Aegis

At the end of Aegis, I felt like applauding. Why? Because I felt like I had completed an actual adventure. This is one of those games where it feels like things actually happen over the course of the game. The landscape, characters, setting, and goals all change as the game progresses, giving you the impression of a coherent experience (in a good sense). The puzzles are sensible. They are not difficult by any means. It is always clear what one should do next. And I never felt restricted because the environment is big enough to feel free but small enough to have a clue what to do next.

But at the same time, I was also deeply disappointed. I want to rate this game more highly, but the number of glitches and bugs prevent me. Too many obvious glitches that should have been spotted in the beta testing process (such as characters being in two places at once, descriptions being available when they shouldn’t, and bad cases of guess-the-verb) are present. This ruins the otherwise excellent atmosphere of the game. Bugs distract me from the adventure, and I eventually stop thinking like a player and start thinking like a programmer. That’s not good.

Other observations: Sometimes the player is told how he or she feels (which, trust me, does not feel good) and at other times the dialogue gets a little cheesy. The story comes in thick gobs, screens full of text. The puzzles are like foodstuffs designed to keep the player at the table.

If you can overlook the bugs, then you will enjoy the entertaining adventure. Unfortunately, I couldn't overlook the bugs.