Broken Age, Tim Shafer and Double Fine’s point-and-click adventure became available to all last month on Steam. Broken Age began as a Kickstarter campaign under the code name of Double Fine Adventure, and the game has received reviews that suggest Broken Age conjures nostalgic memories for those who have played point-and-click adventure games in the past. I guess I never got into point-and-click adventure games because I did not feel nostalgic, but nevertheless, Broken Age is a beautiful and entertaining game, with an engaging narrative. Act I of Broken Age is available now, while Act II will reportedly be available later this year.
Broken Age is the story of two characters Vella and Shay. When you start the game, you are given the choice of which character’s narrative to begin with, and the game gives you the option to switch back and forth between the two as needed or wanted. I found it unclear whether I should play one character’s story all the way through before beginning the other narrative or if I should switch back and forth. For the purposes of this power hour review, I decided to play a little bit of both narratives.
I originally started with Shay, the male character, because he is a young boy living alone in space, and as I’m really into 
space, this narrative seemed interesting. It turns out though that Shay’s narrative is not immediately interesting at all. I was bored, so I switched over to Vella pretty quickly. I later figured out that I was bored playing Shay because he is bored. He lives alone on a space ship with a computer acting as his mother and father, and the beginning of his story is a repetitive sequence of eating cereal and going on useless “missions.” His story gets more interesting a bit later, although I still can’t quite figure out where it is leading or how, when, or if it will intersect with Vella’s narrative.
Unlike Shay’s narrative, Vella’s story gets really interesting really fast. We meet Vella as she is preparing to take part in a very macabre ceremony in which she and other town girls are offered up as sacrifices during the Maiden’s Feast. Vella is an engaging character, and I found myself rooting for her from the beginning. Many aspects of Vella’s story run contrary to what we typically see in video games: she is a female of color; her parents are in an interracial marriage; and she is 
strong. She sort of goes along with the town’s macabre plan, but she’s constantly questioning the wisdom of proceeding with the plan and doesn’t really buy that it’s just how things have always been done. During the Maiden Feast, we see a sharp contrast between Vella’s character and the stereotypes we are more used to seeing, with the females up for sacrifice labeled as “delish,” “fun size,” “up for grabs,” “drink me,” and “hot stuff.” I loved Vella’s almost constant exasperation with the situation and with those who were willing to just follow the status quo, especially during the Maiden’s Feast when she’s trying to convince the other girls that the entire concept of the Maiden’s Feast is crazy.
The gameplay in Broken Age is pretty simple, obviously it’s a point and click adventure. Gameplay can get a bit frustrating if you accidentally click on an action you have already completed. But, one thing this game does really well is make gameplay a seamless part of the narrative; it’s often hard to distinguish between what parts are solely cinematic sequences and what parts only seem to be cinematic but need you to take some sort of action. I have so far found it pretty easy to figure out what the game wants me to do, but the ability to switch back and forth between the two characters will be nice if the game ever gets frustrating. The game seems to be much more about narrative than about solving difficult puzzles, and the story is very engaging. The graphics are fantastic, and the dialogue is generally very funny. The graphics, dialogue, and soundtrack all come together to give Broken Age a very cartoony feel, even as the narrative is attacking decidedly adult themes.
