Game Review - Yesterday Origins

Game Review: Yesterday Origins by Pendulo Studios
Score: +8/-1

"Yesterday Origins" will take the immortal heroes, John Yesterday and his other half Pauline, not only across the world, but across history itself. This interwoven narration gives the plot its depth and richness.

It's 1481. In the dead of night, young John is publically humiliated and dragged through the street. He is imprisoned by the Spanish Inquisition under suspicion of witchcraft.

Later, he undergoes an alchemical transformation making him immortal. But something goes wrong, after each resurrection, John completely forgets who he is.

In the current day, John is living with Pauline in Paris his immortal partner. They are searching for an artefact that is needed to make the potion again. During their investigation, they will have to face dangerous new protagonists who want to steal their secrets...

I got Yesterday Origins as a freebie from Indiegala -- which from time to time has given out some real gems, and this is one of them. So many good points in this point-and-click game. Where to start?

++ The story / mystery itself is told very well at a good pace, with sudden twists to keep things from being predictable. At the foundation of Yesterday Origins is an interesting story well-told. And you will be surprised how many games don't even have that to support fancy graphics and mechanics. And then there's the surprising ending full of twists that finishes the final act in a immensely satisfying way.

+ The character design, dialog, and voice acting all come together well to really bring characters to life and, well, give them character.

+ The intriguing premise lets the game take us to different settings and times, and this is used quite suddenly to good effect, giving us a refreshing change of pace as well as complete change of scenery.

++ Each puzzle scene generally has you putting together some "scheme" that is highly unlikely. But the clues and tools are around and each of them make sense in isolation. All put together, when the final plan clicks into place, it is satisfying and delightful.
As the plan comes together, you are helped along to find out what else you need by a common-sense analysis of what wouldn't work and what you're missing.
(That said, there is an early scene where you end up "solving" some pretty mundane puzzles and the story really drags there without much plot advancement, but stick through it and the rest is better.)

+ There are many "red herring" interaction points. Items and even casual mentions in dialog suggest actions or outcomes and in that way excite the imagination into what could be as well as add more information about the situation and setting. Although ultimately they are not part of the scene solution, they still add to the richness of the overall experience and are therefore not simply a waste of time.

+ The story / mystery itself is told very well at a good pace, with sudden twists to keep things from being predictable. At the foundation of Yesterday Origins is an interesting story well-told. And you will be surprised how many games don't even have that to support fancy graphics and mechanics.

- There are interaction points when you examine a person. However, even though you can see the interactive item clearly, the prompt you are required to click does not always appear until you pan the image properly. This can make it very easy to actually miss an interaction point.