Broken Age

83%
Game Brain Score Based on 6,130 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.
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"Broken Age" is a family-friendly, hand-animated adventure game featuring puzzle-solving and an all-star voice cast including Elijah Wood, Jack Black, and Masasa Moyo. Players control two teenagers, Vella and Shay, in separate worlds filled with quirky characters and unexpected adventures. The game requires a 1.7 GHz Dual Core processor, 2 GB RAM, and a graphics card with at least 512 MB VRAM to run on Windows XP Service Pack 3 or later with 2500 MB of available storage.

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Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

83%
Audience ScoreBased on 6,130 reviews
story2,137 positive mentions
grinding153 negative mentions
  • Beautifully crafted point-and-click game with stunning visuals and engaging story.
  • Unique characters with authentic personalities and witty dialogue that enhance the experience.
  • Clever puzzles that provide a satisfying challenge without being overly frustrating.
  • Act 2 suffers from a significant difficulty spike with some puzzles feeling illogical and requiring outside help.
  • The ending feels rushed and leaves many plot points unresolved, diminishing the overall experience.
  • Some puzzles involve tedious backtracking and trial-and-error, which can detract from the enjoyment.
  • story4,764 mentions

    The story of *Broken Age* is widely praised for its engaging narrative and charming characters, with many reviewers highlighting the clever intertwining of two distinct storylines featuring protagonists Shay and Vella. While the first act is celebrated for its captivating plot twists and character development, the second act receives mixed feedback, with some players feeling it lacks depth and coherence, leading to a rushed and unsatisfying conclusion. Overall, the game is recommended for its beautiful art style, strong voice acting, and the unique storytelling experience it offers, despite some frustrations with puzzle difficulty and narrative pacing.

    • “Each character is written with a unique personality and story that gives them a sense of authenticity.”
    • “The story is intriguing, characters are lovable and unforgettable, and the plot twists are unexpected.”
    • “The story is engaging and creative, with two separate but connected narratives that keep you hooked.”
    • “The visual part of the game is very nice, but the gameplay and the plot of act 2 are just awful.”
    • “The story feels very rushed and somehow a bit incomplete.”
    • “The second act feels rushed, the entire second act is fetch quests and chain puzzles.”
  • graphics1,528 mentions

    The graphics of *Broken Age* are widely praised for their stunning, hand-painted art style that evokes a whimsical, storybook aesthetic. Players appreciate the vibrant colors and meticulous character designs, which contribute to an immersive experience reminiscent of animated films. While some critiques mention occasional graphical glitches and a simplistic visual approach, the overall consensus highlights the game's beautiful visuals as a major strength, enhancing its charming narrative and engaging gameplay.

    • “The art style is stunning—it's like playing through a beautiful, hand-drawn animation.”
    • “The graphics are beautiful, the puzzles are fun but not too extreme.”
    • “The game's stunning hand-painted graphics and vibrant colors transport players to a whimsical world filled with strange creatures and magical landscapes.”
    • “The repulsive art style, the angering high-pitched voices, the extremely repetitive gameplay.”
    • “Some (ok a lot) of the art assets don't hold up in a high resolution and it somewhat ruins the aesthetic at times.”
    • “The graphics, or I probably should say the artwork, is amazing.”
  • humor1,008 mentions

    The humor in "Broken Age" is widely praised for its clever writing, charming characters, and engaging dialogue, often eliciting genuine laughter from players. Many reviews highlight the game's whimsical and quirky tone, reminiscent of classic adventure games, with a mix of light-hearted and occasionally dark humor that appeals to a broad audience. While some players noted that the humor may not reach the heights of earlier titles by Tim Schafer, it remains a significant and enjoyable aspect of the game, contributing to its overall charm and appeal.

