It was supposed to be a quick and easy heist. Break in to the museum, snag the Lupine Twine Amulet, sneak out. Profit! But then, something unfortunate happened: Lucas MacGuffin put the amulet on. With the amulet permanently attached to him, Lucas now had the unfortunate ability to turn into a werewolf whenever he was exposed to moonlight. On top of that, the entire city went into lockdown as a result of his bungled theft. Making delicious lemonade out of those lemons, though, Lucas turned his misfortune into a boon, using his lupine skills to work his way through town in a sokoban-style puzzle adventure. MacGuffin's Curse, from Jolly Rover creator Brawsome, is one of those light-hearted, funny, challenging and visually gorgeous games you won't be able to put down.
Lucas in human form can do all sorts of things, from swimming through water, activating panels, and opening doors with his fingerprint-covered human hands. When he steps into the moonlight and transform into a werewolf, he gains the ability to shove blocks around and smash piles of rock. The furry beast can't cross water and can't open doors, though, so in order to work your way through the game's 150 rooms, you'll have to switch back and forth, playing a sort of single player version of The Lost Vikings.
Even though it takes place is a surprisingly open world, most puzzles in MacGuffin's Curse are of the sokoban variety, challenging you to turn off barriers, push blocks to hold switches, sneak through windows, and the like. Laced throughout the levels are thousands of lines of dialogue and descriptions, encouraging you to examine every piece of scenery you walk by and talk to every person you meet multiple times. To make the distractions even more tempting, the visuals are amazing, like a living parody of a noir mystery graphic novel, and the music is something to get lost in.
Analysis: MacGuffin's Curse draws a lot of inspiration from several decades' worth of cult-hit and best-selling video games. Classic adventure fans will recognize the sense of humor from the good old days of point-and-click graphical adventures, and the room and puzzle design has subtle undertones of the original The Legend of Zelda. Rounding off the high notes are the game's healthy quest system, unlockables, easter eggs, and incentives to keep playing even after you beat the game. MacGuffin's Curse is so full of joy and happiness, you can't help but have a good time while playing it for hours on end.
There's really nothing to harp on with this smartly made game. Some of the visual design seems as if the perspectives are in conflict, though that hardly affects your enjoyment or the game's playability. The strict grid movement is occasionally a bother, as there's no free motion, just the four main cardinal directions to keep things nice and crisp. But, most sokoban games control like this, so again, it's hardly something to call up and complain about.
Every moment of MacGuffin's Curse is enjoyable, from the first few lines of dialogue to the end credits (and beyond!). It's a puzzle game with a personality you won't forget, and it's got plenty of content and humor to keep you happily entertained for hours on end!
Windows:
Download the demo
Get the full version
Mac OS X:
Download the demo
Get the full version
Had just heard about this game this afternoon at BFG, so I was glad to see it on here. So far, the Mac demo is cute, but I'm going to try the iOS version before I decide which one I want to buy.
Eeeeeee! What a lovely review! Made my day =0).
This is really a lovely game. Though there is way more dialogue than you could possibly read in one playthrough, the game is generous enough to highlight hidden treasures so that you can just get on with the game without getting bogged down in text.
The bonus comic strip collectables are also a nice touch, as they are positioned in your inventory in such a way that they fill out and around the story-related cutscenes to fill out gaps in the story and history of the game.
One complaint I do have is the lack of a more detailed map. You will discover many forks in the road throughout the game, and it's annoying having to backtrack and look for doors you missed before. A Zelda-1 style map with blocks that show unexplored branches would be ideal.
This is a great game if you're in the mood for a relatively easy casual puzzler with some exploration mixed in just for flavoring.
Great game. Right up my alley. Just beat it 100%, with every badge except one.
(The "Fixated" badge. And I suspect I might have made that one unachievable, as Strump stops answering the walkie-talkie after the main game is beaten.)
The game's finale felt like a bit of an anticlimax, though...
After the big puzzle-battle with Grim, I was expecting more than just a complex dialogue tree as the final puzzle. And I note that the main conflict-- finding a way to get that amulet off-- was never actually resolved.
I also loved all the references you find by examining the book bin in the Library multiple times, although the only one I actually got was the LoZ: Link's Awakening reference. I think one of the others was a reference to Psychonauts, but I've never played that game so I'm not sure.
I agree with SirNiko's comment about a more detailed map. And one last thing that never got resolved...
That treasury door STILL taunts me. The fact that I still haven't opened it even though I've got 100% completion suggests that maybe there isn't actually anything past there.
I am trying the demo now.
If I like it it hopefully comes up for android, too.
I was wondering if anyone got into the door behind the desk in harvey's shop or into the alley behind the house that shows when you've walked into the hallway. I can't figure out how to get to either of them!
for contest I would use my power to get every casual game as they come out
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