Thimbleweed Park

OMG, this is the best game I have played for many many years. I really felt like being a teenager again playing Zak McKracken, Monkey Island or Maniac Mansion again. I surely hope there will be more of this kind of games. I played it on PC-Windows (Steam), but heard its available on more platforms.

Thimbleweed Park 100% succeed in feeling like a better looking late 80s adventure game. Just with great voice acting and more ambition, due to the 5 playable characters you need to control and freely switch. At least 2 too many if you ask me but the game fully achieves a sense of time and place. To such a degree that you need to be a fan of the games this one spiritually succeeds to like it. My biggest gripe is the way too meta and out of nowhere 3rd act twist that feels like a lamer version of the Monkey Island 2 ending. Fans of the genre already finished this game and no one else knows that it even exist. Just as you would expect from a crowd sourced game. 7,5/10

I really loved the setting of this game. It was both unique and a very practical choice for a game of limited size and scope- not unlike the Caribbean islands of its predecessor in that respect. The pixel art was really masterfully done and helped create a strong sense of place. That's something that has always been important to me in the adventure genre. I did find the music somewhat lacking- it conveyed the tone well enough but wasn't nearly on the level of Monkey Island. But maybe I'm setting the bar a bit too high there.

The puzzles were great as well. If anything tends to turn me off from the genre, it's poor puzzle design. You know what I'm talking about...the ones you can only figure out by interacting with objects in about every possible way. Thimbleweed has puzzles that are difficult enough to be satisfying without being nonsensical- with perhaps only a couple exceptions.

I quite enjoyed the story as well. The ending will be divisive but I found it very memorable. Kind of surprisingly somber but it will definitely stick with me.

The one major complaint i have is the writing for Ransom the clown. If you're going to write a famous and successful insult comic, you can't have him spout off insults that are bland and tired and forgettable. A shame, because there was a lot of potential there. He also feels very tacked-on, with minimal connection to the actual story.

Overall, I would say that this game is well worth it for fans of the genre, and I hope that we see another release from the developers in the future.

If you loved Monkey Island and want to feel the warm fuzzies again, this game will throw you back. This is what happened to me. Thimbleweed Park is an interesting, atmospheric, and hilarious game that will twist your brain into knots while tickling your funny bone. Fans of Philip K. Dick and Twin Peaks, I think you should get this game. It's a steal for the price and it's lovingly, painstakingly crafted to its very detail. Get it, don't regret it.