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DISCWORLD (PS)
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Publisher: Psygnosis.
Developer: Perfect 10 Productions. Released: 1995. Genre: Point 'n' Click. Other versions: PC; SAT. Posted 16th December 2018. By Shane Battams © 2018 |
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During the nineties, the point ‘n’ click adventure was one of the most enduring and popular genres. With titles like Broken Sword and Monkey Island proving successful, it seemed like the genre was poised to live forever. While it has made something of a resurgence during the 2010s, it seemed as if the concept was on life support after Grim Fandango performed poorly despite rave reviews. With the benefit of hindsight, many cite the obtuse logic puzzles for turning gamers away from the genre. Perhaps the most extreme examples of this can be found Discworld, a game which follows the point 'n' click tropes to insane degrees, for better and for worse.
Based on Terry Pratchett’s novels of the same name, the game loosely follows the events of his novel Guards! Guards!, and stars Rincewind the Wizard. After a secret cult summons a dragon to wreak havoc upon Ankh-Morpork, the Unseen University and its head chancellor send Rincewind to investigate. What follows is an often-hilarious tale filled with parody, sharp humour and deliciously silly characters. While some may find the back-and-forth dialogues a tad overlong, the talented cast including the likes of Eric Idle and Tony Robinson make it work. There are plenty of gut-laughs to be had throughout, and it builds to a wonderfully silly climax.
Discworld encapsulates Pratchett's quirky humour and spirit, though its obscure puzzle logic is a hindrance.
There’s quite a joy to be found in exploring Pratchett’s world in visual form. The colourful and animated 2D environments look great and boast tons of interactables. little Easter eggs, such as seeing Rincewind’s reactions to certain prompts, are worthwhile uncovering. The spread of varied locales, ranging from a crowded market square to the Broken Drum pub, are lovely to explore and like any classic adventure game, a click of the circle button will allow you to get Rincewind’s thoughts on any interactables. There’s a great sense of wit to the world, making seeking out the solutions to the myriad of puzzles more bearable.
But this is what will be the sticking point for players, because Discworld takes dubious puzzle logic to new heights. While Broken Sword’s goat puzzle remains infamous for its difficulty back in the day, Discworld produces several confusing challenges which will stump all but the most insane people. The initial act is just about doable for most players, but once you reach Act 2 and its time-travelling antics, things go off the deep end. To give one example, to obtain a Monk’s robe, you have to use a butterfly to change the weather, and to get that flying creature, you have to stuff a frog into your past self’s mouth to prevent him from snoring the butterfly away. This is just the tip of the obtuse iceberg. When you factor in near-invisible hot spots and being unable to proceed without triggering certain dialogue, it makes for the hardest point-and-click ever made.
But this is what will be the sticking point for players, because Discworld takes dubious puzzle logic to new heights. While Broken Sword’s goat puzzle remains infamous for its difficulty back in the day, Discworld produces several confusing challenges which will stump all but the most insane people. The initial act is just about doable for most players, but once you reach Act 2 and its time-travelling antics, things go off the deep end. To give one example, to obtain a Monk’s robe, you have to use a butterfly to change the weather, and to get that flying creature, you have to stuff a frog into your past self’s mouth to prevent him from snoring the butterfly away. This is just the tip of the obtuse iceberg. When you factor in near-invisible hot spots and being unable to proceed without triggering certain dialogue, it makes for the hardest point-and-click ever made.
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Ported to Sony’s console the same year as its PC counterpart, Discworld on PlayStation works rather well despite some limitations. Supporting the PS Mouse, it works well even with a DualShock, with adjustable scroll speed and inventory size allowing you to arrange a work around. The menu can be a tad cumbersome, especially when you’re trying to reload an older save. The loading times – especially for saving and loading a game – can be rather long too and some of the more crowded sequences can suffer from slowdown. But in comparison to some later PC-to-console ports, Discworld is pretty impressive considering how quickly it released.
The standout element of Discworld is easily its sound. Every line of dialogue (bar a couple of buggy lines which skip sound) is fully voiced, and not only sound clear and crisp, but are fantastically performed. The myriad of voice stars lend the game a tongue-in-cheek atmosphere which is cheery, the dialogue is full of razor sharp humour and benefits greatly from its source material. But the music and effects are also great too. The use of comedic sound clips – like Tarzan’s swing after the phrase Monkey is said – are used cleverly, and the music does a good job of fitting each screen to a tee. It’s superb from an auditory front.
The standout element of Discworld is easily its sound. Every line of dialogue (bar a couple of buggy lines which skip sound) is fully voiced, and not only sound clear and crisp, but are fantastically performed. The myriad of voice stars lend the game a tongue-in-cheek atmosphere which is cheery, the dialogue is full of razor sharp humour and benefits greatly from its source material. But the music and effects are also great too. The use of comedic sound clips – like Tarzan’s swing after the phrase Monkey is said – are used cleverly, and the music does a good job of fitting each screen to a tee. It’s superb from an auditory front.
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There's lots of humour and personality to be found in Discworld, and a script that's brought to life by some big names.
Discworld stuffs tons of puzzling into its four acts. Mileage will vary between players, as you may breeze through puzzles (probably using a walkthrough) around the 10 hour mark. For those who go without, it could take far longer, and seeking out the little jokes and Easter eggs can also bolster your playtime.
But of course, it depends on how much obtuse puzzling you can take. Discworld’s first foray into video games encapsulates everything that people love and hate about point ‘n’ click titles: a mixture of genuinely hilarious jokes and insane puzzles which could break a normal mind. As a console port, it’s pretty solid and suffers from few compromises. But for many, it may be too much to bear for those who lack the patience and willpower to keep going. For traditional adventure fans, it will prove their greatest test yet, but for anyone else, it may prove too high a hurdle to overcome, which is a shame, because the game has personality and genuine wit to spare.
But of course, it depends on how much obtuse puzzling you can take. Discworld’s first foray into video games encapsulates everything that people love and hate about point ‘n’ click titles: a mixture of genuinely hilarious jokes and insane puzzles which could break a normal mind. As a console port, it’s pretty solid and suffers from few compromises. But for many, it may be too much to bear for those who lack the patience and willpower to keep going. For traditional adventure fans, it will prove their greatest test yet, but for anyone else, it may prove too high a hurdle to overcome, which is a shame, because the game has personality and genuine wit to spare.
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VERDICT
"Witty and marvellously acted, Discworld delights and infuriates in equal measure. It's a decent port, but obscure and illogical at times, and is best suited to hardcore Pratchett/point 'n' click fans" OVERALL: 7/10 |