Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon
- December 2, 2009
- Revolution Software Ltd
- 11h median play time
Get on SteamIn Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon, George Stobbart and Nico Collard find themselves investigating a series of mysterious seismic events, uncovering an ancient conspiracy and the secret of the Templars. This action-packed adventure game features 3D graphics, a unique visual style, and a user-friendly interface that allows players to fully immerse themselves in the game's storyline. With its thrilling plot twists and challenging puzzles, The Sleeping Dragon is a must-play for fans of the adventure game genre.
PC
Phone
Windows
PlayStation
Playstation 2
Tablet
Xbox
Reviews
- The plot and characters are lively and amusing, maintaining the charm of the series.
- The game features clever puzzles that can be satisfying to solve, despite some being tedious.
- The voice acting and dialogue are well done, adding to the overall enjoyment of the game.
- The controls are not user-friendly, relying solely on keyboard input, which can be frustrating.
- There are many unskippable cutscenes and dialogues, leading to repetitive gameplay after failures.
- The graphics are outdated compared to the previous 2D games, and the constant camera changes can be disorienting.
- story160 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 51 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The story of the game is generally regarded as engaging and filled with familiar characters, particularly George and Nico, which fans of the series appreciate. However, many reviewers note that while the narrative has its moments of humor and intrigue, it suffers from disjointed pacing, plot holes, and an unsatisfying ending, leading to mixed feelings about its overall execution compared to earlier entries in the series. Despite these criticisms, the story remains a significant draw for players, especially those invested in the franchise's lore.
“The story is engaging and takes the series back to its roots.”
“The story is well written, still very eco-esque, above average voice acting, excellent music, and I think graphics still hold up to some extent.”
“The story, music, and characters saved this game.”
“It starts out strong, but suffers from a terribly disjointed story that ends in the last 30 minutes with a twist villain that makes no sense if you played the first game.”
“The story was quite ok (-ish... I'm trying hard to find something positive to say about that game, ok?) for the most part, until they managed to ruin that as well with a ridiculous ending.”
“Not only does the story somehow manage to be mindbogglingly dumb, it also manages to be something even worse: boring.”
- graphics90 mentions
- 28 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many players criticizing the outdated 3D visuals compared to the charming 2D graphics of the earlier titles in the series. While some appreciate the old-school aesthetic and variety of locations, others find the graphics lack detail and emotion, with awkward camera angles and poor controls detracting from the overall experience. Overall, the consensus is that the graphics have not aged well and fail to capture the charm of the original games.
“The graphics have a bulky, vivid and colorful character that has an old-school charm - not modern by any stretch, but of its time, and it does not suffer the problem that the early Resident Evil games had, where the backgrounds and moving characters looked jarringly different because the environments were pre-rendered.”
“The graphics hold up far better than expected for a 2005 game and the voice acting is outstanding as always.”
“Graphically speaking, Broken Sword does an admirable job of adapting to full 3D models and environments, and in typical Broken Sword fashion, the many different locations you visit are mostly a pleasure to look at, with only a few being slightly drab.”
“The graphics are awful and painfully slow, even though I'm running it on a modern computer.”
“The graphics haven't aged too well.”
“Plagued with an awful control system (a departure from the point-and-click of the first two games), dated 3D graphics which lack any of the series' previous games' charm, and a sad over-reliance on 'move-the-blocks' puzzles that are repetitively rubbish.”
- gameplay56 mentions
- 11 % positive mentions
- 70 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Broken Sword 3: The Sleeping Dragon" has received mixed reviews, with many players criticizing the transition to 3D graphics and the accompanying clunky controls and awkward camera angles that hinder navigation and puzzle-solving. While some appreciate the attempt to innovate with new mechanics and longer gameplay, others find the crate-pushing puzzles and quick time events frustrating and unnecessary, leading to an overall perception of the gameplay as flawed and disappointing compared to its predecessors. Despite these issues, some players still enjoy the story and character development, suggesting that the game may appeal to fans of the series willing to adapt to its new mechanics.
“Offers well over 10 hours of gameplay even for experienced adventure gamers.”
“Decent detective gameplay, characters, and environments.”
“New mechanics have been introduced, so even if the third dimension wasn't necessary, it suits this adventure fine as the items you can interact with are easily marked and reachable, the character can move fluently, and the camera system has been studied enough to prevent as much as possible those classic shot troubles.”
