Unforeseen Incidents
Unforeseen Incidents
Sorti le 24 mai 2018, Unforeseen Incidents est un jeu d'aventure de type point-and-click développé par le studio indépendant Backwoods Entertainment et édité par Application Systems Heidelberg. Le titre est accessible sur PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac, Linux et Nintendo Switch. Propulsé par le moteur Unity, il se distingue par sa direction artistique entièrement réalisée à la main en 2D, comprenant plus de soixante décors, et propose une localisation vocale en anglais et en allemand accompagnée d'une bande-son originale.
L'intrigue place le joueur dans la peau de Harper Pendrell, un bricoleur qui, après avoir croisé une femme mourante dans sa ville natale, se retrouve impliqué malgré lui dans une enquête sur une maladie inconnue qui se propage à travers le pays. Aux côtés d'un scientifique, d'une journaliste et d'un artiste solitaire, il doit démêler un complot complexe en résolvant des énigmes variées au fil de dialogues écrits et d'une galerie de personnages secondaires. La durée de vie pour boucler l'histoire principale est estimée à environ neuf heures et demie, tandis qu'une complétion totale demande près de dix heures et demie ; le jeu est commercialisé au prix de 19,99 euros.
Côté réception, le titre obtient des scores agrégés solides avec 80 sur Metacritic, 82 sur OpenCritic et une note moyenne de 79,76. La presse spécialisée a globalement salué la qualité de l'écriture et de la réalisation : Digital Chumps souligne que le jeu « coche toutes les cases de ce qui constitue un excellent point-and-click », louant des personnages solides, une bonne histoire et des énigmes bien pensées. COGconnected reconnaît quelques problèmes d'accessibilité liés à des bugs ou à la difficulté, mais juge que l'histoire, l'humour et la direction artistique en font une excellente expérience. Du côté des joueurs, les retours sur Metacritic et Steam sont très positifs, certains le classant parmi les meilleurs jeux d'aventure de l'année, appréciant particulièrement son style graphique rappelant la bande dessinée et son côté nostalgique fidèle aux classiques du genre.
Médias
Avis des critiques et joueurs
Critiques de la Presse (Metacritic)
« Unforeseen Incidents checks all the boxes for what constitutes a great point and click adventure game. Solid characters, a good story, good puzzles that are balanced, and an impressive presentation thanks to well-drawn art/animations and a good aural package. »
« Unforeseen Incidents occasionally stumbles in its accessibility through bugs or difficulty, but its story, humor, and art make it a great time piecing together clues in the world that Backwoods Entertainment has created. It might not have reinvented the genre, but given the opportunity, I’d grab a beer with Harper in this game or—we can hope—the next. »
« Unforeseen Incidents does not stand out because of the originality of its plot, but its narrative is compelling. Players will connect with its characters and atmosphere while solving some clever puzzles. »
« Unforeseen Incidents proudly displays the “I Want To Believe” poster on its wall and boasts virtually irresistible artistic design. The puzzles are rock solid and will please the hardcore, challenge-starved adventure gamers of yore. The story sticks a bit too close to tried-and-tested conspiracy theory clichés and is the one element that keeps the game from attaining ‘modern classic’ status. »
« Enjoyable point & click adventure with a touch of mystery, a very unique visual design and entertaining, yet sometimes incoherent puzzles. »
« Unforeseen Incidents presents a delightfully captivating conspiracy with wonderful characters and perfect pacing. Its puzzles succeed because they are rational and connected with the story. The icing on the cake is the pleasant and striking visual style. »
« With a great voice cast, distinctive visual style, and intricate puzzle design, Unforeseen Incidents delivers a solid if well-worn story of a nobody from nowhere saving the world. »
« Unforeseen Incidents is a complete breath of fresh air in what is fast becoming an over-crowded genre once more, standing head and shoulders above many other point-and-click adventures available. With its perfect mix of macabre and comical scripting, as well as the highly engaging puzzles and entertaining fetch quests it throws the player's way, the hours really do fly by despite this being one of the longer journeys on the market right now. »
Avis des Joueurs (Metacritic)
« [SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.] »
« I enjoyed the game a lot. One of the best adventure games of the year, I would definitely recommend it. »
« The best 2D point-and-click I have played in a very long time. - Gorgeous hand-drawn textures which give the game a very distinctive style. Visually compelling cinematics. None of the levels feel empty, you can tell the developers put a lot of efforts into the visual aspect of the game. - An interesting plot (it's a mystery game) with puzzles quite hard to solve. You won't beat this game in a couple hours. Not too challenging but challenging enough. - The game offers a likable and charming cast. - The dialogues are completely unrealistic but hilarious. The main character fires off smart-ass and witty comments almost non-stop. Some players may feel like it's too much but there is a real discordance between the rather bleak atmosphere of the game and the protagonist's comments and carefree behavior. I think it makes the main character even more likable and definitely memorable. - Excellent voice acting, which was the only way for the peculiar dialogues mentioned above to work properly. - The soundtrack blends well with the general mood of the game. - In conclusion: I highly recommend this game to anyone willing to play point-and-clicks. I would welcome the opportunity to spend more time with Harper Pendrell, the main character. »
« One of the most thrilling games I played in years. Loved it. Not only because of the challenging puzzles the price/fun ratio is incredible! »
« It's a pretty good game... but could have been much more, story-wise. The plot twist at the end was super obvious since the beginning. A certain chracter motivation is... kinda weak. Nice puzzles, some are quite original (and confusing - I had to use a walkthrough for that damn "blue wharehouse" puzzle). I have a love/hate relationship with the art style. Hated it at first glance, I grew to really, really like it. It's original and pleasant. Animations are SO BAD though, and I hate that cheap flash-game vibe they have. The voiceover is quite good, these are some good actors. Oh, I also hate the interface, especially when selecting the multi-tool items. A very good P&C adventure. »
« Love this game, saw it at EGX London, I spoke with the designers, really nice people. Love the art style and the game play, fun for anyone who loves adventure games. »
« The graphics in this game are stunning. Something completely different than you are used to. The figures and landscapes are hand drawn with love and great style. The story is gripping, the puzzles are sometimes challenging but never unfair or absurd. Despite the actually serious topic, the game is just full of humor. The soundtrack also is very good. A clear purchase recommendation. »
« Unforeseen Incidents is maybe the most beautiful point & click adventure I ever played. The art is gorgeous. The voice overs, storytelling, music and puzzles are excellent. I really enjoyed my time in Yelltown, Greystone and Port nicola. If you like story games you will like this one! »
