he adventure game scene has seen somewhat of a resurgence lately. With new games like Telltale’s Walking Dead, and ports of lost classics like Grim Fandango there’s never been a better time for fans of point and click extravaganzas. Dropsy is in part a tribute to the latter, which brings up a set of small problems. While the feel and story of those old games still stand up, the puzzles and somewhat frustrating logic somewhat spoil them today.
So in this generation, can a very old school point and click adventure game survive when it takes cues from titles that largely get a pass due to the time they were made in? Can charm itself hold up a whole experience? These are both questions that I’ll aim to address in the following review, but perhaps the most important question is the silliest. Do you like hugs? Warm, wet, hugs?
Appearances can be deceiving, just ask Dropsy the clown. Shunned by a town that fears him, the admittedly scary looking jokester spends most of his time trying to win back the people who revile him. There is an intriguing mystery behind everything that keeps the game going, but helping people is the main objective. However, if you’ve seen any promotional work for the game (or Dropsy himself), you may assume that this cheery exterior may mask a darker game. Why else would it feature a creepy clown?
But what makes Dropsy special is that it’s completely genuine in its ambition to make you smile. There is a creepy clown, and dark things do happen (the dream sequences are a great example of this), but it never becomes a full-blown disturbing experience. I was personally waiting for some sort of moment that would turn Dropsy into a horror game, and was refreshed when no such twist occurred.
In many ways the game shares the same outlook as it’s protagonist, that being unbridled optimism in the face of darkness. It’s this balance between light and dark that gives Dropsy a certain edge. If the game was just about a creepy clown or an insanely happy world then it would have been a lesser experience. It’s a hard balance to pull off but Dropsy’s mix of dark and sweet imagery make it work perfectly.
What helps this is the goal of the game. As I mentioned, there is a straightforward plot to follow, but most of your time will be spent trying to win over the townsfolk. These are the optional puzzles littered throughout the game world. You’ll see an unhappy person and can choose to help them or do something else. Plus you can always come back to them later making these optional quests a welcome break from some of the more frustrating puzzles in the main story. What is impressive here though is that there really isn’t any huge benefit to helping everyone out, but Dropsy still manages to make you want to do them.
Why? Because when they’re happy you get to hug them. The charm of the game won me over to the point where I wouldn’t really care if I got something in return. Because of the relentlessly kind tone, I too wanted to hug anyone I could.
This title manages to put you into the head of Dropsy, thus making you a nicer person. I don’t know if I’ve played a game where such a little reward like a hug has made me want to actively be more friendly. Dropsy essentially makes me want to be a nicer person, and I have a feeling that may be the case for most gamers.
Speaking of appearances, the game itself just looks lovely. The cartoon-pixel art style is very reminiscent of Sam and Max Hit the Road, a high compliment indeed as that game still looks great 12 years on. I suspect the same will be said about Dropsy in the same amount of time, as this aesthetic never seems to go out of style. This is extremely important as Dropsy forgoes any text in favor of pictorial speech bubbles. It’s a great, inventive way to tell a story which give focus to the art and sheer color of the world. However, this becomes somewhat of a double-edged sword as you progress through the story.
Unfortunately, Dropsy takes all the problems that those old Lucasarts adventure games had along for the ride too. The puzzles are quite baffling and this isn’t helped with the mentioned above double edged sword. Without text it can be hard to tell what the puzzle even is, much less figure out a solution. And because the world is so big it is also easy to get lost completely in what you’re even trying to do.
One example of this would be a puzzle in which you have to travel all over the map (thankfully the game gives you fast travel part-way through) to figure out a way to get your dog friend out of a mine.
This puzzle involves solving several seemingly unrelated problems, which don’t seem to connect in any meaningful way. If the game weren’t as lovely as it is I probably would have stopped playing completely. A walkthrough is definitely recommended, but the lack of a hint system seems like a giant flaw considering how baffling it can be to work out what you’re even trying to do in the first place.
Nevertheless, I just loved the world and tone so much that I didn’t really care. My frustration subsided when I saw Dropsy perform his adorable jiggle-dance, and I was ready to continue. I never thought I’d write this but it turns out a game can survive on charm alone. But only if it’s as sweet as Dropsy.
It looks dark, it sounds twisted, and the main character is hardly an appealing hero. But don’t be like the townsfolk, give Dropsy a chance. Despite his exterior you might end up loving him too.
