are simpler nowadays in general. I personally like that but I know many older AGers who don’t.
Good list! Some of my favs from the past few years that I can think of: Pentiment, Ravenous Devils, Tails Noir, Tails Noir Prelude, Disco Elysium, Duck Detective, Tangle Tower, Norco
There are SO MANY adventure games being made! And they’re so GOOD and VARIED!
There’s a veritable cornucopia of games waiting for these people if they just click on “point & click” on Steam!
Agreed. Someone is making a lovecraftian artifact examiner point and click, very somber, photorealistic clay stauettes. The name escapes me now, but it's the kind of game that would have defined my entire personality had I come across it as a kid. I can't wait to play it.
I have great childhood memories of the classics, but I will say: Unlike in the "Golden Age" I'm actually getting to get to the end and finishing the modern releases
Maybe it's me, but I don't necessarily think "golden age = hundreds of games in that genre".
To me, it means that those games were, often, AAA titles with some of the best writing and art. It would not be entirely correct to say the same for today's adventure games.
There were definitely some greats from the 90s, but there are lots of modern adventures that surpass the quality of some of the games released then too.
When you ask people about good writing they're gonna say Disco Elysium, Citizen Sleeper or 1000x Resist or whatever aaa game. Few are gonna mention an adventure game from 2021. In that sense the golden age has passed. They remain a very active niche, which is still okay!
What does peoples opinions of what is good writing have to do with your original point? None of the games you’ve used as examples here are AAA like you were first talking about, and one of them is an adventure game.
I make examples of games I've played, you can use whatever AAA you like.
And Disco Elysium might be an adventure but you can be sure no one who played it is going to go "ah yes I'm going to play an AGS game next".
Some of my favourite point and click adventure games are from recent years. NORCO (2022), VirtuaVerse (2020), Tails Noir (formerly known as Backbone; from 2021) and there's also the Midnight Scenes series!
So many fantastic games in these comments, and I have to add them all to my WL. One of my fave I didn't see mentioned (didn't go through everything) was The Darkside Detective.
Yeah the golden age is now!
I think it's that thing where what they really miss is 'being a child'. It isn't that that period and those games are uniquely prolific or good, it's just when they were 10 or whatever, so it'll always seem that way.
This seems potentially the equivalent to how fans perceive old bands music, "it's not as good as their old stuff". Sometimes they probably aren't, but either way how can you compare it to music you've lived with for so many years.
All the mentioned games were cutting edge at the time, AAA (but good). Pushing the envelope of what is possible with the genre and the computer art. That's why it was a golden age. What was the last adv game you could call it that, Grim Fandango? It's a retro genre for middle aged people now.
Sure, it's also easier to make games than ever and you don't need a publisher. That's why there are so many adventure games, despite the genre being a shadow of what it has been. It's off the radar for most people. It's frustrating when I have to explain to young(er) gamedevs what an adv game is.
Agree 100%, although I of course love a lot of the old classics--even playing some for the first time as an adult. They helped to get us to where we are now, largely through trial and error. The developers of today (mostly indie) are taking the genre in new directions, and it's awesome to see.
There’s definitely that. The weird thing is this comment was made in a Discord server for an upcoming indie adventure game, so the person clearly knows people make them, but they apparently just think it’s only one or two.
Yeah that's true, there is a real discovery problem as well. Those 90s games were definitely more widely advertised than any modern adventure games usually are, since it was more of a monoculture.
I don't think it's that. I think that it's that nothing captures the feeling of the games they played in their youth.
You can only ever have your first kiss once, you can never eat a favorite meal for the first time, you can't step in the same river twice. They want that experience again.
I agree that’s a large element, but for extra context this comment was made in a Discord server for an indie adventure game studio, so the person has some idea that modern adventures exist, just a narrow one.
Always figured this kind of "my era was good" thinking is really fuelled by inability to accept that you don't have the chance to wrap a simple life around a passion game anymore. Being young, no work, bills, stress, news to deal with lets you engage so much more - and losing that scares people.
