"Embark on a clay adventure that breaks the mold." This quote appears on the box of the adventure game The Neverhood. I almost missed out on this adventure for two reasons: (1) I thought it was a kid's game. I somehow missed the statement on the box "for ages 17 and up." (2) Even if it was for adults, I thought, "how good can a game using claymation be?" It turns out the answer to that question is, "it can be one of the best!" I did eventually play the game and found it to be an excellent adventure, and it remains one of my favorites today.

You play the game from a third-person perspective, manipulating the movements and choices of the main character, Klaymen. The game begins with Klaymen asleep on the floor of a room. After you click on any object in this room for the first time, he awakes and embarks on a great journey, the journey of discovery. For you see, Klaymen needs to do more than just defeat an evil character, which is something he must do; he needs to discover who he is and why he is in the Neverhood. This concept is what I believe to be one of the most enjoyable, creative plots for an adventure game. It addresses the fundamental questions in life: why I am here? Why are you here? Why is Klaymen here? It's the adventure of a lifetime. It's the adventure to find the meaning to life. Is the plot too deep for a game? No. The game never loses its sense of humor or takes itself too seriously. There are a lot of funny bits in this game.

As you and Klaymen travel through the Neverhood, one of your tasks is find and collect twenty discs. These discs contain recorded bits of information, and when loaded into playback machines located throughout the Neverhood, they reveal insights into why Klaymen exists and what his mission is. When all twenty discs are loaded and played, it reveals a wonderful story of creation: how it started out good, how it turned bad, and what must be done to rescue the Neverhood from evil. The plot receives an A+.

The graphics are absolutely amazing. Sure, you can tell it's clay, but to see what the creators did with clay is awesome. It didn't take me long to get immersed into the game, to the point where I completely forgot about the fact that this was all done with clay, and I enjoyed the scenery with all its color and detail.

The character movements are not jerky like you might expect from using claymation, but rather very realistic. I loved the way Klaymen walked: plodding feet and with an exaggerated arm swing.

When using one of the playback machines, you listen to the information on the discs, but you also get to view the narrator on what looks like a TV screen. You might guess that the graphics on this TV screen would be poor; on the contrary, the characterization of these TV sequences is some of the funniest and slickest animation I have seen. The graphics in The Neverhood receive an A.

One of my favorite parts of the game is the voice acting of the character Willie Trombone, who tells the story contained on the information discs. It's one of the best--funniest, most entertaining--that I have heard in a game. The music is also very enjoyable to listen to and always enhances the gaming experience.

There aren't any conversations that you carry on with other characters. There are, however, cut scenes at various points in the game that move the story along. I found all the cut scenes to be most enjoyable to watch. The characters range from Robot Bill, a giant robot whose prized possession is a teddy bear to little evil creatures that do the bidding of the main evil character, Klogg. All voices and sound are superb. The sound, music, and voice acting all receive an A.

The Neverhood is a puzzle-based game. In other words, this game is loaded with 'em. I didn't encounter a puzzle I didn't enjoy. Some are very easy, and some are very difficult. But all the puzzles can be solved with a little patience and work. You will have to take notes at various points in the game in order to solve some of the puzzles. Klaymen can never die, so you can be as creative as you want in your attempts to solve the puzzles. Actually there is one, and only one, way that Klaymen can die, but it is clearly marked in the game: the developers actually put a sign in the game that says, "Do not jump in this drain or you will die."

Probably the most enjoyable aspects of the puzzles is that even though there are some of the usual puzzle types, they are presented with a new twist. For example, the maze puzzle is a series of grooves on the wall of a canyon which you must navigate via a special car that can traverse the grooves. Watching Klaymen cruise the canyon wall was a blast. It kept the puzzle fresh and new. Also, the jigsaw puzzle is a series of blocks, each with one side imprinted with a symbol and the other side with a different raised symbol, that must be assembled horizontally. Very cool. The puzzles in The Neverhood an A+.

This is a classic game. The Neverhood belongs in the Everhood. If you haven't played it yet, you need to find a copy and do so. I recommend The Neverhood to all my friends who are looking for a good adventure game. I wish The Neverhood [developer] would create a sequel, but we all have our sequel wish lists, don't we? Enjoy the adventure!

Final Grade: A

System Requirements:
Pentium 75Mhz
8 MB RAM
SVGA monitor
10 MB hard disk space
Quad-speed CD-ROM drive
Win 95 compatible sound card and mouse