The Next BIG Thing

77%
Game Brain Score Based on 261 reviews
  • story
  • humor
  • graphics
The Next BIG Thing Game Cover
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In "The Next BIG Thing," play as journalists Liz and Dan amidst a Hollywood scandal where horror movie monsters are rebelling against being cast in children's films and rom-coms. Solve puzzles, explore movie genres, and uncover the mystery in this animated, hilarious adventure game from the creators of Runaway. This wacky story is full of laughs, tributes, and unexpected twists.

  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Windows
  • Linux
  • Tablet
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

77%
Audience ScoreBased on 261 reviews
story70 positive mentions
stability7 negative mentions
  • The artwork is gorgeous and the animations are high quality, reminiscent of Pixar and Disney.
  • The game features interesting characters, particularly the quirky protagonist Liz, and has some genuinely funny moments.
  • The setting is unique, taking place in an alternative Hollywood filled with monsters, which adds a fun twist to the story.
  • The puzzles can be overly simplistic or nonsensical, with some requiring obscure solutions that detract from the overall experience.
  • The dialogue is often odd and can feel disjointed, with some lines coming off as gibberish or grating.
  • The male protagonist, Dan, is portrayed as an obnoxious character, which can be off-putting for players.
  • story155 mentions

    The story aspect of the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising its humor, creativity, and engaging characters, while others find it shallow, confusing, or lacking depth. Many appreciate the lighthearted and quirky narrative, though some criticize it for being forgettable or poorly executed. Overall, while the story has its entertaining moments, it often fails to leave a lasting impression, leading to a consensus that it is enjoyable but not exceptional.

    • “I really enjoyed playing this game, the storyline was a lot of fun and easy enough to follow and (without giving too much away) the bad guy really overthought his plan!”
    • “The story is funky, the art and animation beautiful, the characters memorable and the voice acting terrific.”
    • “It's a lighthearted, quirky, entertaining point and click adventure game with a solid story, great characters, and humorous dialogue.”
    • “The art and voice acting was fine, but the story was so boring and the characters so bland that I really wasn't invested in getting anything done aside from finishing the game because I paid money for it.”
    • “The game was a big mess and it often felt like the devs had very different games in mind and that is why the story, mood, and style of the storytelling is all over the place.”
    • “The characters are forgettable and annoying, the story is boring, and the puzzles are both too easy and illogical.”
  • humor82 mentions

    The humor in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it clever and entertaining, featuring quirky characters and witty dialogue that elicits genuine laughter. However, others criticize the humor as inconsistent or forced, with awkward voice acting and moments that fail to land. Overall, while many appreciate the lighthearted and whimsical tone, opinions vary on the effectiveness of the comedic elements.

    • “The humor is for the most part quite good.”
    • “It's full of clever dialogue, witty remarks, and quirky humor.”
    • “This is a hilarious adventure that takes you to movie sets, mansions, museums, tombs, labs, and more.”
    • “I can only tell what I see, and what I saw with this game is a brutally unfunny mess that fails at every type of comedic timing they attempted.”
    • “The jokes fall flat and the humor feels forced, making it hard to enjoy any of the comedic moments.”
    • “Instead of being funny, the attempts at humor often come off as cringeworthy and awkward.”
  • graphics74 mentions

    The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim for their stunning artwork, smooth animations, and vibrant, cartoonish style that rivals high-quality animated films. Many reviewers highlighted the attention to detail and the overall visual appeal, describing it as a significant strength of the game, even if the gameplay and story did not always match the visual quality. Overall, the graphics are considered a standout feature, contributing to an engaging and enjoyable experience.

    • “The artwork is gorgeous and the animations are almost up there with the stuff that Pixar and Disney put out.”
    • “The game has amazing visuals that work well for the gameplay.”
    • “The graphics are beautiful and the characters are funny, entertaining and absolutely lovable!”
    • “It's a shame, because clearly a lot has gone into the graphics, but unfortunately that doesn't make up for anything.”
    • “Two of the most important characteristics of graphic adventures are extremely weak.”
    • “Broken horrible graphics, and forgettable story.”
  • music26 mentions

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising the soundtrack and voice acting as engaging and well-produced. However, the music puzzles, particularly the tango mini-game, are criticized for their frustrating difficulty and lack of volume control, leading to a negative impact on the overall experience for some players. While the art and character design complement the music well, the execution of certain musical challenges detracts from the enjoyment.

