The Adventure Library - all about point and click adventures

Is this game a masterpiece? Yes. A masterpiece in 1996, a masterpiece today. It is a remaster of the first part, originally released back in 1996. That was a time when some quite good point and click adventure games were still being released, before the genre fell into a comatose deep sleep for many years after such masterpieces as Gabriel Knight 3, Simon the Sorcerer 3D or Kings Quest VIII. Broken Sword, though, as well as its almost equally good successor Broken Sword 2 - the Smoking Mirror, managed to get pretty much everything right. The setting was exciting, the puzzles were fun, the graphics were really good for the time and the flow of the game was just right - Broken Sword rightly became one of the great cult classics in the genre. Not quite as well-known and popular as Monkey Island, but right behind it in the second row of really good point and click adventures and on almost every best list of the most successful representatives of the genre.

You play a mystery thriller. Our hero George Stobbart is actually just an American tourist vacationing in Paris when he is drawn into a murder mystery involving murders, a secret society, a beautiful woman, exotic locations around the world, supernatural forces - not to mention a vicious sheep. Conspiracy theories, ancient artifacts, ciphers, Christian themes, the Knights Templar - and all this years before Dan Brown struck it rich with his novel “The Da Vinci Code” (published in 2003) with a very similar theme. George Stobbart just wanted to drink his espresso in peace in a small Parisian café, perhaps flirt a little with the pretty waitress, when an elderly man with a briefcase enters the café. Shortly afterwards, a clown enters the café, drops his accordion and runs off with the old man's briefcase – and the café is destroyed seconds later by a bomb explosion. The old man is dead, but the waitress and George are unharmed. After a conversation with the police, George meets Nico for the first time - a photo reporter who actually wanted to meet the old man, who wanted to tell her something... and so begins one of the most iconic adventure series of all time.

The gameplay corresponds to a typical point and click adventure game. Clicking on a hotspot with the mouse allows you to manipulate it or view it. Click on a person to talk to them (now with icons), click on an exit to go to another location. Click on items in your inventory to use or examine them. A new feature in Reforged is that certain objects shine silver when they are important for progress. However, you can also deactivate this auxiliary function. And I would strongly advise you to do so, otherwise the game becomes far too easy. Any complete idiot can click on the flashing hotspot to make progress; there is no feeling of having achieved something based on your own comprehension. This is no longer puzzle solving, it's completely unsatisfying - at least for me. If I want to click my way through a game without any challenge, I play a (classic) visual novel. Some of the (more annoying) puzzles during the second half of the story have been simplified and are now far easier to solve, but this wasn't so bad.

If you've never played a point and click adventure game before, there's also an in-game tutorial that explains the basics. By pressing “Tab” you can toggle between the original (rather blurry on today's monitors) and the new graphics. The conversations are fully voiced, as are the narrator's comments and the descriptions of the items. The game is fun, even if the plot is of course far-fetched, you can somehow put yourself in George Stobbart's shoes as he tries to solve the mystery of the mysterious bomber and the stolen briefcase. Nico also brings an interesting second main character into play, with whom George ultimately wants to do more than just hold hands. I wouldn't call myself the biggest Broken Sword fanboy of all time, but at least I've played through all parts of the series and see the Knights Templar with different eyes than before I knew the game. On my last trip to Portugal, for example, I couldn't resist visiting the old Templar fortress in Tomar. And when I'm sitting in a street café in Paris, I always keep an eye out for clowns...

Broken Sword - Shadow of the Templars: Reforged brings one of the best point and click adventures of all time up to date. This is how you modernize a game from 1996. The reworked graphics look wonderful even in 4K, the controls have been improved, the original voice acting has been digitally reworked, and a solution is integrated into the game. I only have one small problem with the remaster - the original was simply too good. At least in the Director's Cut version, the original is still a fantastic game today, even if the graphics were produced for a 640×480 resolution back then. The Reforged version is essentially the same game - the same fantastic story, the same great game flow, great graphics of course - but you won't even notice that while playing because you remember the original in your head in exactly the same way. Only when you switch to the old graphics while playing (possible at any time) will you notice the difference. My point is that the new Reforged version is a fantastic game and highly recommended if you're looking for a really good point and click adventure - but if you have already played the original, then the (perceived) new features are limited, you simply play the brilliant first part again, fear the clown and fall in love with Nico - just like in 1996.

Conclusion:
A remastered version of a first-class point and click adventure game with a good story and superbly designed puzzles. With the revised interface, it plays like a contemporary game that can easily keep up with the new releases in the genre.

Shadow of the Templars is point-and-click royalty. This is such a seminal contribution to the genre. My greatest enemy as a child was a goat and it was good to see my old friend again. The presentation, the characters, the plot, the deductions, the puzzles, the unfolding adventure. Everything fell into place back in the late 90s. Very little has changed within the game, aside from a healthy face lift, but nothing needed to change. I can't praise this game, nor the studio behind it, enough. Thank you Revolution, and bravo to all involved.

