I thoroughly enjoy point-and-click adventure and walking simulator titles. These are fantastic video games to sit back and play with gameplay mechanics focused more on short puzzles, all the while the narrative plays out keeping you locked into the game for hours on end.
As you can imagine, when the opportunity came up to check out developers Daedalic Entertainment latest release, Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth, I immediately downloaded the adventure title to enjoy throughout the weekend. After my playthrough of the video game, I’m happy to say it was a nice little adventure title well worth spending a day going through.
Interestingly enough, this story isn’t anything new, in fact, it’s a retelling of the novel written by Ken Follet that was published in 1989, under the same name. As it stands now, the development team has released the first book, which is seemingly the first part of the six part novel.
Within this adventure title, players will take on the role of various characters, all of which become linked in some shape or form as you progress through the narrative.
Since these types of video games are all about the story, it would be a shame to spoil the narrative. Essentially, the story is set in the 12th century, England, during a time filled with poverty, dreams, aspirations, war, along with political and religious ties.
I’ve never read through The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, but within the video game, players are given more freedom of choice. Depending on your actions will alter the narrative or results of a conversation. Likewise, being a point-and-click adventure game, there are several puzzles to solve, although, not all puzzles will be necessary to solve.
Progressing through the narrative may have revealed a solution to a puzzle that very well might have altered a current issue and that could also speak volumes of your morals with the cast of characters you’ll meet along the way.
If there’s one thing I seek out in video games is voice acting and luckily, the developers did a fantastic job giving a voice to everyone. You won’t run into a situation where a random NPC will only speak through text.
Likewise, the soundtrack and global ambient noise set the mood for the situation, whether that be roaming through the harsh cold woods in the dead of winter or visiting a filled cheerful kingdom.
Alongside the audio side of things, the visuals within the video game are fantastic. With hand painted backgrounds and animated 2D characters, the entire gameplay felt like a classic colored cartoon.
Overall, I’m honestly impressed with the video game title and eager to continue the narrative once the second book launches at a later date. The quality of the title, its captivating visuals, game mechanics, and ultimately, the intriguing choice-based narrative is something well worth checking out when it officially launches into the market.
Currently, Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth will launch on August 15, 2017, for the PC platform. A season pass will grant players access to all three books when they release at a later date.
Disclosure: A copy of the game was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
