Can you help Edna escape?
Time to go crazy! When Edna wakes up, she has no memories of her past, or why she finds herself in the padded cell of a sanatorium. Though she hasn’t the slightest idea how she ended up in a cell, one thing is certain: She wants to get out of there. After all, she feels positively sane – and her talking plush bunny Harvey absolutely agrees. Together they try to make their escape and meet the weirdest inmates – from a man in a bee costume to the pseudo-siamese twins Hoti and Moti. But Dr. Marcel, the head of the sanatorium, does everything in his power to stop Edna from leaving. What is his endgame? And why has her memory been wiped? Bit by bit, Edna remembers the time before the sanatorium…
I’m a big fan of classic point-and-click games like Monkey Island, Sam and Max and so on, so I was intrigued that I have never actually heard of Edna and Harvey before, so this Anniversary Edition was my chance to see what it was all about. The story is as crazy as it sounds as you try and escape the sanatorium, but what’s even crazier is the methods you’ll do to accomplish it.
I have to confess that I had to get a second pair of eyes to help with some of the puzzles as I just wasn’t seeing the solution, which involved cutting Edna’s toenails and using it to unscrew the grate in your cell. Truly baffling, but still a good example of why point-and-click games are both great and incredibly frustrating due to the obscure ways of pushing forward.
It can become quite overwhelming when you come to the cafeteria and there are so many doors and people to interact with, all of which are crazy in one way or another. Trying to figure out how to proceed is just as confusing as ever, but it’s worth it if you can as the dialogue is priceless. Logic doesn’t really enter when trying to solve the puzzles, some can be something random like combining two seemingly worthless items to please someone enough to give you a different item, which usually ends up raising more questions than answers.
As much fun as I’ve had with the game, it would have been so much better if they added in some sort of hints system as there really is no help other than looking up the solution online, which is great now but it does take the fun out of it for me and I’ll only use it as a last resort. Luckily, you can save whenever you want, plus it autosaves often. Fans of the original will be happy to know they can switch back to the original version from the main menu too.
The game has a cartoon art style that works well within the nature of the sanatorium. The characters are well varied and all parts crazy, while the voice-acting is well done, and the soundtrack isn’t too bad.
The Verdict
Edna and Harvey: The Breakout – 10th Anniversary Edition is a great point-and-click game that is only really held back by the lack of a hints system, but that’s only because the puzzles have very obscure solutions that aren’t always obvious. The script is well done and the game is a decent length for a point-and-click adventure, so it’s definitely highly recommended from me.