    • “The good: interesting world, good art and music, unique characters, some funny dialogue and moments.”
    • “Unique, out of the box situations, puzzles and interesting characters, cool music and really beautiful art design.”
    • “The overall game is good, the story is funny, the music is good and the puzzles are fun.”
    • “The music is too loud and there's no way to change just the music volume.”
    • “Worse yet, the rhythm aspect (activating those instruments at the right moment) is frustratingly vague, and the musical note indicators on the side that may be supposed to guide you often 'break' and fail to display, basically dooming every attempt that failure happens.”
    • “A mediocre game until getting to a music puzzle that caused me to nope out and quit.”
  • gameplay21 mentions

    The gameplay is primarily a standard point-and-click experience, featuring a mix of enjoyable mechanics and puzzles that range from straightforward to frustratingly obscure. While the hint system aids players, some found the puzzles annoying and the overall gameplay somewhat repetitive. Despite these criticisms, many appreciate the polished visuals and the classic adventure game feel, making it a suitable choice for fans of the genre.

    • “The gameplay is much the same as other Pendulo Studios games, but this time the puzzles are not 'moon logic' oriented.”
    • “Gameplay is smooth and enjoyable.”
    • “The point-and-click mechanics are solid, and for the most part, the puzzles didn't get too obscure and far-fetched for me.”
    • “The gameplay mostly consists of average point-and-click mechanics – surprisingly with a hint system which helped as I wanted to get out of the game as fast as I possibly could – and a handful of isolated puzzles so annoying they're probably going to haunt me for a week.”
    • “Love the artwork, but the gameplay is boring and the dialog is incredibly painful to listen to.”
    • “The game starts with little to no explanation of how the gameplay works.”
  • stability7 mentions

    The game has been reported to have significant stability issues, including frequent crashes and freezing, which detracts from the overall experience. Many users have encountered bugs that affect gameplay, with no clear solutions available for these problems.

    • “I also found some bugs, moments in which the game completely freezes or crashes.”
    • “I've done some troubleshooting and reading online about fixing the issue, but no solution was found yet.”
    • “Well, about a third of the way through the game, it just freezes.”
  • emotional4 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is mixed; while some find the story shallow and boring, others appreciate the heartwarming ending and likeable characters that evoke genuine feelings. Overall, the emotional impact is highlighted by a strong conclusion that resonates with players.

    • “The ending/epilogue is so heartwarming and great; if this were a theater play, I would stand up and clap with tears in my eyes.”
    • “At least the ending holds a heartwarming surprise.”
    • “The characters are likable and emotional, and the story is well done, though quite simple at times.”
    • “The story feels shallow and boring, lacking any real emotional depth.”
  • character development4 mentions

    Character development in the game is noted as needing improvement, particularly for the protagonists, despite the overall entertaining experience. While the character design and voice acting are praised, the story and character arcs could benefit from further refinement to enhance the narrative depth.

    • “Awesome humor, great character design, and great story!”
    • “Voice acting and character design are pretty solid across the board.”
    • “The funny animation and use of character design, plot, and verbal fun that can make these games so special.”
    • “The story would need some polish and maybe a bit better character development on both protagonists.”
  • grinding2 mentions

    While the game features a humorous protagonist and vibrant art, players find the grinding aspect tedious due to various flaws. However, it offers some relief from the typical monotony of point-and-click adventures through fast travel options and quicker dialogue navigation, which helps streamline the experience.

    • “Although the game has a positively looney protagonist with funny text along with colorful cartoony art, the numerous flaws make it tedious to finish and really enjoy.”
    • “The game adds a variety of ideas that help simplify some of the tediousness that normally stems from point-and-click adventures, such as allowing your character to fast travel to a location by double-clicking it, instead of having to sit and watch as your character crosses a large space simply to investigate something.”
  • atmosphere2 mentions

    Reviewers praise the game's atmosphere for its captivating art style, which enhances the fantasy setting and complements the engaging quests and storyline. Overall, the visual presentation significantly contributes to an immersive experience.

    • “I enjoyed the quests, the story, and the atmosphere.”
    • “Amazing art, which is very pleasing to the eyes and perfectly complements the fantasy atmosphere of this story.”
  • optimization1 mentions

    The game's optimization is criticized for causing significant freezes during specific interactions, such as when a minor character is prompted to sing, leading to a frustrating experience for players.

    • “At one point, you can ask a minor character to sing, which just causes the game to freeze for several seconds, followed by an after-performance conversation. I don't know whether the bit was never recorded or just didn't play correctly for me; just in case, I tried it another time, with the same result.”
  • replayability1 mentions

    The game's replayability is limited, as many players feel the story lacks the engagement necessary to motivate them to replay it in the future.

    • “Replay value: the story didn't grip me enough to replay this in the future.”
    • “Once you finish the game, there's little incentive to go back and experience it again.”
    • “The lack of meaningful choices makes replaying feel pointless.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

6hMedian play time
6hAverage play time
5-8hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 3 analyzed playthroughs

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