The Whispered World

Attempting to rejuvenate the 2D point-and-click adventure type games, The Whispered World features Sadwick the melancholic clown on a quest to prevent the world from ending, as prophesied in his nightmares.

The game leaves a bad first impression. Sadwick sounds like the typical Adam Sandler underdog character with a speech impediment, his brother Ben is a jerk, and his Grandpa is a bit insane. Once you leave the initial area, and the journey begins, Sadwick becomes much more likeable, as do the characters that he meets along the way.

He soon meets a messenger from the kingdom of Corona who tells him the king is sick and the realm will soon be under attack from the Asgil. He needs to find the Whispering Stone and the mystical Shana. When Sadwick finds Shana, she tells him he will destroy the world, confirming his nightmares, and so he sets off in order to prevent the prophesy.

Traversing the area is fairly painless since you can double click on doors to instantly go through (instead of waiting for Sadwick to walk across the screen), and the areas are never too big. The games' puzzles are quite mixed with varying results; some seem obvious, some quite clever, and some a bit silly. If you've played many games from the genre, a lot of puzzles will seem a bit more obvious when it comes to deciding which items to use, and if it is possible to combine two items together before using them.

Sometimes in these games, it is easy to miss objects that blend into the scenery, but you can hold down the spacebar to highlight all the objects in the room that can be interacted with. Left clicking brings up a menu, where you can either examine, talk, or use the object. Many objects are simply scenery, but examining them produces humorous, negative comment from Sadwick. Right clicking brings up your inventory where you can examine, use, or combine.

Sadwick is also accompanied by his caterpillar-like pet Spot. Spot can transform into different states which are unlocked as you progress through the game, and are used in some of the puzzles.

Many people seem to have encountered problems running the game. Personally, I noticed a few performance issues like the menu taking a few seconds to appear, and the animation looking glitchy when cut-scenes first appear. Sometimes when you try and use certain items like pulling levers, Sadwick would make a noise like he is trying to use it, but he would just be standing there. Also, every time you start the game, you have to change the sound levels. The menu would show them at the level you previously set, but it would play at maximum volume.

Overall, The Whispered World is a great point-and-click adventure. The games protagonist may not be too every ones liking, but if you can tolerate his whining and negative demeanour, then it is highly recommended.