    • “I just love how Double Fine designs their characters and writes dialogues: they're funny, clever, exciting, and sincere.”
    • “The writing is great, the characters are believable and funny, and the artwork is breathtaking.”
    • “The humor is great and well-timed.”
    • “Not fun, not funny if you don't like 'lul so random' comedy; the story is garbage and forgettable alongside the characters.”
    • “I found it boring, incomprehensible, and absolutely not funny.”
    • “You just fling bad joke after bad joke until the right one appears in dialogue and you happen to guess it; it's not funny, and there's no way to tell it's even the right one until the punchline.”
  • music817 mentions

    The music in "Broken Age" has received widespread acclaim for its orchestral quality and ability to enhance the game's atmosphere, with many reviewers praising the work of composer Peter McConnell. While some found the soundtrack to be subtle and not particularly memorable, others highlighted its beauty and how well it complements the game's visuals and narrative. Overall, the music, along with the stunning art and voice acting, contributes significantly to the game's charm and immersive experience.

    • “The music perfectly complements the game's visuals, creating a truly immersive experience for players.”
    • “The art, music, and talent are beautiful.”
    • “The soundtrack is beautiful, the voice acting amazing, and the art style is fresh.”
    • “The story and writing is boring, the voice acting is poorly done, the puzzles are tedious, and the music and sound is subpar.”
    • “The music is forgettable, the voices sound a bit stiff, and on the whole the audio is nothing to write home about.”
    • “The music, while decent, is quite forgettable as well, which is a stab in the heart if we think Peter McConnell composed it.”
  • gameplay728 mentions

    The gameplay of "Broken Age" is primarily a point-and-click adventure, featuring a mix of exploration, puzzle-solving, and dialogue interactions. While the first act is generally praised for its charm and straightforward puzzles, the second act is criticized for its increased difficulty and obtuse puzzles that often require backtracking and trial-and-error, leading to frustration for some players. Overall, the game is visually stunning and narratively engaging, but many reviews highlight that the gameplay mechanics can feel simplistic or lacking in depth, especially when compared to classic titles in the genre.

    • “The gameplay itself is excellent, and the puzzles are great fun to figure out.”
    • “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 real problem is the gameplay.”
    • “The gameplay goes from way too easy to way too hard between chapter 1 and chapter 2, but if you like point-and-clicks, it's still fun.”
    • “The gameplay is very simple, and while it does get harder in the second part, it does so by making puzzles a lot more obtuse, and only begins to get complex towards the very end.”
  • grinding154 mentions

    The reviews highlight a significant issue with grinding in the game, particularly in the second act, where puzzles become overly tedious and convoluted, often requiring repetitive backtracking and trial-and-error solutions. Many players found the gameplay to be a chore, detracting from the overall enjoyment and engagement with the story, especially as the narrative loses its intrigue amidst frustrating puzzle designs. While some puzzles are well-crafted, the overall experience is marred by a lack of clarity and excessive complexity, leading to a tedious gameplay experience.

    • “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 story loses its attraction as the game goes on, and the puzzles get more tedious to solve.”
  • atmosphere108 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its charming and immersive qualities, combining beautiful visuals, engaging music, and clever writing to create a cozy yet engrossing experience. Players appreciate the unique art style and whimsical character interactions, which enhance the overall mood and worldbuilding. While some note that the puzzles may be less challenging, the captivating atmosphere remains a standout feature that keeps players invested in the story.

    • “Everything comes beautifully together from sound to story to create a cozy yet engrossing atmosphere.”
    • “The environments and atmosphere are totally gorgeous, the music fits perfectly in, and the voice acting is beautiful.”
    • “A beautiful crafted world with a cozy magical atmosphere and interesting characters.”
    • “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 sale for the art and atmosphere alone, but otherwise, stay far away from it.”
    • “The atmosphere and story are phenomenal, but it'll only have you playing a few hours (3-4 hours tops).”
  • emotional103 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is characterized by a heartwarming and whimsical narrative that resonates with players, often evoking laughter and tears through its clever writing and charming characters. While many reviews praise the touching moments and beautiful art style, some express disappointment over a lack of emotional catharsis and unresolved plot points, which can detract from the overall experience. Despite these criticisms, the game is generally regarded as a delightful journey that successfully engages players on an emotional level.

