Amerzone: The Explorer's Legacy
- August 22, 2014
- Microids
- 10h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on Apple StoreIn "Amerzone: The Explorer's Legacy," you follow the journey of a reporter investigating a famous explorer's legacy. Uncover the mystery of the giant white birds of Amerzone and explore various environments, from dense jungles to crumbling ruins. Solve puzzles, interact with characters, and delve into a captivating story full of intrigue and adventure.
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Reviews
- The game features a captivating story and immersive atmosphere, making it a nostalgic experience for fans of point-and-click adventures.
- Benoit Sokal's artwork and design are beautifully realized, showcasing unique environments and intriguing creatures.
- The puzzles are generally straightforward and enjoyable, making it accessible for newcomers to the genre.
- The graphics have aged poorly, making it difficult to spot important items and navigate certain areas.
- The game suffers from technical issues, including bugs that can prevent progression and a lack of windowed mode, complicating gameplay on modern systems.
- The story feels underdeveloped at times, with minimal character interaction and a somewhat anticlimactic ending.
- story155 mentions
- 37 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The story of "Amerzone" revolves around a journalist tasked with returning a sacred egg stolen from a mythical land, blending elements of adventure and exploration in a steampunk setting. While the narrative is intriguing and features beautiful visuals, many reviewers noted that it lacks depth and emotional engagement, with a straightforward plot that leaves some gaps and a somewhat unsatisfying conclusion. Overall, the game is appreciated for its artistic presentation and imaginative world, but it could benefit from a more fleshed-out storyline.
“Set in an alternate steampunk version of early to mid-20th-century Earth, the story concerns you as the featureless first-person protagonist working as a journalist who is obliged to journey to the somewhat punningly named Amerzone by the dying request of Alexandre Valembois: a washed-up French Indiana Jones with way more painful regrets than the Onceler from Dr. Seuss's 'The Lorax.' Your goal is to return the remarkably still living and sacred egg of the mythical 'white bird' to its habitat and the land of whose native tribe he stole it from for a shot at recognition in the museum hall of fame.”
“A delightfully old-fashioned story of exploration and discovery.”
“It's a classic, and the story is memorable and sweet.”
“However, it doesn't explore its story deep enough, and the ending wasn't on a satisfying note.”
“The story is minimal and absent for most parts of the game, and there's no emotional attachment to what you do or any sort of 'stakes'.”
“One essentially just clicks through a story which, unfortunately, is already laid out in great detail from the very beginning.”
- graphics106 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have aged poorly, with many users noting issues such as low resolution, pixelation, and difficulty in spotting essential details. However, the art style, particularly the work of Benoit Sokal, remains captivating and immersive, providing a nostalgic charm for fans of classic adventure games. While the visuals may not hold up to modern standards, they were considered impressive for their time, and the game's overall aesthetic still resonates with some players.
“Very old game but well worth checking out, great graphics for its age, not too taxing and you should finish it in a few hours.”
“You just know it's Benoit Sokal's work when you start playing it. The lovely artwork and items you find in the game, e.g., the journal you use as a guide, is exactly like the one you find in Syberia, with handwritten texts and fantastic drawings, fun to look at because of its imagination, humorous animals, and the always warm stories behind it.”
“Graphically very pretty for the time period it was created in, although somewhat fuzzy/pixelated on a modern system in places.”
“The graphics haven't aged well and whilst still very viewable (full 360' in each location) are not of a particularly high resolution so there is a fair amount of pixelation in some scenes, both static and cut-scene movies.”
“Unfortunately, the quality of the graphics is so bad that one not only misses out on the experience factor but also has trouble finding important items.”
“The graphics make it difficult to identify objects you can interact with.”
- gameplay35 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Amerzone is characterized by its nostalgic, Myst-like mechanics, featuring static pre-rendered backgrounds and pixel-hunting elements that may feel outdated to modern players. While the immersive visuals and interesting mechanics are appreciated, many reviewers note that the gameplay lacks polish, with clunky controls and occasionally misleading interactions. Overall, it offers a unique experience for fans of classic adventure games, but may not appeal to those seeking more refined mechanics.