The best thing about that game was the demo version in which Rik Mayall's character ended it with "Do you really think I would lower myself to appear in a mere DEMO!?"
Before even starting on the games on this thread, if what you're craving is a classic feeling point and click adventure game, almost everything by Daedalic, and also Thimbleweed Park.
Yes, but you see, nobody is making games in the 90s anymore. It's a real shame. It seems like they completely stopped 90s games once the millennium hit.
My favorite thing is when I see a major site covering an adventure game that reaches the mainstream and using the line "the adventure genre is finally back"
I've found that a lot of the people who say "Nobody is making good ____ anymore" usually haven't even bothered looking for good modern examples, and so just assume they don't exist because "the golden age" (whenever they were growing up) was TOTALLY the only time anything good ever existed.
was going to joke they don't make phonograph cylinders like they used to but i checked the Wikipedia really quick and they made Lemon Demon ones!!?? how did i not hear of this before (actually probably cause i don't have a twitter).
Not only are there more adventure games than ever before. Every single game you just listed is a fraction of the cost of those 90's game.
More games, better prices, better for gamers
Just to emphasise this. Monkey Island would cost more than all the games you listed combined. It was $150 at launch
They confuse memories of being young and carefree (they always refer to “old” games) with their feelings towards a particular game.
Having an open mind towards new game experiences (which may actually be old ones) beyond what the huge marketing machines feed them, would be a good first step.
I'm going to check out ones on your list, and I haven't played a lot of more recent ones, but the old ones, while nostalgic, have a lot of quality of life issues. Magic pixel kinda nonsense.
I did recently enjoy Machinarium, Kelvin and the Infamous Machine and There Is No Game.
This kind of opinion was true for a short time when everyone was trying to make semi 3D adventure games, but ever since everyone embraced pixel art again or hand drawn graphics, they have certainly gotten pretty damn good.
While I agree and you’re broadly right, you can’t really blame anyone for not noticing. For the entirety of the 00s and 10s we had to survive on adventuregamestudios
The recent revival of point and click is still pretty unknown among the public
That’s just the thing, there is no “recent revival” in the making of the games. Maybe more people have started noticing them, but there’s never been a scarcity.
It's a few years old now, but Brok the Investi-Gator is a hybrid Beat-em-up/Adventure game with great art, animation, voice acting, solid combat, and multiple branching story paths and endings.
If this came out in the 90s it'd be a beloved classic people constantly bring up!
And it'd have terrible compression on the art and vocal lines that utterly ruin the aesthetic, leading to people begging for a modern remaster. But the rights would be in limbo.
People were saying similar things when Grim Fandango came out. Even the early-2000s, which I'd consider a slower period, had plenty of smaller games that were made and published on personal websites.
Lots of great games around now, with really good stories, aimed at many different kinds of audiences, and with clever takes informed by the great games of the past. It really is a great time for them.
also I kinda feel like the Life is Strange games deserve an honorable mention here. they're a bit gussied up but they really are point and click adventures at their cores
@dropkick.bsky.social bought me some kind of dog pirate point and click in 2009 where i picked up an oar and carried it with me the entire game. it did not solve a single puzzle and every time i clicked it to try the dog would say "oar-some". i forgot it's name but i remember that
You are one of myself and my mom's favorite adventure game devs, and you surely started a LOT later than the 90s! I completely agree with you. Especially in recent years, there is SO much delicious food when it comes to the point-and-click adventure genre. And lemme tell ya, I'm feasting!!!
(Okay, well, you certainly started *posting* it a bit later. I'm not gonna pretend to be 100% sure when you actually started making stuff. =P But you know what I mean. We found your work later than the 90s.)
There were a surprising amount of actual stinkers in the 90s.
And there's a lot of weird nostalgia bias - the 90s were 30 years ago, I would love to see what reaction people have to Blackwell (for example) in the 2030s/2040s, or to Lamplight City in 2050.
Damn, I wish TSIOQUE showed up on lists like these more, I have to up my marketing game. With almost 800 reviews on Steam at 95% it should be mention worthy right?
