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The Journey Back Review

The Journey Back Review

The Journey Back Review

A classic, short, inexpensive point-and-click adventure game

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Genre: Point-and-Click Adventure 
Release date: August 12, 2015

You are driving down the road with your sister when the car crashes into a fallen tree just as you exit a tunnel. As you regain consciousness you realize two things quickly: that your sister is gone, and the car is on fire. Leaving the car, you decide to search for your sister. Maybe she is in that building over there…

The Journey Back is a very simple point-and-click adventure game. It appears to be the first (and only?) game written by Erwin Wolf.

It is an open 3D world where WSAD keys move you while the mouse steers. You can see from the screen shots that the graphics have a very low polygon count and there is no texture mapping  (that is, each polygon is a solid color). Simple, yet effective with rarely any doubt as to what you are looking at.

The background music is simple but nice, and sets a definite mood.

The puzzles are simple and straightforward. I would place them at easy-to-medium difficulty. There is a maze at the end, but if you look and think a little you will notice that the solution is given right at the entrance.

The story is a simple little mystery: where are you, and where is you sister? The answers become obvious at the beginning of the second chapter and you’ll probably suspect them much sooner than that.

The game is short with most people completing it in just over an hour. But it is inexpensive, costing only a couple of bucks.

There are, however, a few bugs in it. One bug caused it to lose my save game, so I had to start all over with a new game. This was partially made up for by another bug that allowed me to bypass an elaborate puzzle by reaching through a fence and taking the object without having to open the fence.

Bottom line: The Journey Back is a nice little diversion. While it may look like an amateur attempt at times, I believe it shows enough depth and polish to get a professional rating.

 Inexpensive

+ Fair (solvable) puzzles
+ No inconsistencies
 
– Nothing to grab you and make you want to finish
A couple of  bugs 
 Logo

 
 
Trailer:
 

System Requirements

MINIMUM Windows:
OS: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8/8.1, 10
Processor: 1.80GHz Processor
Memory: 2048 MB RAM
Graphics: Graphics card with DX9 (shader model 2.0) capabilities
DirectX: Version 9.0c
Storage: 300 MB available space
 
MINIMUM Mac:
OS: Mac OS X 10.7+
Processor:1.80GHz Processor
Memory: 2048 MB RAM
Graphics: Graphics card with DX9 (shader model 2.0) capabilities
Storage: 300 MB available space
 

 MINIMUM Steam OS + Linux:

OS: Ubuntu 12.04+

Processor: 1.80GHz Processor
Memory: 2048 MB RAM

Graphics: Graphics card with DX9 (shader model 2.0) capabilities

Storage: 300 MB available space

 

Bob Washburne

Bob Washburne

I have been playing adventure games since 1979 when I played "Adventure" on the DEC PDP minicomputer at work. The first adventure game I ever purchased was "Zork 1" for CP/M. I can remember the introduction of the IBM PC. I remember the invention of the microcomputer (actually, it was discovered rather than invented). I remember the invention of the minicomputer. Yes, I am an old fart. I have written 80 reviews and articles for JustAdventure starting with my review of "Bioscopia" in February of 2004. I currently own more adventure games than I will ever be able to play, let alone review. And I want more!

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