Genre: Point-and-Click Adventure
Release date: October 25, 2016

The Beard in the Mirror is a retro point-and-click adventure game. It is full of quirky characters, inventory puzzles, and odd ball humor. Playing this game was truly taking a step back to the golden age of adventure.  

You play as Paul. He’s sleeping in bed one night when he’s visited by Lily, a mysterious stranger in a dream. Paul wakes up to discover that the hallway leading out of his bedroom is now a forest. Who is Lily? Why does she think she knows Paul? Where is the rest of Paul’s house? Paul must explore the fantasy land to find out.

The story moves backward and forward at the same time and reminds me a bit of Doctor Who and River Song. The two main characters, Lily and Paul are moving in different directions through time, and each time they meet they have different memories of each other. This occurs in the backdrop of a story of good and evil; and Paul must defeat the evil to save the kingdom.

The game has lean production values. The graphics are done in the retro-pixel style. It works for this sort of game, but I’m still tired of so many retro-styled games. If you can get past the simple graphics there’s a lot to like.

The characters are intriguing and the puzzles are just challenging enough to make me think without overtaxing my brain. In a nod toward modern sensibilities and replay value there are two opportunities in the game to pick one of three inventory items. The one you choose has an effect on future puzzles.

The music and sound effects suit the game well. Unfortunately, the game lacks any voice acting and that gave me a bit of a retro-shock. I didn’t realize how lucky we’d become with all the modern conveniences of game design. Despite that, the game is well written and flows at a good pace.

I enjoyed my time playing the game. The high points are the story, writing, and old-school point-and-click puzzles. The lack of modern production values is unfortunate, but once I acclimated myself I didn’t mind. If you’re looking for an old-school-style King’s Quest game, this one’s a great choice.

+ Engaging story with quirky characters + Retro-pixel graphics   – No voice acting