The Perfect Blend of Storytelling and Gameplay in Adventure Games – The Gloom City File

When life took an unwelcome turn, and everything seemed bland, you received a chilling invitation that rattled your bones. Your past lurks around the corner and urges you to act. Three people have been kidnapped, and the clock is ticking for them to be murdered. It is up to you and the other three suspended police officers to fight against time investigating a creepy abandoned asylum. You need to figure out who is pulling the strings of this deadly mind game. This thriller adventure provides multiple paths to follow. It is up to you to make the right choices to save lives and solve the mystery. Explore locations, combine items, find clues, and talk to people in Adventure Games: The Gloom City File, a game that will keep you on edge from start to finish!

Adventure Games are published by Kosmos, the publisher behind the popular escape room EXIT: The Game series. In contrast to EXIT, Adventure Games provide a narrative storytelling experience, and they are paced and split into three chapters of 90 minutes each. The story is not linear, and you can experience diverse paths as you play. No components get destroyed, so the game can be played again to explore a different storyline and alternative endings.

Adventure Games: The Gloom City File is recommended for 1-4 players and is best played with two. It is suitable for ages 16 and above.

A Gameplay of Non-Linear Paths and Exploration

Adventure Games – The Gloom City File is a cooperative board game that offers a unique gaming experience. It combines elements from adventure books, game books, and escape room board games to deliver a captivating narrative game that provides an immersive experience for players. It provides an adventure where you progress in a story split into chapters to solve a mystery. It plays much like Arkham Horror but is casual and without the extra unnecessary complexity of deck-building mystery games. This game has straightforward mechanics and a strong focus on the story you reveal.

Rather than adventure or game books, this game reminds me of point-and-click adventure video games like classics such as Day of the Tentacle, Monkey Island, Full Throttle, or the more recent Telltale Games series. The game offers a mysterious story split into chapters that players must solve by progressing through non-linear paths.

Players take turns revealing or moving to a location, taking one action each turn. Players can explore a location, combine an object and a location, or combine two objects. There is no luck or randomness in the game. Players have complete agency and are responsible for their actions and consequences! Players interact, discussing their possible actions and solving puzzles and riddles as a team. As the story develops, it draws you in and becomes increasingly intriguing and captivating; players' decisions significantly impact the game's outcome. The game offers multiple endings, adding replayability to gameplay.

A Narrative Experience That Immerses You in a Rich Story

Adventure Games – The Gloom City File is a narrative game that focuses on storytelling, and the game's companion app provides narration that guides players through the story. The app also offers a comprehensive tutorial, a better alternative to the rulebook. The game's excellent pacing introduces more complex concepts and rules as it progresses, making learning easy as players move forward. Fictional and narrative involvement is indeed top-notch. Board games rarely immerse players in a rich story to this extent. The game's artwork fits perfectly with the game's theme and is visually pleasing, creating a setting that immerses players in the game's story. Adventure Games – The Gloom City File requires a spacious table as location cards slowly spread across the surface, creating the game's environment.

To share a glimpse of The Gloom City without revealing spoilers, the narrative tells the story of four suspended cops who share a common grievance; they have all lost someone close to them in an unsolved homicide. Unexpectedly, they all receive a chilling invitation to an abandoned asylum. The invitation contains a picture of their loved ones after death and a picture of a living person who has been kidnapped. When you all arrive at the creepy asylum, you discover that a mysterious character is playing a deadly game with you all. The clock is ticking until all those held captive get murdered. You will have to wander and explore the asylum and the "gloom city" in this murder investigation thriller, seeking clues and solving riddles to reveal and solve the many mysteries that lurk beneath this intriguing plot. What will you discover? And how far are you willing to go to learn more about your own past and save the lives of strangers? Don't take for granted that everything will work out as you expect. With twists and turns The Gloom City will lead you through multiple paths and different endings.

The game delivers a superb gaming experience. The low complexity makes it accessible to players of all skill levels. While chapters last around 90 minutes, time flies by, and you'll be surprised when you reach checkpoints. Players can discuss and help each other make decisions about how to move forward. Setup and teardown can take time. Still, it is not hard to "save your game" to continue later. I would rather play through the whole adventure in one go, though. The game's minimal downtime ensures its pace remains engaging and offers hints if players find themselves stuck. The single-player mode excels and delivers a challenging yet rewarding experience!

Final Thoughts

In summary, Adventure Games – The Gloom City File is a cooperative board game that offers a unique gaming experience. It combines elements from adventure books, game books, and escape room board games to deliver an immersive experience that focuses on storytelling. The game's simple mechanics, excellent pacing, and low complexity make it accessible to players of all skill levels. The game offers replayability with multiple endings, making it a must-have for board game enthusiasts who love an engaging story.

Pros:

• It provides a thrilling and immersive storytelling experience.
• It offers multiple paths to follow and allows players to make their own choices.
• It has straightforward mechanics with a strong focus on the story.

Cons:

• Setup and teardown during multiple sessions can take time and be cumbersome.
• Low complexity may not appeal to players who prefer games with more depth or strategic elements.
• The game may not suit players who prefer competitive strategy games over narrative-based ones.

Note: This article is provided by Roll & Mind.