Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse Reviews

As soon as I heard leading man George Stobbart utter "Paris in the Spring" I knew I was in store for a grand adventure with Broken Sword 5. Yes, full disclosure

Back on the case.

Broken Sword 5: The Serpent’s Curse is a solid little point-and-click adventure that's let down by its clunky controls and its sometimes nonsensical puzzles.

Overall, Broken Sword 5: The Serpent’s Curse is a good game that’s worthy of any point and click fan’s time. It never quite manages to reach the heady highs of Broken Sword 1 or 2, but it is undoubtedly better than the third and fourth entries in the series. With its familiar graphics and gameplay, Broken Sword fans will enjoy it in great measure, but may also be disappointed by its lack of a gripping storyline and some questionable puzzles. For those that have never played a Broken Sword game however, the game’s shift away from the Knights Templar means that this serves as a good introduction to the series, but they may be left puzzled by the overuse of many recurring characters (and a goat) that the game expects you to know.

Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse is very much a title at odds with itself, as it's stuck half way between offering a classic point-and-click adventure and being a more modern experience. As a result, it can be somewhat hard to recommend. On one hand, it's succeeded with a great story, some fantastic individual set pieces, great writing (albeit with some suspect voice acting) and some extremely clever puzzles. Older fans may dislike the way things look but find an overall experience that's more tailored to their likes, whereas newcomers to the genre may love the looks and find themselves lost by the more obtuse puzzles.

Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse - Part 1 is thoughtfully constructed with low-pressure environments and the promise of a global thriller with a supernatural curse reaching back to Biblical times. It's strung me along this far, so I'm ready for part 2, but part 1 is doing very little to hint at any major payoff for this sleepy but good-natured point-and-click adventure.

These points aside, the first episode of Broken Sword 5 is a lot of fun and a welcome return to form for the series. That mid-way split is annoying and despite Revolution’s best efforts isn’t really justified, leaving Episode 1 as just half a game, and some adventurers may be disappointed at how straightforward the puzzle design is, but overall I was very satisfied. The story is intriguing, characters are fun, puzzles are well designed, hints perfectly implemented, and the 2D art is lovel...