I came here after playing an adventure game called "Crowns and Pawns: Kingdom of Deceit" - a modern adventure game clearly inspired by the old Broken Sword game. Yet, playing both that game and Broken Sword Reforged has reminded me why adventure games today suck - and why the genre is dying. Namely, it's no wonder that modern adventure games don't sell well when they can't hold a candle to games made 30 or more years ago! Go and play any more modern adventure game and compare it Broken Sword - and what you will immediately notice is that the animations in old games were VASTLY superior, more detailed and more immersive. Whenever you are picking an item in Broken Sword or using it - or even just moving from one room to another - you are always rewarded with beautifully drawn, unique animations - whereas in modern games they just recycle one and the same animation over and over again.

But it isn't just the animations. It's also the puzzles, the story, the characters, the humor, the writing... - every little piece is superior to modern adventure games! I am writing this as a message to any developer who wants to make a modern adventure game. Play Broken Sword, a game made almost 30 years ago - and if your animations look worse, if your story is worse, if your puzzles are worse, if your characters are worse, if your humor is worse, ... then ask yourself, what on earth are you doing?

Broken Sword Reforged should be the golden standard for modern adventure games moving forward! This is how it's done! I want the genre to thrive and I want more games like this, but unfortunately, most modern adventure games can't hold a candle to games made 30 or more years ago!

Still as good a masterpiece as the day it launched all those years ago.

Absolute classic!
I've been a huge Broken Sword fan since the original game, and it's great to see this version.
I think my favourite thing is I can actually see DETAILS in all the maps, and people now which I couldn't see before!

Really like the new graphics, in particular the lighting and dynamic shadows. Also appreciate the shortcut to toggle between the old and new, really interesting to compare, and good to have to return to the original :) The auto-save and hint system are also very nice surprises. Great work!

As my playthrough ended a tear rolled down my eye. The ending cutscene is the only thing which has been noticably changed, but definitely for the better.

Being a Broken Sword super fan since 1997 (playing the demo of BS2) I can from the beginning say... they did it. They remade the original game with updated graphics, just the way that I always wanted.

The number of options and ability to disable hints, or even preserve the 16:10 aspect ratio and original font of the text is exemplary. All of the negativities of the horrible "Director's cut" are gone, and the game looks and sound fantastic.

It feels amazing to enter a location I've been to 20 times before to see how it has changed. Some areas feel "updated" where others feel completely breathtaking where I have to stop playing - look at the screen and simply think "wow".

This is the way the game should have been made from the start, and will forever be the proper way of playing the game from here on.

If you never ever played this game there is no reason not to. If you want the original challenge - with less pixel hunting - you have that. If you just want to enjoy a story at a laid back pace - well there's that too.

Broken Sword is the best point and click game ever made in my opinion, and should be experienced by gaming enthusiasts and video game history buffs.

The story is amazing, with great characters and without going into too much detail, just think Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code (7 years before the book) and you're all set.

An absolute classic, re-imagined with updated graphics and a built-in (but optional) hint system, so you wont get stuck on the castle goat puzzle for 2 years like I did playing the original! 10/10

I remember playing the original as a kid growing up in the 90s with my dad and my dads best friend, The countless phone calls solving the games together (especially the goat puzzle) and this has given me so many emotions. kudos to revolution for remastering this... it is absolutely beautiful... i recommend to everyone who likes point and click games to play this as it is the g.o.a.t... The game is top tier.. the puzzles.. story is exactly the same (it didnt need changing) ... and the newer facelift (Upgraded graphics) means this game will be playable for years to come.. Thank you Revolution and i cant wait for the next mainline series game as well...

P.S. Thanks Charles Cecil for responding to my question on tiktok with a video saying what platforms it is on.. I love the company interacts with fans as well

Beyond al the nostalgic feelings this title triggers, it still a very very great adventure game. The pacing of the story is very well done, it unfolds slowly but certainly. The writing is fantastic and especially the humor is very well done, without it distracting too much from a great story, it has it's own quirky and clever style. The scope of the mystery and sense of accomplishment you feel as you guide George trough the story is exciting and fulfilling. The new artwork is incredible and I often hit the Tab button to compare it with the old style. Back in '96 this game made me fall in love with adventure games as a teenager and after the decline of those games, it's great to see a little revival of 2D adventure games over the last few years. In this wild world of fast paced games, I'm glad to see there's still an audience for nice and relaxing puzzle adventure games like this. Now let's get on to Parzival's Stone next year and maybe dream a little of 2D style graphic remakes of The Sleeping Dragon and The Angel of Death in the coming years.