The Wardrobe
C.I.N.I.C games
Another animated point and
click, this time we meet Ronald and Skinny, two friends having a picnic.
If only there hadn't been plums. Next thing you know, Skinny is
literally skin and bones, and equally as literally the skeleton in the
closet. Resident in Ronald's wardrobe, he is apparently cursed to watch
over him. If only he could come out; over the years he hasn’t been able
to reveal himself to his wracked by guilt friend.
But needs win out. The house is
on the move, and the removal becomes an issue to be dealt with. Later on
we learn there is a far more compelling reason to confront Ronald.
The Wardrobe is inventory based
to the end, bristling with things to do. Many of them are somewhat
absurd, others inexplicable, even obtuse. Very early on I had already
done things I would never have thought to do and if there was a clue I
didn’t see it. On reflection, there are ways to piece together
interactions which I had missed, provided some lateral thinking is
utilised, but I can’t say that about the lot. I may have missed the
clues/failed to put them together/something else entirely, but the “why”
eludes me. While playing, I did utilise the try everything approach and
kept a walkthrough close by.
There is though, as I said, a
lot to do, which offsets the extent to which you may have no idea what
to do, and are possibly less than enthused when you find out what it is
you need to do. For me, the game danced the line between frustrating and
challenging, and nimbly tip-toed its way to the end.
The one puzzle type that steps
outside the purely inventory is a goody. It involves time travel, to
manipulate items you need to use. I didn’t get all the aspects without a
walkthrough peek, but I did enjoy it.
In my
first look I made comments about the game interface and the humour.
I mused I might settle into both, so let me say more.
With respect to the first, I
never liked it but did get used to it. To generate and use the hotspot
icons, you hold the right mouse and then slide the curser to the icon of
your choice. It does eliminate another click, but it felt awkward. It’s
a small thing though, and you may feel different.
My initial observation on the
humour was that it was trying too hard. I have to say having got to the
end, while it remained over the top in its approach, it was consistent
throughout and was far less grating as a result. It also leaned far more
to the darkly sarcastic than the funny. You get sassy comments as a
stock in trade, many of them directed directly at you, the player, some
of which could reasonably be considered insulting. I confess to being
sarcastic myself, and so I did in the end settle in.
There is a blokey overtone that
may or may not be an issue for you. This was most pronounced at the
halloween house-party. The game pokes fun at a range of stereotypes
right across the spectrum, but also portrays them in order to do so.
There is occasional irreverence as well. It rattled my comfort zone now
and then, and how you respond will be a matter for you.
There is a huge amount of
reference to popular culture throughout, including games and movies.
Many of the characters are part of the reference, and at least one
puzzle leverages that aspect. Interacting with the environment and the
NPCs is essential to revealing all of these, not essential in completing
the game but almost a side quest in itself. It’s worth the effort. There
are no doubt plenty I did not get, but the references are many, so most
players will be familiar with far more than a few. Again, the
observations/interactions run the gamut of funny to ironic to sarcastic.
I was amused more than once.
Stay watching after the end for
(perhaps) one of the more unsettling references.
The space bar will indicate
hotspots, being either a little lightning bolt which indicates just
click and something happens, or an eye, which indicates an array of
things might happen here. Right click on those to bring up the available
action icons, being look, talk, interact or take. Press escape to access
the inventory, appropriately contained within Skinny’s chest cavity
(where else would it be??).
According to the game’s website
there are over 40 locations and more than 70 other characters. I don’t
doubt it. The references number so many more.
I have to say I enjoyed it a lot
more than I thought I might based on my first look.
I played on:
OS: Windows 10, 64 Bit
Processor: Intel i7-6700 4GHz
RAM: 32GB GDDR5
Video card: AMD Radeon RX 470 8192MB
GameBoomers Review Guidelines
March 2017
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