Broken Age

82%
Game Brain Score Based on 3,349 reviews
  • story
  • graphics
  • humor
Broken Age Game Cover
While Broken Age doesn’t break much new ground in the genre, it does deliver a wonderfully enriching adventure that’s buoyed by sharp writing and likeable characters.
Starting at $1.28Buy now
Get on Steam Get on itch.io Store Get on Xbox Games Store Get on Apple Store Get on PS Store

Broken Age is a family friendly, hand-animated, puzzle-filled adventure game with an all-star cast, including Elijah Wood, Jack Black and Masasa Moyo. Funded by a record breaking crowdfunding campaign and designed by industry legend Tim Schafer, Broken Age is a timeless coming-of-age story of barfing trees and talking spoons.

  • iPad
  • iPhone
  • Mac OS
  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Phone
  • Play​station 4
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Android
  • Cloud
  • Linux
  • Mobile Platform
  • Ouya
  • Play​Station
  • Play​station Vita
  • Tablet
  • Xbox
  • x_box_cloud_gaming
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

82%
Audience ScoreBased on 3,349 reviews
story1,194 positive mentions
grinding76 negative mentions
  • Beautiful art style and animation that creates a whimsical atmosphere.
  • Engaging story with interesting plot twists and well-developed characters.
  • Great voice acting featuring notable actors like Elijah Wood and Jack Black.
  • Act 2 features frustrating puzzles that often require trial and error, leading to a tedious experience.
  • The ending feels rushed and leaves many plot points unresolved.
  • Some puzzles lack logical connections, making them difficult to solve without a guide.
  • story2,578 mentions

    The story of "Broken Age" is praised for its engaging and whimsical narrative, featuring two interconnected storylines that explore themes of self-discovery and defiance against societal expectations. While the first act is lauded for its captivating plot twists and character development, the second act has received criticism for feeling rushed and introducing plot holes, leading to a less satisfying conclusion. Overall, the game is celebrated for its beautiful art style, strong voice acting, and clever writing, making it a worthwhile experience for fans of story-driven adventures.

    • “A great point and click adventure game with a heartwarming and surprising story.”
    • “The story is super engaging and creative, with two separate but connected narratives that keep you hooked.”
    • “Broken Age is a beautifully crafted adventure game that tells the story of two teenagers, Vella and Shay, who are both seeking to break free from the constraints of their respective worlds.”
    • “The story feels very rushed and somehow a bit incomplete.”
    • “The second act barely has any new locations, while the story concludes so abruptly and with so many loose ends that it really feels like there should’ve been an act 3.”
    • “The story in the second half is still alright to good, but it does contain some moments where you'll think that the writers were 'just pulling that out of their ass'.”
  • graphics804 mentions

    The graphics of the game have been widely praised for their stunning, hand-drawn art style that evokes a storybook aesthetic, with many reviewers highlighting the vibrant colors and charming character designs. The visuals are described as both beautiful and immersive, contributing significantly to the overall experience, although some players noted that certain backgrounds could appear static or less detailed. Overall, the game's graphics are considered a major strength, enhancing the narrative and gameplay with their artistic quality.

    • “The art style is stunning—it's like playing through a beautiful, hand-drawn animation.”
    • “The game's stunning hand-painted graphics and vibrant colors transport players to a whimsical world filled with strange creatures and magical landscapes.”
    • “The art style is beautiful, the story is compelling, and the twist at the end of act I was fantastic.”
    • “The backgrounds, however, are sometimes crude, almost always static and not the reason to love the graphics.”
    • “The art style wasn't my thing, but more importantly this is a puzzle game only.”
    • “The visuals become more boring in part II (due to the more serious turns of events and darker themes), and the gameplay becomes even less intuitive than it was before.”
  • humor498 mentions

    The humor in "Broken Age" is widely praised for its clever writing, engaging dialogue, and memorable characters, often evoking laughter through absurdity and wit. Players appreciate the blend of lighthearted and dark themes, with many noting the excellent voice acting that enhances the comedic elements. While some found the humor inconsistent, overall, it is celebrated as a charming and entertaining aspect of the game, reminiscent of classic adventure titles.

    • “The puzzles are clever and satisfying, and the voice acting is really funny.”
    • “I just love how Double Fine designs their characters and writes dialogues: they're funny, clever, exciting, and sincere.”
    • “The humor is a mix between the inner world and Deponia: goofy, cute, and somewhat bizarre.”
    • “Not fun, not funny if you don't like 'lul so random' comedy; the story is garbage and forgettable alongside the characters.”
    • “Unfortunately, it simply is not funny enough, not long enough, and not coherent enough (particularly in the second part).”
  • music410 mentions

    The music in "Broken Age" has received widespread acclaim for its beautiful orchestration and ability to enhance the game's atmosphere, with many reviewers praising the soundtrack as a standout feature. Composed by Peter McConnell, the music complements the stunning hand-drawn visuals and engaging narrative, creating an immersive experience that resonates with players. Overall, the combination of excellent music, voice acting, and artistic design contributes significantly to the game's charm and appeal.