I have a lot of love for those older games, but I think we have more amazing adventure games than ever. I’m having more fun with the genre than I ever had.
I totally agree with you. Together with your suggestions add everything by @wadjeteyegames.bsky.social and also the games by @postmodernadv.bsky.social and you've good p&c goodness to last you for a long time.
These people in the screenshot maybe don't search for new games and rely on nostalgia.
Well, not to get too detailed, but this comment was made in the discord server of an indie adventure game studio, so this person knows modern ones exist, they just maybe don’t know more of them exist.
We’re releasing one soon! Herald, is a narrative game about class divisions under colonialism. It’s also a thrilling p&c adventure aboard a ship, and a period drama where your choices influence the outcome of the story. We’ve just announced we’re releasing in Q2 this year. Wishlist it here:
Oh wait, the article was long ago, but I most definitely would have mentioned Primordia had it existed at the time. These are just games I played last year that I want everyone to play.
Would also say that any Point'n click fan should play Obra Dinn, Hypnospacw Outlaw and the Golden Idol games, even if they are something slightly different.
I feel like people are really saying, "I can't feel the joy of discovery like I used to. That makes me sad, and it's obviously everyone else's fault as opposed to just a "thing" with me."
The environment is so disgusting and gnarly in that game you'd think it was Asmongold's house. It left a lifelong impression, bugs still freak me the fuck out.
Ignore the headline, I didn't write it, but you might enjoy this article I wrote in December about how rich and alive the genre feels right now. All the ones you and other people have listed here are incredible games. Just gotta keep shouting about them! 🤝
I'm currently playing this, and boy, if you love those old 90s Lucasarts games, you absolutely must play Loco Motive. Aside from it being more modern, if you had told me it was a lost Lucasarts game that someone found in a vault, I would have thought, "Oh yeah, obviously."
Regarding Near-Mage, that one's been in development for a while and I'm not sure when they plan to release it - BUT they also have an already released, really excellent P&C adventure called Gibbous! Great style, great animation.
Not exactly a traditional point and click but "Nobody Wants to Die" definitely has the feels but in 3D, you're a detective scanning environments for clues with a cool holographic gadget that tries to recreate the events
There's also Cosmic Void Games, who steadily put out excellent ones like Blood Nova, Devil's Hideout, Twilight Oracle. Heck, even Revolution Software is still steadily producing excellent remasters and new games for their Broken Sword series
Those statements does grind my gears, I have bought so many excellent new point and click adventure games for years. In general my digital game library mainly consists of P&C games.
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https://dreaming-door.itch.io/gt1
https://www.newgrounds.com/playlist/50557/reincarnation-games
My brother in Christ, they do! You're just not playing them!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1361230/Cleo__a_pirates_tale/?l=german
I dearly loved Discworld.
https://ramoramainteractive.itch.io/gurk-in-trouble-a-yip-quest-story/comments
https://store.steampowered.com/app/904750/Zniw_Adventure/
We're in a new golden age of adventure gaming !
Big fan of interactive fiction, especially the Choice of Games ones.
The Golden Rose and Fallen Hero are both masterpieces too!
So now I'll humbly add my creation to this list ☺️
And I'm not saying it's great but it does have pretty decent Steam reviews score so...! 😀
https://store.steampowered.com/app/611760/Dont_Escape_4_Days_to_Survive/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/966320/Later_Alligator/
There’s a veritable cornucopia of games waiting for these people if they just click on “point & click” on Steam!
To me, it means that those games were, often, AAA titles with some of the best writing and art. It would not be entirely correct to say the same for today's adventure games.
And Disco Elysium might be an adventure but you can be sure no one who played it is going to go "ah yes I'm going to play an AGS game next".
https://www.ghastlymirror.xyz/blog/adventure-games/
Got a lovely review comparing the writing to Grim Fandango which is probably the best praise I'll ever get.
I think it's that thing where what they really miss is 'being a child'. It isn't that that period and those games are uniquely prolific or good, it's just when they were 10 or whatever, so it'll always seem that way.
