Review | Dead Tomb

I am a huge fan of the Point and Click genre. I grew up playing the likes of Day of the Tentacle and Monkey Island, so when I was told I could do the review of Dead Tomb I did an inward Yippee and set myself a few hours aside so I could get into the game with some of the wonder I reserve specifically for this type of game. Now I am no slouch when it comes to Point and Click Adventures so I can usually get through them with very little fuss. What … did you think I was going to now suddenly say this one was difficult? Nope, it was pretty standard by-the-numbers adventuring, it doesn’t pretend to be anything other than what it is, Dead Tomb is a homage to very early Point and Click games, the layout, the graphics and even the music makes me think back to when I first started playing this type of game. The setting of Dead Tomb is delightfully ridiculous. You are a worker from the future who has been sent back in time by your employer. Your ship malfunctions and you make an emergency landing in Egypt. That’s the basics of the story and you don’t really get much explanation in the game other than the pause screen manual. Anyway, sometimes you just have to let go and enjoy a game for what it is, in this case, a love letter to retro Point and Click Adventures.

Looks like I need to choose wisely

Things I liked!

• Nostalgia retro style | This game honestly did give my nostalgic old brain a good kick, I now want to go back and play more of my old catalogue, who needs modern-day graphics and orchestral soundtracks? All we need is some 8-bit graphics, Chip tunes and a sandwich close to hand and away we go. Honestly, though I really did love the fact that the creators of Dead Tomb put so much effort into capturing the style and feeling behind the 8-bit point-and-click games.

• The puzzles | Ok so the puzzles are not going to tax your brain too much, but sometimes you forget to take things easy and that the simplest solutions are often the best. I found myself face-palming more than once when I tried multiple solutions to a puzzle before realising that I needed to go back to a screen or two in order to get something I needed. This might sound like a complaint, but I actually relish a good challenge. A lot of modern games are too easy when it comes to puzzles.

No Spiders Please!!

Neither good nor bad

• The map | The map of the pyramid opens up as you progress through the game, you use it to move from room to room and that’s really about all it is for. Now I kind of like the map in some ways, showing your progress and giving you some idea of how much of the pyramid you have left to explore, but one thing that kind of annoyed me was that you had to go room by room, you couldn’t just click on part of the map you had already explored and get back quickly. I understand why this was implemented in this way so I’m not too annoyed, but I get the feeling that it might get on some folks’ nerves.

• Point #2 | OK the music is very cool, I’m enjoying it, I wonder what the next room is going to have in the way of … oh it’s the same tune… Ok then oh when I go to the map it’s changed but then it’s back to the same tune. Look I’m not really complaining about the music too much as again it’s part of the experience, I just wish there was more variation. I found myself turning the volume down on my TV after a while because there is no option for turning off the music in the game’s options. It is I admit a catchy wee tune though.

Dark in here, isn’t it

Things I disliked!

• The Length | One of the major drawbacks of this game is the length, it’s honestly not long at all, if I was to play through it again I think I could probably do a complete run-through in about 9 minutes. Not that you really have to play through it more than once because once you have completed the game there is nothing else to do. No extra secrets to be found, no hidden cutscenes, just the game as it is and that is it. For £4 I would expect a bit more. And yes I am including the little hidden game which you can spend as long as you want playing. Dead Tomb is a fun game but it really is one that you will play through once, get your 1000g Gamer score and then never pick up again.

How long did I play the review before publishing? 50 minutes
How long to beat the story? 15 minutes
How many Achievements did I earn before publishing? All of them
How long to achieve 1000G | 5 minutes
You’ll love this game if you like these | Day of the Tentacle, Maniac Mansion, Monkey Island.