Wadjet Eye, a developer that any fan of pointing and clicking should keep close to their hearts and wallets, has returned with another gracefully told story about flawed humans. Old Skies is, it seems, a less flexible game than previous titles such as Unavowed — but that doesn’t make it a lesser experience.
We have finally entered the HD era here, for one! Old Skies boasts the most vivid, high resolution artwork of any Wadjet Eye game to date. They make sure every single pixel matters, delivering gorgeous backdrops no matter which genre the story dives into. Sci-fi cityscapes, an 1800s dive bar, the roaring 20s, they all drip with beauty. There are a handful of quirks, however. For one, I could never quite come to agree with some of the character animations, with expressions and movements lacking the same level of detail as the rest of the artwork.
It’s not a massive sticking point, but it was one that remained throughout my time with Old Skies. It’s the curse of the increased fidelity, I think. However, this blot is offset by absolutely fantastic voicework and dialogue. Characters who sound, and talk, like real people. It’s something which is so difficult to authentically nail as a writer, because fiction dialogue and the way the average human speaks are worlds apart. Dialogue is about balancing subtext, action, rhythm and pathos (or comedy) without coming across as unsubtle or stilted. You have to practice it for ages, unless you’re God’s gift to scriptwriting. Wadjet Eye seem to be pulling on everything they’ve learned to date as a narrative focused studio, delivering a dynamic and believable cast of characters.
Then they chuck them into every genre you feel might work in a time travel story. There’s a variety of plotting here that almost feels like a team simply playing around and having fun. Much like time itself, Wadjet Eye take genre and stretch it, warp it, poke around and see what looks fun. Much like a time travel story, sadly, not everything is perfect with some chapters sagging a little compared to others.
This is countered by a really sensational take on the nature of time travel, which while not entirely novel, allows the humans in this story to shine. Time travel is a puzzle long since figured out here, and is instead used as a vehicle to explore regret, depression, yearning. All that good stuff. There’s an entropy at the heart of the protagonist Fia Quinn’s story which is really involving, and speaks to a sense of instability and being adrift amongst a whirlwind of change. Prescient, right?
The narrative is great, it looks lovely, so… it’s a game, right? It’s a simple one. Point and clicks can be infamous for their “moon logic”. Mercifully, Old Skies dodges this, and remains straightforward throughout, adding a wrinkle to the story rather than a blockade to progress. Could it be more taxing? Sure. Do I personally want that? No thanks, I did my time in the Gabriel Knight 3 mines.
At the end of the day – if you want a strong, resonant sci-fi story, Old Skies delivers. If you want to set your brain on fire with devious puzzles, this game is firmly not that. It knows exactly where it’s strengths are, and delivers them with confidence.
Old Skies is available now on PC and coming soon to Nintendo Switch.
