Richard & Alice

 

Richard & Alice

Type	Point-and-click adventure
Single or multiplayer	Singleplayer
Developer	Owl Cave
Publisher	Owl Cave
Fun	2/5
Difficulty	3/5

Richard & Alice is a point-and-click adventure that has two protagonists, hence the name. However, behind this name is a novel-like game, which shares very few common points with other representatives of the genre and is instead told like an interactive story.

The first thing that one will notice when looking at the review is the quality of graphics. They are very simple, to put it lightly. Characters are portrayed by tiny, pixelated sprites, and they have no voice acting, as expected. The entire world is set in a sort of 2D bird’s eye view, which makes detailed environments almost impossible.

The sound offers no redeeming features either. The howling of wind and the crackling of footsteps in the snow are fine on their own, but don’t expect any masterful sound effects. The soundtrack is appropriate, though forgettable.

As with other games in this genre, you control the character, Richard or Alice, depending on the story, and move and interact with the world with your mouse. The game will sometimes require you to combine items from the inventory or use them in certain places. Although not too difficult, some of these puzzles prove to be challenging and unique.

As with some other point-and-click games, there is a problem in Richard & Alice as well. Although not a major grievance by any means, it can still be annoying; the movement speed of characters. While I do realize that in the story, due to environmental influences and her own physical and mental state, it would be unreal for Alice to sprint to her destination, it still takes forever to get to where you are going, especially if you don’t know the right way.

Speaking of the story, this was obviously what the creators wanted to put forward as their strong point. In the not-so-distant future, weather and climate changes have brought about unrelenting winters and snow. The governments were unable to deal with it fast enough, and this led to the dystopian environment of the game.

The titular characters, Richard & Alice, are both found in a luxury underground prison at the beginning of the game, with the storms raging outside. Richard claims he is there for desertion, Alice for murder. As the game unfolds, you will play as Richard in the present, and as Alice in flashbacks. 

The dark, grim, and disturbing story that follows would make for a good novel, or even a TV show. The plotline is strong, the characters are believable, and the story has everything a post-apocalyptical tale needs: lack of sympathy towards fellow humans, roving bands of criminals, and a conspiracy in the higher-up levels.

One thing I didn’t like, however, was the writing of Barney, Alice’s five-year-old son. All his lines sounded downright annoying, some out of place, and at certain points just plain dumb. His mother’s reaction to them were equally eye-rolling. I don’t know if this was intentionally done by the writer or if five-year-olds really behave like this; all I know is that I just wanted to skip through all his dialogue as fast as I could.

Overall, I was not floored by this game, but I wasn’t enraged with its lack of quality either. The story is decent enough to experience it once, just like any other good book/film you would read/see. So if you like depressing stories about people trying to survive and help the ones they love in clutches of circumstance, take a few hours and play through Richard & Alice.