A CIRCLE BITING ITS OWN TAIL
Prepare to read the corniest opening line of the year: like a serpent biting its own tail, the circle is complete. George and Nico are back together, in Paris, where they first met back in 1996. A brand new adventure awaits—presented in a lovingly old-fashioned adventure game style. You explore a picturesque, hand-drawn 2D world through a simple point-and-click interface. It’s a game about digging into history that also, incidentally, digs deep into the history of its own genre.
After many years in stasis following a couple of misguided 3D entries, the series returned to its roots with the Kickstarter-funded Broken Sword 5: The Serpent’s Curse. Revolution Software split the release into two episodes. The end result is a first half so strong it may be the series’ very best, followed by a weaker second half that brings the overall experience down to roughly the level of the original Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars.
Adding to that sense of homecoming, composer Barrington Pheloung returned to conduct his orchestra, once again setting the tone for a relaxed historical investigation. Where the first game felt autumnal, The Serpent’s Curse radiates a lighter, spring-like atmosphere. Bright colors, highly detailed backdrops, and a general sense of warmth make the game feel genuinely rejuvenating—exactly what a comeback should feel like.
As the story begins, George Stobbart (voiced once again by Rolf Saxon) now works as an art insurance assessor. His latest assignment takes him to an art gallery in Paris, where he happens to run into his on-again, off-again girlfriend Nicole Collard (Emma Tate). Their reunion is cut short when an armed man storms the gallery, steals a painting, and shoots the exhibitor dead.
That murder ignites the plot, sending George and Nico across Paris, London, and Catalonia in Spain. At the center of it all is the stolen painting La Maledicció, rumored to contain clues pointing toward an ancient, malevolent power.
Violence and death are so commonplace in video games that it feels oddly refreshing to play one where a homicide is treated as a major event. This isn’t the only corpse you’ll encounter, but every death is framed deliberately—often in close-up—inviting investigation and reflection. It lends the situation a gravity that Broken Sword hasn’t always managed in the past.
Still, as usual in a George-and-Nico adventure, the murder itself quickly takes a back seat to the historical investigation. The true focus is the art theft and the painting’s symbolism. Painted by the secretive Gnostic figure known as “El Serp,” La Maledicció is drenched in ominous iconography. First you must track down the thief, then recover the painting, and finally decipher its meaning—a task made easier by George’s long-established enthusiasm for history.
Much of the investigation unfolds through dialogue, presented as selectable conversation topics at the bottom of the screen. A sure sign that the writing and voice acting work is that the first thing I do in any new location is look for people to talk to. I happily exhaust every dialogue option before touching a single hotspot.
The recurring cast is rich with personality, and their quirks often bleed into puzzle design: Sergeant Moue’s aging bladder, Pearl Henderson’s spirituality, Lady Piermont’s temperament. Even George’s infamous issue with goats makes a welcome return as a running gag-cum-puzzle.
At least in its excellent first half, The Serpent’s Curse favors logical puzzle design. Important objects are clearly marked by a cogwheel cursor, dialogue nudges you in the right direction, and the game smartly limits available locations. Solutions are rarely far away. And if you still get stuck, the built-in hint system can gently point you forward before spelling things out completely.
The game strikes a fine balance between dialogue, examination, inventory combinations, and close-up puzzles involving ciphers and jury-rigging. I especially enjoy the latter, as they demand creative thinking. One standout puzzle involves decoding a telegram written in cipher with almost no guidance. I solved it using techniques I first learned from Edgar Allan Poe’s The Gold-Bug—a deeply satisfying moment.
Unfortunately, the game loses some momentum in its second half. Locations grow longer and fewer, puzzles become more cryptic, and clues less clearly signposted. In one late section, George and Nico end up trapped behind a locked door. I assumed the challenge was to escape—but instead, the game expected me to solve a linguistic puzzle to determine where to go after escaping. When I finally cracked it, Nico automatically found the way out, leaving me feeling more relieved than clever.
The Broken Sword games are structured like TV serials or comic book adventures. The historical mystery is always the main attraction. Characters don’t grow or change; they begin each game fully formed. Every entry resets the status quo. This is playing it safe.
There are advantages to that approach. The games can be played in any order. Skipping a weaker entry doesn’t matter. And the franchise can theoretically continue forever—as long as fans are willing to pay. In a struggling genre, it’s hard to fault Revolution for sticking to a proven formula.
But there are drawbacks. The static characters—including George and Nico—can feel flat and functional. They exist primarily to serve puzzles and plot, which often leaves the world feeling oddly lifeless. Paris streets are empty because random passersby would serve no mechanical purpose. A hint of ambient life beyond gameplay hotspots would have gone a long way.
Point-and-click adventures are uniquely suited to tell intimate, challenging stories—even contemporary dramas—thanks to their theatrical framing. Yet The Serpent’s Curse plays it safe, leaning heavily on nostalgia. In a genre this niche, I can’t help but wonder how long that alone will suffice. If point-and-click adventures want to remain relevant, they may eventually need to take narrative risks.
That’s a broader discussion for another time. It doesn’t affect my score much. Broken Sword 5: The Serpent’s Curse truly comes full circle. The series is back where it started, and that’s mostly a good thing. Its puzzles are strong, its presentation exquisite, and it stands among the best modern examples of the genre. The story may be too cautious for my taste, but the game delivers on its promise.
It’s a good game—make no mistake about it.
Comments
Post a Comment