Let’s be honest, it’s been a while since point ‘n click games have been real crowdpleasers. To the point where they are a bit of an oddity in the 2023 landscape. Long gone are the legendary days of the LucasArts smash hits like Full Throttle, Day of the Tentacle and Grim Fandango. But this is something that Italian studios Elf Games and Luna2 Studios are looking to recapture with their latest game, Children of Silentown.
Titular Children
You play as Lucy – a young girl that lives in a small sleepy backwaters village that is surrounded by a forest, where not much happens day to day. Well that is until night falls and every night, the echoing roars of the beasts of the forest keeps the locals awake.
This means the locals are all but trapped within the village where they live, by two simple rule. 1. Don’t make too much noise and 2. Don’t go out after dark. But Lucy is a youngster that wants to live her life and enjoys singing and the like.
Until one day after a few people disappear, she decides to find out what is really going on, which sets in motion the tale and the mystery of this quiet village, that is keeping maybe one too many secrets.
It’s a strong start to a tale that never really truly grabs you, that’s not to say there are not moments as it peels back its mysteries layer by layer. It will keep you engaged till the end, though don’t expect to be blown away overall.
Point. Click. Move.
Gameplay-wise, Children of Silentown is mostly run-of-the-mill point & click fare. You explore set areas looking for clues and objects to help you solve a number of different puzzles to move things forward.
The first half of the game sees you wandering the village, which is made up of around half a dozen different screens, so it can get a little repetitive feeling at times as you backtrack around, before really opening up in the second half.
When not testing your grey matter, you spend most of your time talking to the locals. This not only adds layers to the tale and helps build the world, as each has person has their own characteristics but also will help a little with the puzzle side of things.
Puzzles are often linked to Lucy’s love of singing as you unlock a number of songs that will let you do different things; like reading people’s memories and thoughts, but you’ll often have to stitch these broken memories together to see the real truth in more ways than one. These songs bring in a sort of mini-game element to the game, as most require you to complete a simple task before getting to use it.
Though, to its credit, the puzzles you’ll face never get to Tales of Monkey Island level of obscurity. Something that is a real blessing as it means they are more often than not actually enjoyable to solve. I will give you a moment to remember the goat puzzle of Broken Sword.
Handmade Handsome
Visually, the game is extremely unique as it has a hand-drawn art style that has vibes of Tim Burton movies like Coraline and Corpse Bride. Think twisted fairy-tale and you’ll have an idea – it’s equal parts charming and childlike, but also chilling at the same time.
Oddly, for a point and click game there is no hint system. This isn’t a killer but is a bit odd given that younger gamers may be stumped by a few of the puzzles. A helping hand would have been a nice touch even if the game overall is a little too easy for hardened point ‘n click fans.
Children of Silentown is best summed up as “nice”. It’s a charming title that has a unique style which moves at its own beat. Children of Silentown may be a little too overly simplistic at times but you can’t fault the striking minimalist art style.
If you’re looking for an enjoyable point ‘n click title, it more than ticks that box. Of if you are looking to introduce a youngster to the genre, Children of Silentown is that game. In a lot of ways it’s the perfect Sunday afternoon title.