The Journey Down Trilogy Review

Wow. A point and click game! In my childhood I absolutely ADORED them. The Secret of Monkey Island (obviously) being a favourite of mine as well as the incredible Indiana Jones and The Fate of Atlantis. And here we are, 2019, with another to explore on our shiny handheld Switch. These, of course, were all down to brilliant writing and interesting characters… So, does The Journey Down offer the same?

The game is set in a rather interestingly dark world. The player controls a rather odd-looking humanoid, named Bwana, who is currently working on his charter with his equally-odd looking friend Kito. As to be expected with point and click style gameplay, the start, in particular, is rather numbingly slow. But hey, I felt that with Shenmue and it quickly grew on me to become one of my all time favourite games…

Eventually, the story begins with a strange lady appearing stating she’s searching for the journal of Journey Down, a book that can access the Underland. Your adventure then begins, but not without cleverly weaving storylines together, including Bwana searching for his father.

As the game progresses, all manner of events are thrown your way such as being arrested, braking out of jails and discovering disturbing connections you have with the Underland. Yes, the plot certainly does continue to thicken.

The game has a huge amount of personality, all accompanied with satisfactory voice acting and some well-placed humour. Being a trilogy, I strongly advise you start with chapter one, as the story directly continues from one chapter to the other- expecting the player to have kept up with all of the events in the story thus far. It really is quite a good story, and at the end of the day, if you’re after a well-written story as a gamer, then this will not disappoint.

The visuals are satisfying for this type of game, with it looking great on your TV and just as acceptable in handheld mode. Being a game that ideally works best using a mouse, the game actually functions pretty well using the joycon. Also, due to the slow-paced nature of the genre, there really is no love lost in that department.

The Journey Down Trilogy really is a beautiful game. Considering it originated from a low-res freeware game it really has come a long way to be released in such a great full package on Switch; all with updated visuals and audio. In my opinion, the main area you need to consider if this type of game is your cup of tea. It is THE point and click game for Switch as of writing, and it’s a good’un. So, if you like to take your time, explore, test and absorb the characters in a well-written story, then I wholeheartedly recommend this title. Also, I’d recommend it if you’re keen to try your first ever point and click game… But, if you’re the impatient sort, and prefer a bit more pace to your games, then this is most definitely not for you- especially for the asking price for the entire trilogy.

I, for one, enjoyed being swallowed up in such an interesting world full of mysterious and incredibly quirky characters (great cut scenes and a satisfying ending sealed the deal). And for that reason, I’m awarding The Down Under Trilogy a 7. 

REVIEW CODE: A FREE Nintendo Switch code was provided to Brash Games for this review. Please send all review code enquiries to editor@brashgames.co.uk.

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