Armikrog is a stop motion point and click adventure game by Doug TenNapel in conjunction with Pencil Test Studios. This partnership was behind the classic Earthworm Jim franchise, which is quite evident in the art style. Armikrog was funded through KickStarter and is a sequel to The Neverhood a point and click adventure game released in 1996.

You play as a humanoid alien called Tommynaut (Tommy) who is one of three astronauts sent to find the fuel p-tonium. This fuel is required save his people on planet Ixen from certain death. Tommy and his faithful canine companion Beak-Beak crash land on the planet of Spiro 5, a dangerous world believed to contain a source of valuable p-tonium. The dynamic duo is almost eaten by a monstrous creature only to escape and be trapped in a strange building with no obvious way of escape.

Tommy and Beak-Beak’s motivation quickly changes when they stumble across a baby called P and get sucked into a dangerous game of cat and mouse with Vognaut, a brother astronaut who was lost and presumed dead.

It then falls to Tommy to save P from Vognaut and return her to her parents, wherever they may be. Aside from the opening sequence, the story is told to you by giant squid like aliens scattered throughout the game. These creatures speak in an unknown alien language which adds a sense of mystery and intrigue to the story as you are not entirely sure what happened to P or her family. It is not until you turn on the translator at the end of the game that the full story becomes apparent as the squid things repeat their parts but in English this time.

Armikrog is a solid, but somewhat easy puzzle game.

The surrounding environments and set pieces hold the keys to progression and an observant gamer would find no trouble in breezing through the challenges. One downside is that the same puzzles, and by extension solutions, are repeated throughout the game, as such the difficulty decreases as you progress. It is also quite a short game.

I was able to complete it in about 3 hours, including getting stuck on one puzzle for about an hour.

Each room features objects which Tommy interacts with to open another room or obtain an object. However, some objects and areas can only be used or accessed by Beak-Beak. When Beak-Beak accesses a new area the world becomes black and white and pulsates with strange energies that only Beak-Beak can perceive. This is an intriguing and delightful design choice as it provides a contrast to the standard look and feel of the game.

The music is one of the highlights of the game. The music ebbs and flows, with rich and wonderful tones. Even after a short session of play, I found myself humming these little earworms for hours afterwards.

The wonderful music is complimented by great voice acting which really helps to immerse you in the game. The dialogue is a bit stilted with writing that is solid but somewhat generic. However, the voice actors are somehow able to bring the plot to life and get you hooked on the story.

As a big fan of stop motion and clay animation, I absolutely loved the art style of the game. It is a wonderful blend of clay set pieces and part clay animation, part CGI. The art style is very reminiscent of Earthworm Jim, which is not a surprise as they are made by the same people.

This art style is quite welcome as it adds a sense of familiarity to the game and helps to engross you in the story, not to mention looking fantastic. The cut scenes are the best part of the game, as the art style and animation combine to produce wonderful little nuggets of entertainment. I had a little thrill of excitement every time there was a cut scene and a little disappointed every time they ended.

The colour pallet is full of rich earthy colours, which really bring the world to life. Lots of shades of brown scatter the set pieces enhancing the perception of a foreign hostile environment. The use of varying shades of brown also serves to enhance other colours, drawing the eye to objects not necessarily readily apparent and conveying a real sense of importance on otherwise mundane objects.

Armikrog is just like every other puzzle game, in the sense that it is not as fun the second time around as you already know the solutions to the puzzles. However, I still found myself constantly replaying the game if only to watch the cut scenes, or listen to that wonderful music again.

I found the second, third and even fourth play though to be just as enjoyable as the first as I was finding extra information and nuances in the story with every additional play through.

Now released on console, the funky styled claymation game has retained it’s point and click and we see on PC (and with it’s predecessor; The Neverhood). Armikrog is not a challenging game and neither is it long, however, these downsides are made up for in the art style, and music. It is definitely worth a play if only to listen to the music.

