Blackwell 1: Legacy Review

Many would happily point out that the golden era of point and click adventures has been and gone. While a few more recent gems have shone through, all too often the classics have remained the same - remasters of old delights. The Blackwell series aims to buck that trend by embracing the methods that worked so well for older games.

In the case of the first episode, Blackwell 1: Legacy it certainly manages to entice with some satisfactory story development, even if it doesn't quite reach the heady heights of the golden era.

The first of five episodes, Blackwell 1: Legacy introduces us to Rosangela Blackwell, a struggling writer going through a rough period in her life. While her neighbor can only go so far in helping Rosa's loneliness it's the arrival of Joey, a ghost from the 1930s, that truly helps her out. Throw in a series of mysterious suicides at the local University and we've got ourselves quite the story.

As is typical for any game divided up into episodes, Blackwell 1: Legacy is pretty short - weighing in at only a few hours to complete. It's a satisfactory couple of hours though. While the interactions between the two main characters are a little limited, there's plenty of room to learn more about other folk in the game. A plentiful supply of dialogue keeps things developing, even if at times it does turn a tad convoluted.

Rather than using conventional means in which to combine items and so forth, the entire Blackwell series uses a notebook system to allow Rosa and the player to collect clues and evidence. It's a much more enjoyable way of doing things, deviating from the abstract solutions that other adventure games use. Blackwell 1: Legacy keeps it tight and linear narratively, but where that lacks replayability, it makes up for it in terms of plot development.

As far as introductions go, Blackwell 1: Legacy is a fine start to a potentially very appealing adventure gaming series.