    • “The music perfectly complements the game's visuals, creating a truly immersive experience for players.”
    • “The soundtrack is beautiful, the voice acting amazing, and the art style is fresh.”
    • “The music is fantastic too.”
    • “I wouldn't buy the music as a standalone.”
    • “The music drifts, almost like the wind, in the background of the game.”
    • “Music felt a little all-over-the-place here, it didn't know if it wanted to be epic, or simple background music.”
  • gameplay377 mentions

    The gameplay of "Broken Age" is primarily a point-and-click adventure that features a dual-character mechanic, allowing players to switch between two protagonists to solve puzzles and progress through the story. While the first act is generally praised for its engaging puzzles and charming art style, the second act is criticized for its difficulty spikes, vague puzzle solutions, and tedious mechanics, leading to a mixed reception overall. Many players appreciate the narrative focus and character interactions, but find the gameplay itself lacking in depth and challenge, often resorting to walkthroughs for assistance.

    • “The gameplay of Broken Age is focused on exploration, puzzle-solving, and dialogue choices.”
    • “The gameplay is engaging and rewarding through the abundant player interactions and the logical puzzles of the first act.”
    • “The gameplay is intuitive and fun; significantly easier than the old classics, but enough of a challenge not to be disregarded.”
    • “The gameplay is filled with repetitive, illogical trial and error puzzles that further damage the story quality, if there was any.”
    • “The gameplay is not fun, plus an ordinary fairytale with an intriguing start (yes, I bought this game after reading their introduction, now I learned my lesson).”
    • “The gameplay itself is simple, being a point-and-click game, but at the same time, delightfully challenging.”
  • grinding77 mentions

    The reviews highlight a significant issue with grinding in the game, particularly in the second act, where many puzzles become tedious, overly complex, and frustratingly illogical. Players frequently express that the enjoyment of the gameplay is diminished by repetitive tasks and convoluted solutions, often requiring trial and error or extensive note-taking. While some puzzles are engaging, the overall sentiment leans towards a laborious experience that detracts from the narrative and gameplay enjoyment.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “But unfortunately that is not the case, and properly finishing this story requires the player to labor through a tedious and quickly disinteresting gauntlet of compounding puzzle elements long after the plot has blown most of its intrigue.”
    • “The puzzles become difficult and tedious once they introduce the wiring puzzles.”
    • “The main problem of the game is that it is tedious.”
  • atmosphere61 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its charm, beauty, and immersive qualities, enhanced by excellent art, music, and voice acting. Reviewers highlight the whimsical and sometimes sinister tone, making it a captivating experience for fans of storytelling and exploration. While some note the gameplay may be easy or short, the overall ambiance and artistic vision create a unique and enjoyable environment that resonates with players.

    • “Delightful, sinister, innocent, atmospheric--this is just the game for you if you're looking to solve mysteries in a wonderfully and beautifully rendered point-and-click game.”
    • “A beautiful crafted world with a cozy magical atmosphere and interesting characters.”
    • “The game oozes atmosphere with great characters, great environments all realized with a beautiful art style.”
    • “The light atmosphere of the game is quickly clouded when you realize they're actually feeding girls to Mog Chothra.”
    • “It might be worth playing if you catch it on a sale for the art and atmosphere alone, but otherwise, stay far away from it.”
    • “The atmosphere, especially at the beginning of the game, is really well presented.”
  • emotional50 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is widely praised for its heartwarming and touching narrative, with many players noting the strong character development and unexpected story twists that evoke genuine feelings. The art style and voice acting further enhance the emotional experience, although some players felt that certain parts of the story lacked depth, leading to a less satisfying emotional investment. Overall, the game successfully captures a blend of humor and heartfelt moments, making it a memorable experience for fans of story-driven adventures.

    • “A great point-and-click adventure game with a heartwarming and surprising story.”
    • “The story is interesting; it has twists and turns that are hilarious, heartbreaking, and honestly surprising.”
    • “The art style is beautiful, the music is cool, the dialogue is witty, and the story is touching and nice.”
    • “The fact that you basically have to sit through every single dialogue option for every single person/item makes it feel like they are intentionally trying to draw out this boring story as long as possible, and I had enough.”
    • “The emotional moments feel forced and lack genuine impact, making it hard to connect with the characters.”
    • “I found the attempts at emotional depth to be superficial, leaving me feeling more frustrated than moved.”
  • character development40 mentions

    Character development in the game is notably inconsistent, with some players praising the strong development in Act 1, particularly for the main characters, while others criticize the lack of growth and depth in Act 2. The character designs are generally well-received, described as charming and whimsical, but many feel that the potential for richer storytelling and character arcs is underutilized, leading to a sense of disappointment. Overall, while the game features engaging dialogue and memorable characters, the execution of character development varies significantly throughout the narrative.

