Dropsy

And success, in Dropsy, is its own reward. The townspeople that Dropsy help along the way kick their depressed funk, crack a smile, and hug the clown they’d demonized moments before. This is cathartic, and it’s hard not to crack a smile as Dropsy meets their happiness with unequaled enthusiasm. I had not realized how much I missed Dropsy since I last put it down. This was a visit paid to a new – but well made – friend. Warm damp hugs and all.

Dropsy is a bit of an oddball game, so I wouldn’t bet on it having wide appeal, but those who love it will really love it. It’s a point-and-click title without written hints, making it inherently challenging, but because the quests involve helping people, solving puzzles feels that much more rewarding. It’s such a heartwarming game, it’s easy to forget that the protagonist is an accidentally murderous clown.

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Overall, Dropsy is funny and uplifting (for the most part) and it’s surprisingly challenging, while bringing an immersive experience and innovative gameplay. It does have some pitfalls like its hazy narrative and high frustration factor, but it’s great for those who enjoy an unorthodox adventure and for only £6.29 on Steam, it’s fairly cheap for what it has to offer.

If you miss the old days, before games of this ilk got streamlined and simplified, give this a whirl before you read too much about it. It's well worth the small outlay.

What really sells this game to me is that it is open to interpretation. Whilst more or less being a linear narrative, its use of the surreal and simplistic vehicles for storytelling leave a lot to discuss at the game’s conclusion. In the early stages, it can seem that the game doesn’t have direction or strong narrative, but stick in there because it all certainly pays off.

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Sweet embrace.

It's entirely possible that you'll respond much more kindly to Dropsy than I have. I wish it had been easier, with a second layer of clues accessible beneath the basic pictograph conversations perhaps. I also wish I'd felt more of a connection with Dropsy himself and I have no doubt that some people will. He's unfairly maligned and sweet, sure, but I'm far more interested in the barely suggested lives of some of the other characters. The introduction of a mystery in the intro places an emphasis on a bigger Dropsy-focused plot that never gripped me in the way that the smaller stories did.

If you’re an adventure fan and not a terminal coulrophobe Dropsy is well worth picking up, just because it tries to do something different. No dialogue, occasionally terrifying but otherwise heart-tugging story, doable puzzles and a decent-sized open world with day-night cycles, starring a creepy clown and his animal friends. It stutters a bit with execution by throwing you in to the open world too fast with no easy way to get around or changing times easily, and the lack of adventure game ...

Dropsy manages to subvert your expectations, and has managed to create a main character you can feel for, even though he doesn’t speak. Dropsy just wants to make people happy in a world that is filled with problems, and by helping them he can achieve his goal. There are some design issues though that count against the game, and some may find the pixel art graphics unappealing, but as an overall experience Dropsy is something that point and click adventure fans should play.