“The crate puzzles were completely needless, and the traversal mechanics were clunky as all hell.”
“The move to three-dimensional graphics makes the gameplay feel pretty awkward; the (semi-)fixed camera angles only make that worse, making it difficult to see the important things in each scene, like what to collect or where to go.”
“Stupid fixed camera angles ruin gameplay, making some scenes nearly impossible due to controls getting reversed, flipped, and inverted several times in less than 10 seconds.”
- humor26 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game remains a strong point, with characters like George and Nico delivering trademark witty dialogue and amusing interactions that evoke laughter. While the writing and voice acting are praised for their comedic elements, some players feel that the humor is somewhat diminished by technical issues and less engaging character dynamics compared to earlier installments. Overall, the game successfully incorporates humor through folklore narratives and innuendos, making it enjoyable despite its flaws.
“The writing was fun and often made me laugh, even if the plot was a bit of a shambles filled with mcguffins.”
“The humor is spot on, also relying on both folklore narrative and sexual innuendo a bit more than usual.”
“It's still good fun and humorous, enjoyed playing through.”
- grinding25 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for its tediousness, particularly due to repetitive box-pushing puzzles and frustrating stealth sections exacerbated by poor controls and camera angles. Many players found the exploration to be a chore, often resorting to walkthroughs to navigate the cumbersome design, which significantly extended their playtime. While the story is engaging, the overall experience is marred by the tedious nature of the gameplay, making it a mixed bag for most players.
“It's just tedious.”
“It doesn't feel like exploration so much as tedious walking back and forth and covering large distances to get one thing and use it in another area.”
“The game overall is too tedious to be happily redoing the lost parts.”
- music17 mentions
- 59 % positive mentions
- 24 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its quality and ability to enhance the overall experience, with many reviewers highlighting the orchestral soundtrack as a standout feature. While some noted that the background music could be overwhelming at times, the majority agree that it complements the story and characters effectively. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a significant asset, contributing to the game's immersive atmosphere.
“The music, the story, the characters.”
“I have always loved the Broken Sword OST and this game is no different; the music is always incredible and really makes the game so much better.”
“The standout feature of Sleeping Dragon, however, has to be the familiar but nonetheless fantastic orchestral soundtrack that accompanies you around the world.”
“The background music was a little loud and overwhelming.”
“It's just a shame that a jaunty and adventurous soundtrack is creatively sapped by the innately drab mechanics and story underlying Sleeping Dragon.”
“All we need to do is apply polish to the graphics, tighten the controls and camera angles, replace all of the crate/boulder pushing placeholder puzzles with something less repetitive, and finish adding the audio with more background music and ambient sounds.”
- stability6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability has been criticized for being plagued with bugs, including frequent freezes and glitches that affect gameplay and audio. While some users noted minor issues, the overall consensus is that the game suffers from significant stability problems, detracting from the experience.
“I can barely remember some funny cinematic glitches and not-so-funny problems with the gameplay.”
“Game is buggy.”
“Constantly freezes.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised, particularly for its excellent score that enhances the emotional experience. While it successfully injects excitement into the classic quiet ambiance of old adventures, some players feel that the presence of generic villains and clichéd scenarios detracts from the overall atmosphere.
“The score is probably one of the best things about this game - it's excellent and really adds to the atmosphere and emotion of the game.”
“The atmosphere is there, believe me.”
“Honestly, I did enjoy this because it added a small excitement to the classic quiet atmosphere of the old adventures.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game attempts to evoke emotion through its engaging story rooted in European myths and legends, complemented by impressive backgrounds and a sound design aimed at enhancing emotional depth. However, these elements struggle to compensate for the game's other shortcomings, leaving the overall emotional impact lacking.
“I also like the story, touching on some nice European myths and legends.”
- character development1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Character models in the game are visually appealing and have aged well, though some designs may come off as overly silly, which could detract from the overall character development experience.
“The character models, technically speaking, look fairly nice and have aged decently, but there are a few character designs that are too silly even for Broken Sword standards.”
“The character development feels shallow and lacks the depth needed to make players truly connect with the characters.”
“I found the character arcs to be predictable and uninspired, making it hard to stay invested in their journeys.”
