Point-and-click adventure games were once among the highest-selling titles in the gaming industry. Throughout the '90s, games Day of the Tentacle and the Monkey Island series defined PC gaming with their witty dialogue, memorable characters, and infamously tricky puzzles. Unfortunately, the difficulty of these puzzles - along with the genre's inability to innovate - would lead to its downfall.
After many years of struggling to find its feet, the point-and-click genre seems to be making something of a comeback. It's highly unlikely that the genre will ever be a major seller again, but games like the recently released Chinatown Detective Agency, along with announcements like Return to Monkey Island, are helping it carve out a niche but noticeable corner in the gaming industry.
Chinatown Detective Agency was developed by General Interactive Co. and released day one on Microsoft's value-for-money subscription service Game Pass. Those who enjoyed the game will inevitably be looking to play some of the best modern point-and-click releases.
5 The Darkside Detective
The Darkside Detective was first released in July 2017 on PC before arriving on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in the years that followed.
The game takes place in a fictional city called Twin Lakes, a place known for supernatural criminal activity, and follows Detective Francis McQueen and his partner Patrick Dooley as they try to solve a series of different crimes. The Darkside Detective doesn't take itself too seriously and is largely satirical, with numerous pop culture references popping up at almost every turn.
The Darkside Detective was well-received by fans and critics, exemplified by its matching 81 critic score and 8.1 user score on Metacritic.
4 Kentucky Route Zero
As mentioned before, one of the key factors in the point-and-click genre's late '90s downfall was the abundance of frustrating moon logic puzzles. These puzzles would leave players with the all too familiar feeling at the time of "how was I ever supposed to figure that out?" after they inevitably had to look up the answer. This feeling is one that puzzle game developers have always had to work hard to avoid, in the quest to find the genre's sweet spot of challenge and logic.
Kentucky Route Zero approaches the point-and-click genre's puzzle difficulty balancing act in a unique way - by completely removing puzzles from the game. Cardboard Computer's Kentucky Route Zero focuses solely on narrative, ensuring that players are never deterred from the story with tricky puzzles or any puzzle at all for that matter.
The decision to remove puzzles from the game was a risk, but one that paid off as Kentucky Route Zero was a hit with critics, earning an 88 Metascore on PlayStation 4 and even a BAFTA in the Original Property category.
3 Primordia
Primordia was developed by Wormwood Studios and originally released on PC in December 2012 before arriving on iOS in September 2016 and Nintendo Switch as recently as March 2022. Like Chinatown Detective Agency, Primordia is an indie game set in a cyberpunk world.
Primordia stands out with its impressive artwork and gripping atmosphere, which collectively do an excellent job of engrossing players in the game's post-apocalyptic world, The puzzles are also a standout feature, as they're far more grounded in reality than is common with the genre.
Nearly ten years after Primordia was first released, Wormwood Studios released Strangeland, a disturbing psychological horror game that was one of 2021's best point-and-click releases.
2 Machinarium
Machinarium was developed by Amanita Design and has been released on a wide range of systems over the years, including PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Android, and eventually Xbox One in 2020.
Machinarium differentiates itself from other games in the point-and-click genre with its unique world and character designs, along with its complete absence of written or spoken dialogue, excluding tutorials. The game also only lets players interact with objects that are within touching distance, which is initially very counterintuitive for experienced point-and-click gamers.
Machinarium was a hit with fans and critics, exemplified by its 88 Metascore on PS Vita and multiple award wins that included Best Graphic Design and Best Independent Adventure from the Aggie Awards.
1 Broken Age
Broken Age was developed by Double Fine Productions and was released on almost every major system between 2014 and 2018. The game's announcement turned heads when it was revealed that Tim Schafer would be directing it, who hadn't worked on a point-and-click adventure game since the classic Grim Fandango.
Broken Age started life on Kickstarter with the goal of raising $400,000. The project smashed this target by raising $3.3 million, which made it the largest crowd-backed video game at the time. The game didn't hit the heights of Grim Fandango, though it's still one of the best point-and-click releases of the last decade, that is driven by its fleshed-out and grounded protagonists and overall story that has a surprising amount of depth for a comedy adventure.
Chinatown Detective Agency is available now on PC, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One.