Quote Originally Posted by Vyk View Post
Grim Fandango and The Longest Journey both arrived late onto the scene right before the genre died at the end of the 90s, and both regarded as some of the pinnacles of the genre. I've owned both, but never really played through them.
I second The Longest Journey; the game is amazing. It does, however, unfortunately live up to its name and is EXTREMELY long, at least for me the first time I played it, so be aware that it will take a bit of (completely worthwhile) investment to finish. It also has a sequel that's fairly good from a story perspective, though it made some . . . shaky design/control choices that leave it less recommended than its predecessor. It also ends on one of the most painful cliffhangers in the genre, though that's finally been addressed with the release of the first part of the third game earlier this year.

The Grim Fandango and the other Lucas Arts titles mentioned so far (Monkey Island, Maniac Mansion, ect) are also very good entries in the genre, as their competition was Sierra during the early 90s pushed LA to release quality game after quality game, and it's rather hard to go wrong with anything they put out during the first half of that decade. That said, if I were to recommend a single title of theirs, it would be Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. Is my personal favorite title the company has ever released, effectively being a forgotten fourth film in the franchise where Jones is off to discover Atlantis before the Nazis do. Additionally, the game can be played in different ways, such as a more combat heavy (which I remember NOT being an ideal way to go) or puzzle heavy route, which adds some replayability to the game, and you can get a version of the game with voiced dialogue (which was a big deal back then. ), which I'm pretty certain is the version on Steam for 6 USD. About the only downside to the game is how clunky it can feel now, you know, after almost twenty years of computer gaming progress, but it's not that bad to deal with.

Moving away from Lucas Arts, I also wholly back Bubba's mention of Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars; it's been my favorite point-and-click since I got it on my PS1, of all places, and clicked on the first lamp post I saw. The game looks amazing, has a great sense of humor and enjoyable puzzles, and leads you on an interesting story that takes place across Europe as you try to piece together what's behind a 'costume killer' and stumble into something quite more than expected. Additionally, there is an enhanced director's cut that was released a few years ago that adds additional sections for Nico, which flesh out the game a bit and make it even more appealing, which is also the version on Steam, as are the sequels: The Smoking Mirror (also quite good), The Sleeping Dragon (Not so recommended), The Angel of Death (Didn't play), and The Serpent's Curse(all of my yes for this title). Oh, and the Director's Cut of the first game was released on the DS, for portable point-and-click goodness. (That said, don't get the GBA port of the original. It is not good peoples.)

Um, beyond that, there were also two Discworld point and clicks on the PS1 that I thoroughly enjoyed, though I don't know where you'd pick them up for the PC legitly now. I don't have much to say about them, as its been ages since I played either, but both games star an Eric Idle voiced Rincewind and contain much of the same humor that make the books great, the first game focusing on a slaying a dragon and the second on Death taking an unfortunate vacation. Probably worth looking into if you are in the mood for some humor with your side of puzzle solving.

Regarding Sierra, the other big adventure game company from the early 90s, their titles are rather notorious for liberal use of character death and, in earlier titles, unwinnable situations, most infamously the bridge in KQ 2 and the Dwarves in the original, so I don't often recommend their games to people. They aren't bad by any stretch of the imagination, mind you, but can be frustrating and I generally find take a bit more thinking and consideration (see also: saving) than most people are interested in. Out of them, I really like King's Quest 3 and 6, the first two Police Quest games, and the original Laura Bow game the most, the latter of which is likely the one I'd recommend despite how unconventional it is. The game requires multiple playthroughs to fully complete, but each time you do you'll figure out where to be at what time to better unravel all of what is going on in the mansion. It's a story that unfolds more with player action than passive inaction like most games, and the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. Unfortunately, however, finding some of the events is still beyond stupid, as I seem to remember one room you had to walk into and fairly quickly leave, but it is an overall interesting experience all the same. If you are up for challenging point-and-clicks, go Sierra.

Another one that comes to mind is the original Clock Tower on the SNES, which has been getting a LOT of attention in the past few years. You can check out the 16-bit gems review of the game for a pretty good look at it, but, simply put, you play as an unarmed girl trying to find her friends and escape a mansion before a maniac with scissors runs you down. The game relies on an evasion mechanic rather than combat and, much like the original Laura Bow game, you can either quickly run through the game, bravely stealing a car and leaving your friends to die, or you can piece together the backstory of what's going on as you work your way into the heart of the mansion. As nice as all of this is, however, the real selling point of this game is, to me, the atmosphere the first time you play it, so if you decide to do so, play alone and in the dark without a guide.

There are some other's I'd really love to recommend, like Deponia, but I haven't gotten to finish most of them yet, so I can't offer any commentary or recommendations for them. Maybe after I finish what I'm playing now.