Resonance Review: I never met a particle physicist that I didn’t like

 

 
Wadget Eye Games has taken a foothold in the indie-gaming community as the creator of “classic style” point-and-click adventure games built for the current generation of players. For the older crowd, the familiar mechanics and retro-themed graphics can spark a sweet bout of nostalgia. For new gamers, it delivers a concrete example of one of the longest lasting genres in video game history. 
 
Capturing the graphic-stylings of earlier adventure games isn’t a challenge with today’s technology. Providing a fun and entertaining title using those graphics however, can be very challenging. Wadget Eye Games did a great job of livening up the familiar gameplay with some new mechanics and intuitive puzzle-design.
 
The story unfolds as a science-fiction mystery, centered around the death of a particle physicist, his invention and it’s security. The player will take control of four different characters throughout the game, mixing-up gameplay and offering different perspectives about each of the other three characters. As the plot develops and the story pushes on, more and more secrets about the quartet are discovered (the four characters being a doctor, a police detective, a scientist and a reporter).
 

 
One of the main components of a good adventure game is dialogue and, if applicable, voice-acting. This is where ‘Resonance’ really shines. The characters are very well defined, with very distinct backgrounds that play true to their motivations and personality. They are personable and well-crafted, which is good since you have four of them to work with.
 
One of the key elements that Wadget Eye Games brought into this title was a memory system. It’s not the first point-and-click adventure game to use the mechanic but it does execute the system very well. In the game each character will have a long-term and short-term memory. You will control what these characters “remember” using a slot in their character bank. Using items in these “memory-slots” can trigger dialogue between characters and help you with puzzles.
 
The puzzles are two-fold and serve as the main structure for the game. The range of difficulty for the puzzles varies depending on how far along you are in the story and how well you understand the clues. The second-half of the puzzles is knowing who is the best teammate for the job. As we mentioned before, you have the opportunity to control four-characters, you will need all of their skills in order to finish the game and some characters are used best at key moments.
 
The characters are also ‘role decisive’ and by that I mean you will use each of their skills in separate locations. Each character has an inventory and paring up certain characters can decide if you will move forward or backtrack. Choosing poorly I must add, means a lot of running back and forth. The game does allow for multiple puzzle solutions at times however. “Key Items” that are used to open new areas or need to be used in a specific location are also not universally shared. So if the team member you chose doesn’t have a required item, you then have to meet up with the character that has it and trade. This was very annoying at parts but it wasn’t a design flaw, it was a challenge. It made the game more realistic, though frustratingly so.
 
It’s easy to look at a game like Resonance and label it as a ‘retro adventure game’ but it’s more than that. The game stands on a solid design structure with interesting gameplay mechanics, a well scripted cast and an interesting story. The graphics serve as presentation only, underneath the pixelated shell is a well thought-out title that I thoroughly enjoyed. The game does have multiple endings depending on how your characters interact with each other and the game. The characters independent stories and personalities make playing through a second time worth the trip.
 
Although the challenges can be frustrating at times, you shouldn’t argue with the intended price of the game ($9.99) at launch. When compared to others in the market that launched at similar price-points on PC’s, the game stands out as a recommended playthrough.