I grew up playing point-and-click adventure games in the 90s. Memories of starting our family's IBM-what is chamacallit before being greeted by the beeps and buzzes of an ancient motherboard. Hand draw maps on notebook paper to navigate the catacombs of King VI's Quest. Clearing The secret of Monkey IslandAnti-piracy measures with its included paper dial trick. “Magic Smaps.”
Indeed, it is a genre that is far too underestimated for my taste. These relics of the past, with their MIDI-filled soundtracks and slightly squashed vocals, retain a charm that few games can replicate. Wonderful adventures filled with complex puzzle solving. Curious characters painted on pixelated bitmaps. There's something strangely appealing about their place in video game history: a glimpse into the past limits of technology and how our imaginations fill in the gaps.
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Recently, I wanted to get back into it. To see if the magic of this kind of niche still worked. I came across Hob's Barrow excavationsa game on Steam made by a studio I had never heard of. Its pixelated yet modernized art style reminded me of the games I loved growing up. Its dark and mysterious undertones gave me the same fear I felt when danger approached. The King's Quest. After just a few days, I would roll the credits to a wonderfully paced and surreal adventure blending English folklore and Lovecraftian horror.
That’s when my dive down the rabbit hole began. Looking for more information about Cloak and Dagger Games, the two behind studio Hob's Barrow excavationsI found a portfolio of unique takes on the beloved genre. Then I found even more teams doing the same thing. After digging a little deeper, I discovered free software that makes all of this possible and new inspiration to try it myself.
Passionate developers maintain the vision of point-and-click adventure, and I love them for it.
Shaun Aitcheson and John Inch, the duo behind Cloak and dagger gameshave been creating point-and-click adventure games since 2013. The passion behind their projects outweighs any lack of funding that most studios would require, as the team would once operate on virtually no budget. The studio states on its Patreon page:
“We dream of being able to work on games full time, or at least part time, so we have a lot more time to get things done…
…we spend as much free time as possible programming or working on art and resources/stories.
Obviously this would change with Hob's Barrow excavationspublished by point-and-click studio Wadjet Eye Games. PC Gamer GOTY 2022 Nominee Reportedly Features Enhanced Animation, Soundtrack The machine. The Demon.and professional level dubbing, including Baldur's Gate 3by Samantha Béart.
Games for the eyes of Ouadjetstudio created in 2006 by Dave Gilbert, seems to share the same vision. The New York-based developer founded the studio to publish its own games, creating a portfolio similar to that of Cloak and Dagger. Adding even more to my list of “point-and-click games I need to play,” I looked through both studios' catalogs. I scoured their social media profiles, desperately searching for any crumbs of a new project in the making.
That's when I discovered Postmodern Adventures, another indie developer focused on pushing the genre forward. Their new game, An English hauntingimmediately caught my attention with its striking and beautiful pixelated visuals. While browsing the developer comment threads on X/Twitter, this led me to Adventure Game Studio. The free software, a tool shared by many of these studios, helps developers keep this wonderfully unique genre alive.
There's a big world of point and click
Adventure Game Fan Fair, a convention bringing fans and developers together around a shared love of the genre, just took place in 2024. While legendary point-and-click veterans like Ken and Roberta Williams, Al Lowe and Jane Jensen were doing appearances, the developers shared their upcoming projects. . Set to return in 2026, the three-day event clearly shows a healthy, beating heart for adventure games and the undying support they enjoy.
The amount of dopamine I've consumed in the last few hours has exploded. A whole world of creators, fueled by the passion and determination to see their dreams come true, lies before me. I'm left with a long list of new adventures to explore and an overwhelming feeling of inspiration that I can't shake. Maybe one day I'll be able to see my name on the Itch.io and Steam storefronts as well. Maybe I can finally give back to the genre I was lucky enough to grow up with. Until then, I will continue to give these indie developers all the flowers they deserve.
