DISCLAIMER:
This review is entirely for my own sake. You are welcome to read it but it may or may not contain spoilers for the whole game.
I went in expecting a Majora's Mask type of game. I got an adventure game with some player time-travelling and timeline manipulation. Sadly ended up being way more linear than I had imagined. It was still cool to change events by doing certain actions in past chapters, but the fact that you control multiple characters means that they end up doing actions that make no sense and benefit them in no way whatsoever in order to help someone else in the future without them even knowing how or why.
I did enjoy that one of the events in the middle of the story of the first main character is locked until very late in the game, creating a great deal of intrigue as to what happened, time to create theories, and finally unlocking it leads to a satisfying twist and the opportunity to alter the bad fates of the rest of the cast.
Regarding the mind-map/hint system, I am very grateful for its existance. I did try and succeed to figure out what actions I had to take on which events, but its presence helped in the later half of the game when the amount of possibilities got too intricate and helped aleviate some of the moon-logic adventure games are infamous for having.
The story was entertaining and finding out how all the characters were connected was fun. And being able to learn more about their backstories by gathering collectables was as satisfying as solving some of the puzzles to get them in the first place.
Overall, I do not regret having played it in the slightest and would recommend it to most adventure game fans.
This review is entirely for my own sake. You are welcome to read it but it may or may not contain spoilers for the whole game.
I went in expecting a Majora's Mask type of game. I got an adventure game with some player time-travelling and timeline manipulation. Sadly ended up being way more linear than I had imagined. It was still cool to change events by doing certain actions in past chapters, but the fact that you control multiple characters means that they end up doing actions that make no sense and benefit them in no way whatsoever in order to help someone else in the future without them even knowing how or why.
I did enjoy that one of the events in the middle of the story of the first main character is locked until very late in the game, creating a great deal of intrigue as to what happened, time to create theories, and finally unlocking it leads to a satisfying twist and the opportunity to alter the bad fates of the rest of the cast.
Regarding the mind-map/hint system, I am very grateful for its existance. I did try and succeed to figure out what actions I had to take on which events, but its presence helped in the later half of the game when the amount of possibilities got too intricate and helped aleviate some of the moon-logic adventure games are infamous for having.
The story was entertaining and finding out how all the characters were connected was fun. And being able to learn more about their backstories by gathering collectables was as satisfying as solving some of the puzzles to get them in the first place.
Overall, I do not regret having played it in the slightest and would recommend it to most adventure game fans.
This game is currently in the Humble Choice for June 2024, and this is part of my coverage of the bundle. If you are interested in the game and it's before July 2nd, 2024, consider picking up the game as part of the current monthly bundle.
Point-and-click Time manipulation
A Guidebook of Babel focuses on the afterlife where people get sent after passing away. In the game, you have certain quests and goals and have to achieve them by going back in time and rewriting the story. You can only rewrite certain pieces, but they’ll change the story so you’ll be able to achieve the set goals. You’ll be rewatching the same scene but also can skip most of the dialogue.
However I just don’t think that’s enough, I could usually spot the solutions in the first hour within seconds of starting a scene. However, I would still have to play through a rather long scene and then do it a second time when trying to solve it and while a lot is skippable, not everything is. The monotonous music or gameplay just made me feel tired, and the story just didn’t grip mostly because I was seeing things twice or three times. Also, there’s the ever-present “Guess what the developer was thinking” to the puzzles. There’s a clever hint system in the game but it’s one of those hint systems that it’s required by the style of puzzles, rather than to help people who are lost.
Pick this up if you like point-and-click games. The time manipulation is interesting at first. I love the idea of time manipulation or changing the past, and just didn’t enjoy how this game did it. It reminded me of the Sexy Brutale which did a lot of this better and with a more straightforward experience. I’m not a fan, and maybe I needed more engagement with the game, but overall I just didn’t enjoy myself with this title.
If you enjoyed this review or want to know what I think of other games in the bundle, check out the full review on or subscribe to my Youtube channel: https://youtu.be/zV1PKwbXeMQ
Point-and-click Time manipulation
A Guidebook of Babel focuses on the afterlife where people get sent after passing away. In the game, you have certain quests and goals and have to achieve them by going back in time and rewriting the story. You can only rewrite certain pieces, but they’ll change the story so you’ll be able to achieve the set goals. You’ll be rewatching the same scene but also can skip most of the dialogue.
However I just don’t think that’s enough, I could usually spot the solutions in the first hour within seconds of starting a scene. However, I would still have to play through a rather long scene and then do it a second time when trying to solve it and while a lot is skippable, not everything is. The monotonous music or gameplay just made me feel tired, and the story just didn’t grip mostly because I was seeing things twice or three times. Also, there’s the ever-present “Guess what the developer was thinking” to the puzzles. There’s a clever hint system in the game but it’s one of those hint systems that it’s required by the style of puzzles, rather than to help people who are lost.
Pick this up if you like point-and-click games. The time manipulation is interesting at first. I love the idea of time manipulation or changing the past, and just didn’t enjoy how this game did it. It reminded me of the Sexy Brutale which did a lot of this better and with a more straightforward experience. I’m not a fan, and maybe I needed more engagement with the game, but overall I just didn’t enjoy myself with this title.
If you enjoyed this review or want to know what I think of other games in the bundle, check out the full review on or subscribe to my Youtube channel: https://youtu.be/zV1PKwbXeMQ