Here today, gone yesterday?
Yesterday Origins is yet another point-and-click adventure …There seems to be a mass of them on consoles lately for some reason, but can it compete with the rest out there?
The game puts you in the roles of John Yesterday and his partner Pauline, who are both immortal and own an antique shop in Paris. The story unfolds through flashbacks to past time periods, the first where John is arrested by the Spanish Inquisition for witchcraft and has already gained attention from the Church for being able to speak and understand every known language. The story itself is gripping, but also has moments of humour too.
In terms of a point-and-click adventure, Yesterday Origins doesn’t reinvent the wheel…but it does the fundamentals right. It has clever puzzles that will make you think, while the characters and intriguing and the voice-acting is actually decent…something that isn’t all common with point-and-click titles.
Of course, it boils down to personal preference at this point. It’s hard for one point-and-click game to stand out from the crowd, especially considering the flux of them on consoles over the past few months. Each offers something different and unique, while the gameplay style remains very familiar throughout them. Can Yesterday Origins make it’s own unique impact? Well, hypothetically yes…but I do think it’s unfortunate timing for it’s release, if it were released early next year it might have had had more of an impact over the holiday dry spell.
Visually, the game looks impressive and while it doesn’t push the Xbox One as far as I’d like it to, it does have a nice art style and the animation is pretty good too. The music is also well done and matches the atmosphere brilliantly.
The Verdict`
Yesterday Origins may have bad timing as a release due to so many point-and-click console games right now, but it’s well worth giving a chance. It has a great story, intriguing characters and clever puzzles. If you’re looking for one that’s a bit different to the rest, then give this a go.