    • “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.”
    • “A genuinely beautiful game with two very touching and well-written stories about growing up and taking control of your life.”
    • “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.”
    • “Boring story with a lame ending and more plot holes than plot.”
    • “Negative: repetitive scenarios, many totally abstract non-logical puzzles, mostly boring story (with some interesting twists and aspects), not funny like other Double Fine games.”
  • character development65 mentions

    Character development in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising the initial depth and likability of characters, particularly in the first act, where strong writing and voice acting shine. However, several reviewers express disappointment with the lack of character growth and meaningful progression in the second act, feeling that it undermines the potential established earlier. Overall, while the character designs and art are consistently lauded, the narrative's handling of character development appears uneven, with some characters lacking depth and others being overshadowed by challenging puzzles and plot issues.

    • “The character development shown in Act 1 was amazing, as both characters were portrayed well enough and can both seem highly likable.”
    • “Great writing and story, rich character development, beautiful art style, clever puzzles (a few really tough ones), overall a great game.”
    • “The artwork is as equally impressive as the character development, and makes the game fun to simply look at.”
    • “Vella, on the other hand, has pretty much no character development.”
    • “Despite the brilliant setup in act 1, neither of the two main characters undergo much, if any, character development in act 2.”
    • “It is a real shame that the second chapter amounts to little more than two separate mostly meaningless fetch quests with minimal character development, which destroys what made the two characters interesting in the first chapter.”
  • replayability61 mentions

    Overall, the game exhibits limited replayability, primarily due to its linear story structure and short playtime, which is typical for the adventure genre. While some players find value in achievement hunting, many agree that once the puzzles are solved, there is little incentive to replay. Despite its enjoyable experience, the consensus is that the game is best appreciated as a one-time playthrough.

    • “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.”
    • “There are many achievements to be had, giving some limited replayability.”
    • “The story is linear, so only replayable if you want to revisit it.”
    • “There is no replayability if not for achievement hunter challenges; pretty much all what happens is scripted and results -as far as I know- are always the same.”
    • “I only got a maximum of 3 hours gameplay out of $14 with next to no replay value left to its name.”
  • optimization36 mentions

    The optimization of the game has received mixed feedback, with some players praising its smooth performance and stunning visuals, while others report issues such as long loading times, laggy gameplay, and desynced voice lines. The voice acting, featuring a notable cast, is highlighted as a strong point, though opinions vary on the quality of the performances, with some feeling they lack energy and emotional depth. Overall, while the game runs well on various systems, certain technical aspects and inconsistencies in voice performances detract from the experience.

    • “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.”
    • “The game runs smoothly and I didn't experience any bugs.”
    • “The notability of the voice cast for the game matters not when they completely phone in their performances, sounding entirely sedate despite the insane things happening within the story.”
    • “Game had performance issues, i.e., horrific loading times between screens, laggy gameplay at times, and desynced voice lines.”
    • “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).”
  • stability20 mentions

    The game's stability has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing frequent crashes, freezes, and graphical glitches, particularly in the Linux edition. While many found the gameplay solid with no game-breaking issues, others noted minor bugs affecting animations and interface functionality. Overall, the game is visually appealing but requires further polish to address its technical shortcomings.

    • “But the Linux edition I played through was plagued with frequent crashes and freezes.”
    • “I click on something, the screen freezes momentarily and sound goes bananas before BSOD and PC restart.”
    • “Not to mention the fact that for a four-hour 2D game that was years in development with a budget in the millions, it's still incredibly buggy.”
  • monetization7 mentions

    The monetization strategy of "Broken Age" has drawn criticism for misleading advertising and the inclusion of in-app purchases to access the complete game, which some players feel detracts from the overall experience. Reviewers argue that the game's promotional materials do not accurately represent its content, leading to disappointment and a sense of being misled.

    • “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.”
    • “He works with great visual artists though, which in reality serve mostly as an advertising tool for his poor storytelling and game mechanics.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

73% average critic score

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Play time

5hMedian play time
6hAverage play time
4-10hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 68 analyzed playthroughs

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