Yesterday, we published an article about the upcoming games releasing in August that we just can’t wait to sink our teeth into. But that was before we realised that this was, in fact, a long weekend, and that changed everything.
There are no long weekend plans better than taking some time to sit back and lose yourself in some games, and if you ask me, no games are better for this than some good ‘old-fashioned point-and-click titles.
So, if you’re like me and can think of nothing better than pointing and clicking your way through 72 hours of uninterrupted gaming heaven, here are 15 point-and-click games you need to try.
Broken Age
Platforms: Nintendo Switch; PlayStation 4; PC; Mac; Xbox One; Android; iOS
Price: R105
Broken Age is a family-friendly, hand-animated adventure game brimming with puzzles, featuring an all-star cast including Elijah Wood, Jack Black, and Masasa Moyo.
Created by industry legend Tim Schafer and backed by a record-breaking crowdfunding campaign, this game delivers a timeless coming-of-age story.
Adventures of Bertram Fiddle
Platforms: Nintendo Switch; Xbox One; PC; Mac; Android; iOS
Price: R52
This classic point-and-click adventure game boasts quirky and delightful characters, stunning animation, and a fantastic soundtrack.
The Darkside Detective
Platforms: PC; Mac; Nintendo Switch; PlayStation 4/5; Xbox One’ Xbox Series X/S
Price: R145
Put on your trench coat, sharpen your instincts, and join the Darkside Division as they delve into Twin Lakes’ bizarre, dangerous, and perplexing cases.
From flesh-hungry tentacles and mafia zombies to the occasional missing sock, nothing can outsmart The Darkside Detective.
Truberbrook
Platforms: PC; Nintendo Switch; PlayStation 4; Xbox One; Mac; Android; iOS
Price: R270
Trüberbrook is a thrilling mystery-sci-fi adventure game that invites players on an immersive vacation to a 1960s parallel universe. Dive into this handmade scenic adventure and explore a captivating world.
Unforeseen Incidents
Platforms: PC; Mac; Nintendo Switch
Price: R185
Unforeseen Incidents is a classic-style interactive mystery set in a stunning hand-painted world. When small-town handyman Harper Pendrell encounters a dying woman in the street, he inadvertently becomes entangled in a sinister conspiracy – a puzzle only he can solve.
An unknown disease is sweeping the nation, and a scientist, a reporter, and a reclusive artist each hold the key to halting it. As Harper embarks on a perilous journey, he edges closer to a dangerous cabal and finds himself fighting for the future of humanity with only his trusty multi-tool as his weapon.
Thimbleweed Park
Platforms: PC; Mac; Xbox One; PlayStation 4; Nintendo Switch; Android; iOS
Price: R219
In Thimbleweed Park, a dead body is just the beginning of your troubles. Switch between five playable characters to unravel the bizarre mysteries of this strange town in a modern mystery adventure from the creators of Monkey Island and Maniac Mansion. The deeper you delve, the stranger things become.
Kathy Rain
Platforms: PC; Nintendo Switch; Mac; iOS; Android
Price: R100
Set in the ’90s, Kathy Rain follows a determined journalism major confronting her own troubled past while investigating the mysterious death of her recently deceased grandfather.
Armed with her motorcycle, a pack of cigarettes, and a notepad, Kathy embarks on a journey through her hometown’s eerie secrets, leading her into a web of emotional and personal challenges.
Cleo – A Pirate’s Tale
Platforms: PC; Mac; Nintendo Switch
Price: R105
Cleo, a 14-year-old cynic, leads a monotonous life with her father in a bar, surrounded by dull fishermen and failed pirates. While she’s well-versed in the epic tales of pirate legend Captain Cabeca, her own life is far from thrilling.
However, everything changes when Cleo discovers a mysterious pirate logbook and encounters a ghost who provides her with an enigmatic clue. Suddenly, her mundane existence is upended as she is thrust into a perilous adventure.
The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow
Platforms: Nintendo Switch; Mac; PC
Price: R105
Antiquarian Thomasina Bateman is working on a book about England’s barrows, documenting the treasures she unearths. When a compelling letter invites her to the secluded village of Bewlay, she sets off by train, with her assistant scheduled to follow the next day.
Upon arrival, Thomasina discovers that the enigmatic man who sent the letter is missing, her assistant has not arrived, and a stubborn landowner denies her access to the barrow. The locals are also suspicious of her, especially since she’s a woman travelling alone and wearing trousers.
Paradigm
Platforms: PC; Mac
Price: R159
Paradigm is a surreal adventure game set in the bizarre, post-apocalyptic Eastern European country of Krusz.
You play as Paradigm, a dashing mutant whose past resurfaces in the form of a genetically engineered sloth that spews candy.
Norco
Platforms: PC; Mac; PlayStation 4; PlayStation 5; Xbox One; Xbox Series X/S
Price: R145
Norco is a Southern Gothic narrative adventure that plunges players into the sinking suburbs and lush industrial swamps of a twisted South Louisiana.
After the death of your mother, your brother Blake goes missing. To find him, you must track a fugitive security android through the refineries, strip malls, and drainage ditches of suburban New Orleans.
Voodoo Detective
Platforms: Nintendo Switch; Android; PC; Mac; iOS
Price: R105
Set in New Ginen – a small island town rich in Voodoo culture yet overwhelmed by chain stores and plagued by entitled tourists – where local color and colonial corruption clash in a fierce struggle for survival.
Amidst this intriguing setting, a mysterious woman with no past becomes the focal point of a drama so intense that reality itself seems on the brink of unraveling.
The Blind Prophet
Platforms: Nintendo Switch; PlayStation 4; Xbox One; Mac; PC
Price: R130
The Blind Prophet is a point-and-click adventure in which you play the role of the apostle Bartholomeus, who is tasked with a divine mission: to free the corrupted city of Rotbork and confront the Great Evil that hides within.
Despite his experience in carrying out his duties, this mission promises to be more challenging than ever before.
Dropsy
Platforms: PC; Mac
Price: R100
After a devastating circus fire destroys his world and tarnishes his reputation, Dropsy the Clown embarks on a journey of self-discovery in a story rich with themes of love and undeserved kindness. With his father critically ill and society turning against him, Dropsy must assist those in need, embrace strangers, and uncover dark secrets on his winding path to redemption. And, by the way, Dropsy can talk to animals.
VirtuaVerse
Platforms: Nintendo Switch; PlayStation 4; Xbox One; Mac; PC
Price: R189
In a not-so-distant future, a single Artificial Intelligence has come to dominate all others and their governing systems. Society now exists within a seamlessly integrated reality, constantly optimized by a neural network that processes personal data to enhance experiences.
Nathan, an outsider who rejects this new order, survives off the grid as a smuggler of modified hardware and pirated software. Equipped with his custom headset, he remains one of the few able to turn off augmented reality and see the world as it truly is.
As always, this is hardly a comprehensive list of all the great Point-And-Click games, but it is a list of some of our favourites.
But now we want your input. Do you have any favourites that weren’t mentioned here? Let us know in the comments; we’re never going to say no to new game recommendations, especially not this close to the long weekend.