While I am always interested in point-and-click, the genre that I particularly like for his stories, I had totally missed the first two chapters of The Journey Down, respectively released on January 9, 2013 and August 25, 2014. It was on the occasion of the recent release of the third and last chapter that I was able to discover the series and go on an adventure in the company of its equally atypical characters that endearing.
In order to avoid the revelations, I will limit myself mainly to the screenshots of the first opus, but know that the three form a coherent whole being all based on the same characters and the same mechanisms. What is therefore true for the one is true for the three.
After a disturbing prologue where a villainous character seems to be looking for someone (and not to hug him), the story begins in the port of Kingsport Bay, near the large town of St Armando where we do the show. acquaintance with the hero, Bwana, who runs a gas station with his best friend Kito.
Business is not good and the first task is to rekindle the electricity that has just been cut. With a strong African American accent, Bwana is humorous and doesn't take herself seriously at all. Throw a disturbing switch, regardless of the consequences? Of course ! We'll see what happens! Classic in all its features, The Journey Down is based on interaction with decorative objects. When something is interesting, its name appears above the cursor. On click, there are no options to select, the character will do what he deems necessary depending on the situation (look or take).
The recovered objects go into the inventory which opens by moving the mouse down. From there, a click on the object generates a reflection of Bwana (an observation not necessarily always useful), it is necessary to maintain the click to take the object and then use it on the interactive points of the decoration.
And, of course, there are puzzles (although Bwana hates them!).
Bwana's whole life is turned upside down when Lina, a strange woman, who says she is looking for a book, arrives in her life. Bwana and Kito then remember that there are books in the old room of Captain Kaonandodo, who disappeared under mysterious conditions many years ago. After some research, the precious manuscript is there, hidden in Kaonandodo's mattress. The woman is jubilant, this book must be taken as quickly as possible, far from this corrupt city. She then convinces our hero to restart his old plane to escape as quickly as possible ... except that the cuckoo has not flown for decades and is now used as a cactus greenhouse!
A great quest then begins to find the missing parts for the plane ... A quest that will lead Bwana much further than he thought, embroiled in a conspiracy that is totally beyond him. As the dialogues and discoveries progress, Lina begins to deliver snippets of information concerning the mysterious Underland, a forbidden zone, considered very dangerous by the government which makes sure that no one approaches. But is it really that dangerous? And what's behind this all-powerful electricity company that seems to own it all?
The story is fascinating and, for that alone, the title deserves your attention. The characters are really well put together, with voices, facial expressions and strong personalities. Random discussions, the characters give us anecdotes, legends, it is very alive. The music is not to be outdone, perfectly in line with the animations and embarking on the atypical atmosphere of this world which conceals many secrets. The graphic bias is daring, but successful in my humble opinion, it works really well, it's pretty, clean from start to finish, the characters move without difficulty. And even the usual point-and-click immutability is sometimes broken, with characters shifting position when you come back to see them or glancing at what you're doing next to them.
If you like point-and-clicks and want to discover an original story and universe, you won't be disappointed. The only complaint I could make about the title at the moment is the fact that it is not translated, so you will have to understand English well to enjoy it (they also use quite a few expressions, this which does not make it easy to understand even if it is subtitled). If you prefer to invest directly, there is on Steam a bundle at € 39,17 for the three opuses or on Humble Bundle via their Official website at $ 32 (around € 27).
Otherwise here are the links to the three chapters independently:
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
The game is also available on iOS:
Chapter 1 on the App Store
The game is also available on iOS:
Chapter 2 on the App Store
The game is also available on iOS:
Chapter 3 on the App Store
