With industry trade show Gamescom nearly upon us - and our annual trip to Germany getting so close we're beginning to stress about having enough pairs of clean socks - we can't help thinking back to the very first show we went to. While wondering through the halls, amongst the various Link, Samus and Lara Croft cosplays, sweaty Germans and pretzel stands we spotted a lone pink furry puppet. Looking like a pinker, more elongated version of the cookie monster, Critter, as he's called, is one of the stars of a more obscure - but still amazing - point and click series, known as The Book of Unwritten Tales.
A comedy point-and-click adventure set in the fantasy land of Aventasia, the games are unique in that you control four different characters at once, and often have to switch between them when solving puzzles and brain teasers before you arrive at a solution. Between a novice gnome mage, a rather narcissistic human, an elf princess and the aforementioned cute and cuddly, gobbledegook-talking Critter, they've put an end to a war, and a stop to an arch villain's plan for world domination - but now they have a new foe. An unknown magical force has been turning beasts into puppets, and castles into dolls houses, meaning saving the world has fallen to your quartet once more. The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 may have hit the PC earlier in the year, but for Playstation 4 and Xbox One owners, the story's just beginning, with box arts for both editions having shown up on Amazon recently...
Kind of looks like someone's killed and stuffed a long-lost relative of Monster's Inc.'s Sully...
Slow-paced and story-driven, the Book of Unwritten Tales 2 is a game that focuses on exploration and puzzle-solving rather than fast, twitchy reactions and combat. With a refreshingly gentle pace, it's a game that draws heavily from some of the most popular games of the past - and, for veterans of the Lucas Arts point-and-clicks of old, you'll be pleased to hear its solutions aren't quite as obscure as some we could mention. Making way more sense than putting prunes in caviar and an octopus in a custard-filled toilet in order to get your hands on an elusive belt buckle, The Book of Unwritten Tales' puzzles rely more on sensible combinations of objects and logical solutions - cutting down on all that "try everything in your inventory with everything else until something happens" malarkey. Add in an exceptionally well-written and funny script, a likeable cast of kooky characters, and more pop-culture references and spoofs than you can shake a sword called Longclaw at, and we're seriously stoked for the sequel!
The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 is due out on the Playstation 4 and Xbox One later this year, although when exactly is a little unclear - US Amazon has them dated for the 18th September, but the UK site merely says it's "not yet been released", got giving a set date. In the meantime, why not check out the PC launch trailer below to get a feel for what the game is like:
