Resonance Review – A Point and Click Weapon of Epic Proportions
Resonance will make or break humanity
The world as we know it is on the verge of disaster following the untimely death of a particle physicist. His innovative and terrible new technology is out there and it is up to four complete strangers to come together and find this man’s vault before the power of Resonance falls in the wrong hands. This is the premise behind Wadjeteye Games’ point and click adventure Resonance. Wadjeteye are known for their Blackwell series and, being a fan of their games and the genre, I am going to put their new IP through the grinder.
Resonance: Four New Beginnings
Resonance starts with a very brief and dramatic look at a worldwide catastrophe caused by “unconventional explosives”, afterwards you are introduced to the first character playable in the game: Ed. Ed is contacted by his boss, Doctor Morales, who informs him that he is being followed, and his research is too valuable and must be destroyed; thus begins the story. After fulfilling the backstory of Ed you have the option to relive the others’ lives in whichever order you see fit. There are four playable characters in all: Ed, Doctor Morales’ lackey; Anna, Morales’ niece; Detective Bennett, a police officer who believes justice is more important than paperwork; and Ray Abbott, a freelance journalist who digs deep to get a story. These individuals’ lives are all closely intertwined in this story. Their memories and suspicions are all entangled as they attempt to secure Doctor Morale’s work.
The first thing I noticed about this game is the art style; I love the colors in this game, it takes me back to a simpler time, when PC games like Kings Quest and Secret of Monkey Island were king and I was young, and terrible at them. Yet, my earliest gaming memories came from games like this, Resonance takes me back. Ok, enough nostalgia. I appreciate the artistry in this game because it is simple, but at the same time very atmospheric. The music, voice acting, and sound effects complete the atmospheric effect, making the audio one of my favorite things about this title. Resonance delivers with its voice acting; the characters are made real by convincing characters whose emotions are a bit clichéd but believable. My favorite character, Detective Bennett, is voiced by Logan Cunningham who is known solely for his role as the narrator in Bastion. The voice work and the different characters you meet in this game are trumped only by the game itself.
The gameplay in Resonance is challenging, but for me it is a matter of patience; I get easily flustered by difficult puzzles, but I eventually overcome. Resonance was no exception. I found the puzzles to be challenging and interesting, they made this game a learning experience. The ability to choose the next step helped open up the game up to interesting decisions and choices that would later affect the game. The short and long term memory system was interesting in that it allowed you to recall events from previous parts of the game and each character’s past, as well as make it easier to recollect people, places, and things found along the way. This made it possible to ask anyone you met about anything you encountered. I found the conversations and solutions to problems very pleasing and creative. The only flaws I found were the inability to look back at certain moments in dialogue; so if you weren’t careful you would miss the instructions on how to go about continuing the game. Also, I found that the result of the aforementioned mistake was a lot of trial and error with different combinations of character groups and items. Otherwise, the gameplay was solid.
With a very endearing story, wrought with colorful environments and characters, Resonance delivers on recreating the point and click experience with a fresh approach. The voice acting and aesthetic audio make the environments come to life. The puzzles are challenging, but not impossible, and they make for a brain-teasing good time. A log would have been very helpful when trying to recall current objectives. Still, with more than 10 hours of gameplay (more if you get stuck, like me) and a $10 price tag, Resonance is a game I will be recommending to my friends, and replaying. Wadjeteye created a very engaging tale that kept me clicking long into the night. I have returned to the adventure gaming realm, and it is good to be back.
8/10
