Yesterday by Pendulo Studios does something that very few games of any genre do these days; it shocked me in the opening moments and made me sit up and say “Whoa…what did I just see?” In that regard, Yesterday does a great job of capturing its audience right away. But how does the rest of the game fare?
As I mentioned in the preview, the adventure genre is seeing a revival of sorts. With the recent success of Telltale’s offerings, it seems that gamers are more willing to look into the genre and give some lesser known IPs a chance. This would end up being a great thing for the genre as a whole, because a game like Yesterday definitely deserves that chance.
The first thing that I would like to commend Pendulo on is going outside of comfort zones; not theirs, but rather OUR comfort zones. You see, nine times out of ten, a horror/thriller game will opt to go for a hyper-realistic look with the graphics, a la Resident Evil or Silent Hill. The cartoony style of Yesterday is usually reserved for more light-hearted affairs like Monkey Island. It’s an extremely disorienting experience to boot up the game, see this cartoonish style, and then be presented with an intro sequence that is as violent as the one I saw.
Yesterday wants you to know within the first five minutes that it’s not screwing around.
Yesterday is a thriller that explores a series of unexplained murders. In New York City, beggars are disappearing one after another, only to be found burnt alive. Meanwhile, a Y-shaped scar forms in the palm of the hands of seemingly unrelated people. With the police and the media giving little attention to these events, Henry White, a young and rich heir dedicated to a charitable organization, and his friend Cooper, are the first to investigate these disappearances. They are two of the three playable characters in Yesterday, the third being John Yesterday, an amnesiac who is dragged into this story after his memory is completely wiped.
The story is very Se7en-esque. It’s a taut, smart thriller that for the most part succeeds despite some pacing issues. The point-and-click adventure is already a genre that requires the utmost patience to play. It’s not fast paced with explosion after explosion, and it demands a level of attention and immersion into the story as opposed to the gameplay, which is something that I feel the industry is moving away from.
With that being said, Yesterday has no problems taking its time with the story. The pacing is extremely deliberate, and for long time fans of the genre, that’s no problem at all. I have to admit that it took some time to get into the story, but for those who are willing to be patient and give the game a chance, you’ll be rewarded with a pretty strong experience.
The gameplay is pretty basic when compared to other adventure titles. There’s not a lot of room for experimenting with different control schemes, as the whole point of an adventure title is story first. The UI is laid out in a very simplistic manner with minimalistic interference with the on screen visuals. The great thing about Yesterday’s gameplay is, interestingly enough, the pacing. Pendulo seems to understand that the story will be slower paced so in terms of gameplay, they shaved off everything that could be construed as a “time waster.”
How many times have you played an adventure game and waited as your character sauntered across the room, in no hurry at all? Yesterday eliminates this by allowing your character to simply disappear and reappear at the location you selected. No one likes having to wait for a slow characters to mosey about the room as you click on clues and whatnot, and Pendulo does us a great favor by taking that annoyance out of the equation.
Yesterday also does something fairly unique with its hint system. Rather than a set number of hints that you can use (similar to rewinds in certain racing titles), the game utilizes a recharging hint meter, if you will. You can use it to your heart’s content, but once it’s depleted, you must “recharge” it by trying to figure things out for yourself. The more you attempt to find solutions, the more the hints “recharge.” It’s a very good system that allows players to explore at their own leisure, but use hints if they need it…or simply don’t want to spend the time figuring stuff out. With the recharging meter, you can be sure that you earned any hints you choose to use.
In the end, Yesterday is the sort of game that is a necessity for the point-and-click genre vets. It’s a tight thriller that, despite some pacing issues, is a legitimately engrossing story that should please those with a tendency towards darker stories. For those who aren’t too familiar with the genre, Yesterday is a great place to jump in. Those annoyances that plagued the genre are pretty much all but removed, and gameplay-wise, this is a very streamlined adventure title. Pendulo has a track record of creating good adventure titles, and that continues with Yesterday.
Graphic Design: 8
Despite the cartoony style, Yesterday is extremely rich with detail, and the art style actually helps in the mood of the game
Story and Character Design: 7
Great story that leaves you wanting more, but deliberate pacing and characters that often seemed flat at times often hamper an otherwise fun experience
Gameplay: 8
Eliminates those genre mainstays that annoyed fans in the past, keeps things streamlined, great hint system
Presentation: 8
Great atmosphere, cartoony + subject matter = shocking feel to the game
Replay: 6
Not much to do once you’ve finished playing through
OVERALL RATING: 7.5/10
