The Book of Unwritten Tales
 Cover art | |
| Developer(s) | King Art Games[1] |
|---|---|
| Publisher(s) | HMH Interactive (EU) & Lace Mamba (Sleeve release EU), Crimson Cow (As Part of Collection EU), The Adventure Company (NA, Budget re-release EU) |
| Platform(s) | Windows, Mac OS X, Linux [2] |
| Release date(s) |
Windows OS X |
| Genre(s) | Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
The Book of Unwritten Tales is a point-and-click adventure video game created by German developer King Art Games. A prequel called The Book of Unwritten Tales: The Critter Chronicles was released in 2012. A sequel, The Book of Unwritten Tales 2, was released on February 20, 2015.[3]
Premise
In a world torn by war, the aged gremlin archaeologist Mortimer McGuffin harbors the dark secret of a powerful artifact. Whoever calls this artifact its own, will determine the fate of the world. While the Army of Shadows sends out its best and most devious agents to discover the secret, the Alliance's three heroes find themselves involuntarily drawn into the crisis...
Gameplay
The game challenges the player with a series of puzzles and brain teasers presented as a traditional point and click adventure game. The puzzles are embedded in an adventure story that will take most players an average of twenty hours to complete. There are 60 locations to explore with a total of 40 non-player characters and about 250 interactible items.
A notable feature of The Book of Unwritten Tales is that the player takes control of four different characters. In some scenes it is possible to switch between two or three active characters. Making explicit use of this mechanic some puzzles require the playable characters to exchange items or otherwise cooperate.
Characters
- Wilbur Weathervane
- Unlike other gnomes, Wilbur shows no particular enthusiasm for technology and machinery. His heart belongs to the world of magic and adventures. Wilbur works as "chief cook and bottle washer" at a pub of a dwarf bastion in the Whitcomb Mountains. When he is given a strange ring by the gremlin archaeologist McGuffin, he receives the order to bring it to the arch mage of the humans.
- Nathaniel Bonnet
- Nate is a human adventurer. His attitude is very cocky and narcissistic. He doesn't want to help Ivo and Wilbur at first, but they save him from a bounty hunter and so he joins their party. He is accompanied by a furry pink creature, which he only refers to as "Critter".
- Ivo played by Jess Robinson
- Ivodora Eleonora Clarissa, Princess of the Silver Forest Realm, an elf, normally does not meddle in affairs of "the mortals". She witnesses the abduction of an old gremlin professor by the Shadows and in the attempt to save him she's drawn into their affairs.
- Critter
- Critter is a muppet-like alien creature which is marooned on Aventásia. He speaks gibberish and seems to be very flexible as he can sneak through gaps under doors. As he has been left behind by his own kind, he accompanies Nate on his adventures.
Reception
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The Book of Unwritten Tales has received wide critical acclaim in Germany with an aggregated score of 87 out of 100 at Critify.de, based on 24 different reviews[7] and an 82 on Metacritic out of 100 by 32 different reviews.[5]
References
- ↑ "Book of Unwritten Tales - KING Art Games - Computerspiele-Entwicklung, Design und Programmierung für PC, Browser und online". Kingart.de. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
- ↑ "The Book of Unwritten Tales". Application-systems.de. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
- ↑ "The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 Release!!!". KING Art Games - Independent game developer from Bremen, Germany and creator of award-winning games like “The Book of Unwritten Tales”. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
- ↑ "The Book of Unwritten Tales for PC". GameRankings. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
- 1 2 "The Book of Unwritten Tales". Metacritic. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
- ↑ Arendt, Susan (2012-08-08). "Book of Unwritten Tales Review". escapistmagazine.com. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
- ↑ "The Book of Unwritten Tales (PC) - Alle Tests, Rezensionen, Wertungen // critify". Critify.de. 2009-02-26. Retrieved 2012-08-21.