Before everyone goes Euro-crazy, here are some impressions for Broken Age:
The story: You play two characters, alternately by your choice, in Broken Age. Shay is a teenage boy who is coddled and kept safe in a routine, being fed cereal and nutrient paste from what's basically a high chair, and going through "missions" like eating ice cream and being hugged by talking toys made of yarn. He soon feels like a prisoner and yearns for something more. Vella is a teenage girl who's being prepared as a sacrifice to a being called Mog Chothra, who "chooses" young maidens (you know, by eating them,) but Vella wants to fight back and kill the beast rather than appease it. Both Shay and Vella want to break out of society's role for them, and Act 1 really makes it seem like a nice coming-of-age story, but Act 2 takes a much creepier turn. I can see why a lot of people liked Act 1 and disliked Act 2, but overall it's well-told. The ending could have been fleshed out just a wee bit more - I assume Double Fine was banking on a sequel - but it was fine for what it was.
It even contains some good twists and turns, playing on the player's perceptions of what's going on. The characters often express the same ideas you're meant to think, only for them to be revealed as red herrings.
The graphics: Splendid. The characters look memorable and in some cases adorable - I really liked the design of Vella's younger sister, mostly cute with a hint of mischief, as well as the gruff, cynical, badass grandfather - and the environments are worthy of any adventure game. They don't do anything grandiose like some of Daedalic's later features such as the Whispered World or the Night of the Rabbit, but it's still great to look at.
The dialogue and voices: Plenty of celeb cameos in here, including Jack Black, Wil Wheaton and Elijah Wood(!) bring this game to life. And there are also your reliable voice actors such as Jennifer Hale and Jamieson Price (and I'm hip deep in Baader-Meinhoff about him, having heard him in Bravely Second and Disgaea) to round everything out. It's a feast for the ears. They don't skimp on the dialogue either, with lots of unique dialogues for unusual inventory interactions. It's easily the best part of the game.
The puzzles: Yeah, we'd have to get there eventually, huh? Most of the puzzles are good, and some are classic "bullshit adventure logic" puzzles. There's some fourth-wall breakage as Shay and Vella have to draw upon knowledge the other received (or is it handwaved as a psychic link? Who knows?) and some typical "just use everything in your inventory until something works" trial-and-error nonsense. But if you're an old hand at adventure games, this shouldn't come as a shock to you. It doesn't detract from the rest of the game.
The length: The game says I took about 9 hours to finish, Steam says 11. I did a lot of pausing... be all that as it may, it's a decent length for an adventure game, and doesn't overstay its welcome.
The verdict: A singularly fine offering from Double Fine. Is it as good as Grim Fandango? No. Would I have been pleased with it had I backed it? Mmm...probably. Should you play it? Yes.