“As a fan of the Myst games, I felt right at home with Amerzone's game mechanics.”
“I liked the Myst-style navigation mechanics that support quick movement, and the 360° views per location were great.”
“Benoît Sokal's games have always been interesting and immersive, with all-around good writing and gameplay.”
“Going in, you should be aware of the fact that this is an old game and that mechanics are not very polished.”
“Gameplay is obviously a bit outdated, as you need to click on certain places on mostly static pre-rendered backgrounds in order to interact with objects and move on.”
“The gameplay does not quite measure up to the presentation.”
- atmosphere16 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 19 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of "Amerzone" is widely praised for its authentic jungle setting, exotic environments, and rich narrative themes, making it a standout feature of the game. Reviewers highlight the game's gorgeous scenarios and atmospheric art direction, suggesting that these elements significantly enhance the overall experience, despite some criticisms of gameplay. Overall, the immersive atmosphere is considered a key selling point, appealing particularly to those who appreciate atmospheric storytelling in games.
“The atmosphere is great and should be the main selling point of this product.”
“The game is sweet and short, and it has a great atmosphere and storyline.”
“If you like games that are all about atmosphere and don't mind that this game is old, then I recommend it.”
- music12 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The music and ambient sound design in the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the quality and effectiveness, while others find the music to be weak and the overall sound experience lacking in variety and length. Voice acting is generally considered satisfactory, though opinions vary on its quality. Overall, the ambient sounds are highlighted as a strong point, but the music could use improvement.
“The music, voice acting, and ambient sound are all well done.”
“Music and voice acting are good; the music and ambient sound are really perfect, while the voice acting is somewhere between good and satisfactory.”
“+ Good ambient sound design and background music.”
“There's also not much sound or even music and it's pretty short.”
“Music is weak and ambient is ok.”
“The voice-work, music, and sounds are passable.”
- stability12 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game exhibits significant stability issues, particularly in fullscreen mode, leading to frequent glitches and difficulties with inventory management. Players reported being unable to complete the game due to a critical glitch at the final interaction, resulting in frustration and dissatisfaction. While some users experienced improved stability after initial bugs, the overall consensus highlights a problematic launch with persistent technical issues.
“It was very buggy from the beginning as I couldn't even finish the first half of chapter 1.”
“Anyways, I get to the last part of the game, literally the last interaction you have to do in order to finish the game and it glitches in a way where it won't let me click the objective... I played the whole game in one day and got to the end only to not be able to finish it properly. I gotta say I am extremely pissed because I'm not going to play it all over again because of this.”
“(I think this may be why Steam thinks I only played it for 10 minutes) it was super buggy fullscreen, I couldn't use the Windows key to minimize without it messing around, and it was also difficult to look at fullscreen on a large monitor due to age.”
- optimization8 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game is frequently criticized, with users reporting disappointing performance, particularly on systems like Windows 8.1 with Intel HD Graphics 4600. This trend of subpar optimization appears to be a common issue with Microids games.
“Performance is (as often with Microids games on my Windows 8.1 (8.0 GB memory, Intel HD Graphics 4600) -”
“Overall: performance is disappointing, as is often the case with Microids.”
“Performance is disappointing, as is often the case with Microids.”
“All in all: performance is disappointing, as is often the case with Microids.”
“Performance is disappointing, as is often the case with Microids.”
- emotional4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional impact of the game is highlighted by a poignant moment involving the character Yekoumani, which is described as one of the most heartbreaking in gaming history. However, the overall narrative is criticized for being minimal and lacking emotional depth, resulting in little attachment to the characters or stakes in the story.
“Poor yekoumani died of heartbreak without ever seeing him again, man that's one of the most heartbreaking moments in gaming history.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious and unsatisfying, often feeling that it consists of time-wasting filler areas that require excessive running around without meaningful engagement.
“This makes the game tedious and unsatisfying, with a lot of time-wasting filler areas that just have you run around for the sake of it.”
“This makes the game tedious and unsatisfying, with a lot of time-wasting filler areas that just have you run around for the sake of it.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Most users agree that adventure games generally offer limited replayability, suggesting that once the story is completed, there is little incentive to play through again.
“Most adventure games have little replay value.”
