Edna & Harvey: The Breakout Review

Story wise, Edna & Harvey: The Breakout is utterly absurd, with some very dark and very European humor relating to a girl trapped in a mental asylum. Juxtaposing that comes some very typical gameplay mechanics, but ones that will endear themselves to experienced adventure gamers.

Players control Edna, a girl who has lost her memory and woken up inside a mental asylum. Things could be worse though, she has her talking stuffed rabbit Harvey for company! Ok, so maybe that's why she's locked up then. So begins a tale of Edna & Harvey attempting to make their way outside of the mental asylum.

There's a very dark subversive undercurrent running throughout the tale, at times touching yet grim. It's a familiar style for anyone who's played other European point and click adventures.

Unfortunately, while the storyline is intriguing, the script is a little weak. Frequently, it feels like the dialogue and scripting thinks it's much funnier than it actually is. Although, it is refreshing to see an unique line uttered for each interaction with an object, especially given the amount of different objects available.

Edna & Harvey: The Breakout is a hefty game with plenty of different things to interact with and objects to pick up. There's also the added benefit of Harvey being able to temp-omorph the two characters to the past, allowing Edna to relive childhood memories while learning new abilities. It's a nice touch and I'd have loved to have seen more moments such as these.

Following a strict adventure gaming structure, there's a ton of dialogue to listen to within Edna & Harvey: The Breakout, thanks to there being so much to interact and explore. A hotspot focus button ensures that all touchable areas are instantly visible with controls a matter of choosing a verb such as look, take, talk and use. These all join together to form a series of puzzles that will cause some real head scratching moments.

Like a lot of older adventure games, Edna & Harvey: The Breakout is obtuse in its puzzle design. Often, the puzzles are far from logical, taking some deciphering to figure out. A certain mindset is definitely needed to progress far here, but at least the illogical nature fits quite well into the absurd nature of the storyline and setting.

Edna & Harvey: The Breakout is very much a traditional point and click adventure. The puzzles are sometimes bizarre and infuriating, but the story keeps you playing on, with much owing to its original tale.