It is a good point and click game for both fans and non-fans of the genre and fans of The Neverhood, Skullmonkeys (PS One) and Earthworm Jim alike, but this title also has something for everyone and does not discourage new players with insane difficulty spikes, definitely worth a play.

The post Armikrog (PC / PS4) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Independent game developer Pencil Test Studios in partnership with indie publisher Versus Evil have released Armikrog, the spiritual successor to the cult classic The Neverhood. Armikrog for PC.

Armikrog has been created using classic stop motion animation sculpting, set building and clay and puppet fabrication techniques. Follow the adventures of space explorer Tommynaut and his pal Beak-Beak (a blind talking dog) as they crash land on an alien planet, and help them escape from the mysterious fortress called Armikrog.

Guide the pair through a variety of precarious situations in gorgeously hand crafted environments packed with puzzles and a slew of odd inhabitants.  Voiceover talent includes well-known actors Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite), Rob Paulsen (Pinky and the Brain) and Michael J. Nelson (Mystery Science Theater 3000).

“We’re proud, exhausted, elated, and humbled to finally launch Armikrog,” said Pencil Test Studios co-founder Mike Dietz. “Without the help of Doug TenNapel who created the original  concept and main characters, Terry S Taylor who produced the ethereal and fun soundtrack, our strong and loyal Kickstarter community and a host of experienced artists and talented volunteers, we would not have managed to bring our collective vision to life.  This is a true form of playable art.  We can’t thank everyone enough.”

“We were incredibly excited when we partnered with the Pencil Test team to help them bring this game to market, and seeing the end product come to life has been very fulfilling” said Versus Evil General Manager Steve Escalante. “Armikrog is truly a handcrafted, one-of-a-kind video game that will appeal to gamers of all ages.”

There is also a Deluxe version of the game which comes with the soundtrack from Terry S Taylor who has added his lyrical genius to The Neverhood and Skullmonkeys.

The post From The Neverhood to Armikrog! appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Independent developer Pencil Test Studios in partnership with indie publishing powerhouse Versus Evil, have announced the final release date and pre-order bonus for Armikrog, the spiritual successor to the classic clay animated point-and-click adventure game The Neverhood.

The game, which will be available for PC, Mac and Linux at launch, will be released on August 18th, 2015 and fans who pre-order the game will get a 10% discount.

While their will be a Standard Edition, the team also announced the availability of a Deluxe Edition for die-hard fans, which includes the main game as well as the full game soundtrack by American songwriter and music producer Terry Scott Taylor.

“There simply is no other game on the market like Armikrog” said Steve Escalante, Versus Evil’s GM, “After a successful Kickstarter, the Pencil Test team have created a hand sculpted, stop motion game fans young and old will enjoy.  Every hand-crafted detail of Armikrog is beautiful, funny, and rich. It is a true compliment to what indie development teams can accomplish when they have a strong vision.”

Armikrog is a humorous, off-kilter adventure game starring space explorer Tommynaut (played by Michael J. Nelson of Mystery Science Theater 3000) and his faithful alien dog companion Beak-Beak (played by legendary voice actor Rob Paulsen), both designed by Earthworm Jim creator Doug TenNapel. Armikrog follows the exploits of this unusual duo as they find their galactic travels cut short by imprisonment in a mysterious fortress and attempt to make their escape.

The game is being created using classic sculpting, set building and clay and puppet fabrication methods combined with stop-motion animation. Armikrog’s characters come to life with tongue-in-cheek humor enhanced by an original soundtrack from songwriter and record producer Terry Scott Taylor.

To celebrate the announcement a new gameplay trailer (above) entitled “Beak-Beak’s Blog” (narrated by Rob Paulsen) has also been released and shows some of the exploits the pair get up to after they crash land on the alien planet.

The post Remember the Neverhood? Introducing Armikrog… appeared first on Shane the Gamer.