There are sooo many incredible adventure game titles being made all the time. They just go under the radar and you need to seek them yourself.
(guilty as charged 😅)
You can only ever have your first kiss once, you can never eat a favorite meal for the first time, you can't step in the same river twice. They want that experience again.
I think their problem isn't "there are no Adventure games, I'm unfamiliar with the modern ones", it's "the modern ones can't match my nostalgia".
Which I feel is true for myself, as well. Even the most recent Monkey Island!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1172800/Perfect_Tides/
Plus there are many many fantastic newer ones too.
"Down Under Dan thanks you."
https://armor-games-studios.itch.io/dont-escape-4-days-to-survive
Thanks for the list, great additions to my (already way too long) wishlist 🥰
More games, better prices, better for gamers
Just to emphasise this. Monkey Island would cost more than all the games you listed combined. It was $150 at launch
https://store.steampowered.com/app/227000/Primordia/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/284390/The_Last_Door__Collectors_Edition/
Having an open mind towards new game experiences (which may actually be old ones) beyond what the huge marketing machines feed them, would be a good first step.
I did recently enjoy Machinarium, Kelvin and the Infamous Machine and There Is No Game.
The recent revival of point and click is still pretty unknown among the public
Having these games be actually commercially viable on Steam feels like it’s only happened in the past ten years
https://store.steampowered.com/app/949480/BROK_the_InvestiGator/
And it'd have terrible compression on the art and vocal lines that utterly ruin the aesthetic, leading to people begging for a modern remaster. But the rights would be in limbo.
https://wavey-games.itch.io/melon-head
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1709730/Beyond_The_Edge_Of_Owlsgard/
Amanita Design has made some of my favorite P&C games over the last years (continually!), they totally deserve to be mentioned 🕹️🌞
Plus it involves drowning Nazis, and some very delightful writing.
https://www.inklestudios.com/overboard/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/581360/FoxTail/
And there's a lot of weird nostalgia bias - the 90s were 30 years ago, I would love to see what reaction people have to Blackwell (for example) in the 2030s/2040s, or to Lamplight City in 2050.
I've encountered a lot of great adventure games from the past few years that I recommend. These include "The Abandoned Planet" by Dexter Team Games:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2014470/The_Abandoned_Planet/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1803160/CARROT/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2245890/Margo/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2428840/Miniatures/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/701860/The_Witchs_Isle/
Seconding other comments, people who complain usually haven't even looked 🤷
You could also search the adventure tag and point and click tag together: https://store.steampowered.com/search/?sort_by=Released_DESC&tags=1698%2C21&supportedlang=english&ndl=1
https://store.steampowered.com/app/393190/TSIOQUE
https://store.steampowered.com/app/600370/Paradigm/
These people in the screenshot maybe don't search for new games and rely on nostalgia.
https://www.dasklapptsonicht.de/thelasttoknows-top-50-die-besten-adventures-von-2020-bis-2024/
📌
Personally I'd highlight stuff like Primordia, Strangelands and The Excavation of Hobs Barrows. I really liked those recently.
A game I can only describe as interactive European surrealist animation.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1602560/The_Many_Pieces_of_Mr_Coo/
Machinarium.
As for vintage stuff, in addition to LucasArts games, there's Inherit the Earth, and Bad Mojo (the roach game)
Bluesky starterpacks help a lot, though.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/673850/Neofeud/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1507530/Stellar_Mess_The_Princess_Conundrum_Chapter_1/
the problem isn't what people are making, it's where you are looking
https://store.steampowered.com/app/914020/Gibbous___A_Cthulhu_Adventure/
https://youtu.be/OTq0G3s8Bzg?si=BcHtbrjd9kSSD4FC
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2754380/The_Roottrees_are_Dead/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1082190/Elroy_and_the_Aliens/
So are games like Brok the Ivestigator, and Fran Bow.
There's actually a good bit of Point and Click/ Adjacent games out there.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1055850/Inspector_Waffles/