Review for Unusual Findings
Published through ESDigital Games, Epic Llama Games’ Unusual Findings is a passionate love letter to '80s pop culture. The flavor of that decade adds a pleasant taste to a fun, symmetrical story reminiscent of films like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. The pixel art graphics, point-and-click interface, and challenging narrative-driven puzzles combine to ground the player in that departed era. The fast tempo and intense music volume or the lack of a task list could create frustration for some, but on the whole, this game generates plenty of amusement burnished by nostalgia.
The '80s brought us the advent of 3-D animated third-person adventure games using pixel art to vivify their environments. Unusual Findings emulates the best elements of this tradition. The backgrounds are beautiful and show great artistic effort, particularly in my two favorite locations: The comic book store and the video arcade. The store is adorned with '80s movie posters and action figures meticulously recreated using pixel art. Similarly, the arcade is brimming with recreations of '80s arcade machines that entranced me. I couldn’t wait to interact with this beautiful world. When I did, I found the characters well-animated; they walked smoothly, grabbed items, and their lip movements synced with the dialogues.
This world is aesthetically pleasing. The sound effects are also appropriate, and voice acting helps bring the characters to life. Unfortunately, the loud, '80s arcade-style background music didn't do it for me. I found the fast tempo to be distracting when trying to solve puzzles. The menu, accessed through the gear icon, contains an option to disable licensed music while streaming this game over the internet and disable the game music.
Unusual Findings uses a point-and-click Interface and a third-person perspective. The screen has three icons in the corners which frame the scene. The upper-left corner contains a gear to access the menu. The upper-right corner houses a flying saucer, which reveals hotspots for a few seconds when clicked. The lower-left corner harbors a bag that contains your inventory. Left-clicking on a hotspot will activate an action wheel that presents the player with a choice between look, speak, or grab. This well-made interface allows players almost effortlessly to participate in an enjoyable story. Although adding a task list to help the player remember their objectives would have been welcome, the current system does not take away from the experience.
During this story, the player directs an adventuring party consisting of three characters: Vinny, Nick, and Tony. Vinny sports a Marty McFly costume from Back to the Future. He enjoys gaming and fifties movies. Next is Nick, who likes gaming and girls. He is dressed like the Karate Kid. Rounding out the three is Tony. He’s passionate about technology and is costumed like Doctor Who.
The opening scene of this story sees Vinny gaming. His father soon discovers his involvement in mischief and takes away his games. His best friend Nick arrives shortly after that and engages him in helping their mutual friend Tony perpetuate the shenanigans that make parents wonder about their teenagers. While doing so, they meet Ralph, someone from out of town, who ensnares the protagonists in a conflict between himself and others from a rival town.
It's the beginning of an '80s “buddy” story similar to E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. At the beginning and end of the story, Vinny encounters the same situation. However, he deals with it differently at the two points in the story. Initially, he is immature and deals with it childishly. However, in the end, he is much more mature and cautious. The lyrical symmetry that resonates between these two moments shows Vinny’s character growth.
The heroes deal with many challenging situations during their adventures. An observant, patient player should be able to find all they need to succeed. Happily, multiple solutions to puzzles depend on the player's choice. For example, acting brave during a situation at the beginning of the game will make your friends more willing to help you later on; acting cowardly will necessitate finding an alternative solution. This focus on player agency encourages replaying the game.
Although its background music wasn't to my taste and I missed a task list, I thought Unusual Findings was a great game. It has an exciting story, wonderful graphics and sound effects, a well-constructed interface and fantastic voice acting. If you're a fan of classic adventure games, you should definitely give it a try.
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