Demetrios: The Big Cynical Adventure
- February 1, 2017
- COWCAT
- 11h median play time
While it may look like a dirty cartoon, Demetrios: The BIG Cynical Adventure is endearing and eminently playable.
"Demetrios: The Big Cynical Adventure" is a humorous point-and-click game reminiscent of classics like Broken Sword. After antique dealer Bjorn Thonen is robbed, he and neighbor Sandra embark on a mysterious investigation, uncovering ancient secrets along the way. The game offers puzzles and situations for various skill levels, with high interactivity and ridiculous item combinations. All purchases include DRM-free and Steam keys, compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Reviews
- The game features a humorous and quirky story with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, especially for fans of toilet humor.
- The puzzles are generally enjoyable and not overly difficult, making for a light-hearted gaming experience.
- The hand-drawn art style and colorful backgrounds add charm to the game, enhancing the overall visual appeal.
- The dialogue can be excessively lengthy and tedious, making the game feel like a chore at times.
- Many characters are unlikable and the humor often relies on juvenile and crude jokes, which may not appeal to all players.
- The lack of voice acting and poor translation quality detracts from the overall experience, making it feel less polished.
- humor164 mentions
- 98 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is predominantly characterized by crude and juvenile toilet humor, which some players find hilarious while others consider it overdone and tiresome. Many reviews highlight moments of genuine laughter and clever dialogue, but the reliance on lowbrow jokes may not appeal to everyone. Overall, the humor is divisive, with options to adjust the level of toilet humor available for those who prefer a different comedic tone.
“It's never cheesy, always hilarious!!!”
“I found myself literally laughing out loud at much of the hysterical dialogue!!!”
“The writing is light and funny, and it works mostly because our characters take themselves very seriously saying the most ridiculous stuff.”
“Bland and unfunny dialogue, and feels like a chore to play.”
“Examples: [spoiler] jokes about the protagonist eating things off the floor or other unusual places, jokes about farting and poop (obviously), jokes about the protagonist being into kinky sex or cross-dressing, jokes about the protagonist's potential love interest not being able to cook, etc., [/spoiler] it's the cringey kind of humor you'd find in a lot of current American comedy films that, to me, seems desperate for a laugh.”
“Bland and unfunny dialogue, and feels like a chore to play.”
- story98 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The game's story is a mix of humor and adventure, featuring a quirky antique dealer embroiled in a treasure hunt filled with eccentric characters and comedic twists. While some players found the plot predictable and lacking depth, many appreciated the lighthearted tone and engaging dialogue, with the second half of the game reportedly offering a more compelling narrative. Overall, the story is entertaining but may not satisfy those seeking a profound or thrilling experience.
“It's fun, humorous, and funny as hell with great storytelling and good characters.”
“The story was interesting enough to hold my attention most of the way through.”
“The main plot is nothing earth-shattering, but a lot of creative choices spice it up enough to make the whole experience exciting and to keep you engaged.”
“The plot has dozens of holes, and nothing really engages me in the treasure murder mystery plot.”
“The story has no pay-off; its conclusion leaves you feeling empty.”
“The story isn't interesting, and the characters are really annoying.”
- graphics44 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the colorful, hand-drawn backgrounds and comic book style, while others criticized the character designs as unappealing or poorly executed. Many found the art style to be a significant factor in their overall enjoyment, with some feeling disconnected from the game due to its aesthetic choices. Overall, while the artwork has its charm, it also suffers from inconsistencies that detract from the experience.
“✅ Cartoony, colorful, and cute hand-drawn background artwork and character models.”
“Bright comic-book style graphics play nicely into this light-hearted point-and-click.”
“The graphics might be a bit old-school 2D style, but they are well done; I find them pretty cool and lovable.”
“I wasn't crazy about the art style; some of the characters looked like malformed blobs.”
“Also, the graphics are horrific, like some high schooler who was just learning to draw characters did them.”
“The main issue is with the lack of quality writing stemming from the translation, which is always the main attraction of this type of game, and the comic book art style, which is just average.”
- gameplay22 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The gameplay is a classic first-person point-and-click experience that features a hint system based on cookie collection, enhancing exploration without relying on walkthroughs. While the game offers a variety of engaging puzzles and arcade elements, some players find the abundance of red herring items and lengthy character comments can detract from the experience. Overall, the mechanics show significant improvement over older titles, providing a solid and enjoyable gameplay experience, despite some initial toilet humor and unlikable characters.
“The gameplay is classic point-and-click fare, except it's all done in the first person.”
“Said cookie collection is a part of a hint system which is integrated smoothly into overall gameplay (eat a cookie - get a hint), there are 3 per screen and some are beyond obscure, but you won’t need all of them to go through the game unless you’re after an achievement.”
“There was a good variety of gameplay; it had some arcade games, some puzzles, and even the inventory use wasn’t obscure but within the realms of logical use, which is always good.”
“There are too many clickable red herring items that drag out the gameplay, and it's worse that when you click on them, characters make long comments about them.”
“Although the first chapter has some toilet humor and did slightly dominate plot and gameplay, as the game progresses it mostly evens out and becomes a surprisingly good, well-rounded game in gameplay, plot, and even humor.”
“There is a lot of dialogue to cover, and people are given the option to click on everything, which can make the gameplay tedious.”
- music16 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 56 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally described as catchy and fitting the humorous tone, contributing to a pleasant atmosphere. However, many users note that it becomes repetitive and grating over time, with some even opting to mute it in favor of other background music. Overall, while the soundtrack is enjoyable initially, its lack of variety may detract from the experience in the long run.
“✅ Catchy soundtrack fits the game's humorous tone.”
“Beautiful art and music, well-written script and logical puzzles.”
“Music is rather earwormish.”
“- music is even worse than the graphics (had to mute it and play Robert Rich in the background instead)”
“- music gets a little grating after a while as there's not a huge amount of variety”
“On the one hand, it's a decent length for this type of game; the artwork is nice, and the music is pleasant (if a little repetitive after a while).”
- grinding5 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and boring, with excessive dialogue and the option to click through numerous interactions contributing to a lack of engagement. Many reviewers expressed frustration, leading some to abandon the game altogether.
“I found the game extremely tedious and boring.”
“A tediously written adolescent game I couldn't be bothered to finish.”
“There is a lot of dialogue to cover, and players are given the option to click everything, which can make the gameplay tedious.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game offers a fun, casual experience suitable for short play sessions, but many users feel that its replayability is very limited, making it less appealing for long-term engagement.
- optimization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The reviews indicate that the game's optimization is a mixed bag, with some users reporting smooth performance on high-end systems while others experience significant lag and frame rate drops on mid-range setups. Overall, the optimization appears to vary widely depending on individual hardware configurations.
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game features well-crafted puzzles with a sarcastic twist, and while the story is engaging and well-written, it lacks significant emotional depth.
Critic Reviews
Demetrios - The BIG Cynical Adventure Review - Unfunny Bjorn
Demetrios - The BIG Cynical Adventure, from the one-man operation at COWCAT, presents a forgettable tale of Bjorn Thonen and something regarding saving the world. The bad quips and immensely unlikable cast make for a sub-par adventure game that looks great but sounds and feels uninspired.
35%Demetrios The Big Cynical Adventure PC game review
Harking back to the days of Sierra with a more indie darker bent.
60%Demetrios - The BIG Cynical Adventure Review
While it may look like a dirty cartoon, Demetrios: The BIG Cynical Adventure is endearing and eminently playable.
80%