    • “The story is so fun, it has funny and heavy moments, and they did a good job of executing a story with complex elements and character development.”
    • “The character development shown in Act 1 was amazing, as both characters were portrayed well enough and can both seem highly likable.”
    • “With witty dialogue to great characters, character design, and fun puzzles, it's a great kick back to those classic click and point adventure games!”
    • “Vella, on the other hand, has pretty much no character development.”
    • “What caught me by surprise is how all character development from Act 1 was seemingly replaced by almost nothing at all.”
    • “Despite the brilliant setup in Act 1, neither of the two main characters undergo much, if any, character development in Act 2.”
  • replayability33 mentions

    Overall, the game has limited replayability, primarily due to its linear structure and short playtime, with many players noting that once the puzzles are solved, subsequent playthroughs become trivial. While some appreciate the story and artistic elements enough to revisit the game occasionally, the consensus is that it lacks significant replay value, especially given its price point. Players recommend it for the initial experience but caution against expecting much in terms of replayability.

    • “For such a short game, the achievements are really fun and give a ton of replay value.”
    • “Beautiful artwork, great voice acting, intriguing plot, compelling characters, excellent replay value, fun puzzles.”
    • “I still enjoyed myself and the game is replayable.”
    • “There's a limited amount of replayability.”
    • “If you really must play this, do not pay full price; it will not last you more than 6 hours and lacks any replay value with the characters being mostly uninteresting on the whole.”
    • “To sum it up, this game is way too short and way too easy to be a $25 game... and it has almost zero replayability.”
  • optimization10 mentions

    Overall, the optimization of the game is praised for its smooth performance and impressive visuals, even on less powerful hardware. However, there are mixed opinions on the voice acting quality, with some finding it subpar and poorly cast, while others highlight standout performances. The art style is noted for its inconsistency, suggesting that while the game runs well, certain visual elements may not be fully optimized.

    • “Everything runs smoothly with the performance never being a problem.”
    • “Moreover, Broken Age has absolutely gorgeous visuals and it runs smoothly even if your computer isn't brand new and built for gaming - a combination that is much too rare in games.”
    • “Sporting an all-star cast, the voice acting is top notch which brings each of the characters to life with standout performances from Elijah Wood as Shay and Jennifer Hale, best known for her work on Mass Effect (Femshep), as the megalomaniacal computer.”
    • “There are many interesting elements to the art, which I enjoyed occasionally, but the style is not consistent, and visual elements do not cohere well. Not to mention that the resources seem to be optimized for mobile, with low resolutions and color depths.”
    • “The voices were poorly cast, and the performances were pretty bad, even for 2010s game standards.”
    • “Sporting an all-star cast, the voice acting is top notch which brings each of the characters to life with standout performances from Elijah Wood as Shay and Jennifer Hale, best known for her work on Mass Effect (FemShep), as the megalomaniacal computer.”
  • stability5 mentions

    Overall, the game's stability is generally solid, with no game-breaking glitches or unwinnable scenarios reported. However, some users have experienced occasional freezing and minor graphical glitches, indicating that while the engine is effective, it shows signs of age.

    • “The environments are gorgeous, and to think that this was all executed without any form of lightbox or modern game development technologies is especially inspiring, though the spine rig is starting to show its age and frequently glitches.”
    • “2.75 for the engine of the game; the engine is excellent, but it sometimes freezes for a very short time.”
    • “Have had some graphical glitches but definitely a really fun game!”
  • monetization4 mentions

    The monetization strategy of the game has drawn criticism for being misleading, with users feeling that the advertising falsely represents the game's quality and completeness. Many express disappointment over the inclusion of in-app purchases for additional content, suggesting that the game feels unfinished and that the marketing is deceptive.

    • “I think Tim Schafer should be ashamed to fool people into buying something that isn't complete and then charge them an in-app purchase to play the rest of the game.”
    • “Is half-done, simple puzzles, misleading advertising 'is a classic adventure game like in the old times!' - totally a lie.”
    • “I will put it simply: if I were Tim Schafer, I would remove the 'from creators...' label from the game's description and ads.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

73% average critic score

Buy Broken Age

Play time

5hMedian play time
6hAverage play time
4-9hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 47 analyzed playthroughs

Videos

Similar Games