The Next BIG Thing

About

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.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

77%

Audience ScoreBased on 286 reviews

story76 positive mentions

stability8 negative mentions

The game features colorful graphics and solid voice acting, reminiscent of classic point-and-click adventures.
It has a funny story with quirky characters that provide an entertaining experience.
The built-in hint system helps players navigate puzzles without feeling overwhelmed.

Some puzzles, particularly the music puzzle, are frustratingly difficult and can lead to player frustration.
The game is relatively short, taking only about 5-7 hours to complete, which may leave players wanting more.
Certain dialogue and character interactions can feel repetitive or annoying, detracting from the overall experience.

story
162 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
48%
6%
The game's story receives mixed reviews, with some players praising its humor, engaging characters, and creative plot, reminiscent of classic point-and-click adventures. However, others find it lacking depth, with some describing it as boring or poorly executed, leading to a disconnect with the characters and overall narrative. While the art and voice acting are generally well-received, the story's execution varies, leaving some players entertained and others disappointed.
- “The story is well made with some original development during the game.”
- “The story follows the adventure of two journalists– a cynical sports-maniac and an enthusiastic and downright loony investigative reporter– fresh on the trail of a new scoop that will eventually lead to kidnapping, brainwashing and of course lots of puzzle solving.”
- “What this game does well is the humor and the story, the characters are good and the puzzles range from easy to medium.”
- “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.”
humor
87 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
99%
1%
The humor in the game receives mixed reviews, with many players praising its clever dialogue, quirky characters, and colorful graphics that evoke laughter reminiscent of classic titles like Monkey Island. While some found the humor to be genuinely funny and engaging, others criticized it as forced or lacking in comedic timing, leading to a divide in player experience. Overall, the game is noted for its lighthearted tone and entertaining moments, though not all players found it consistently humorous.
- “This game made me laugh tons of times.”
- “It's full of clever dialogue, witty remarks, and quirky humor.”
- “Absolutely hilarious writing, very enjoyable graphics, you'll never want it to end.”
- “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.”
graphics
77 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
39%
4%
The graphics of the game have received widespread praise for their vibrant, colorful art style and smooth animations, often likened to classic titles like Monkey Island. Many reviewers highlight the detailed artwork and engaging character designs, noting that the visuals enhance the overall experience despite some criticisms regarding the gameplay and story. Overall, the graphics are considered a strong point, contributing significantly to the game's charm and appeal.
- “A short and entertaining adventure game with very detailed graphic work and smooth animations.”
- “The graphics are beautiful and the characters are funny, entertaining, and absolutely lovable!”
- “The next big thing also has very beautiful cell-shaded 3D graphics with complementary 2D backgrounds, and a nice soundtrack.”
- “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.”
music
33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
48%
9%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising its quality and integration into the overall experience, while others criticize the lack of volume control and frustrating music puzzles that hinder gameplay. Some players found the music engaging and well-composed, enhancing the game's atmosphere, but the challenging musical puzzles, particularly those requiring precise timing, led to frustration and even game abandonment for some. Overall, while the soundtrack is appreciated, the implementation of music-related challenges and sound settings detracts from the enjoyment for a significant number of players.
- “The good: interesting world, good art and music, unique characters, some funny dialogue and moments.”
- “Art, music, voice, and production is well done.”
- “Unique, out of the box situations, puzzles and interesting characters, cool music and really beautiful art design.”
- “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.”
gameplay
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
61%
13%
The gameplay is primarily a standard point-and-click experience, featuring average mechanics and a hint system that some players found helpful. While the puzzles are generally not overly complex, a few are frustratingly difficult, leading to mixed feelings about the overall enjoyment. Despite its polished presentation and engaging visuals, the gameplay can feel repetitive and is sometimes hindered by outdated writing and character development.
- “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.”
stability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game has been reported to have significant stability issues, including frequent crashes, freezing, and various bugs affecting gameplay and animations. Users have struggled to find consistent solutions to these problems, indicating a need for further patches and improvements.
- “I also found some bugs, moments in which the game completely freezes or crashes.”
- “Well, about a third of the way through the game, it just freezes.”
- “Buggy as hell.”
emotional
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
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 development
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
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 needs some polish and better character development for both protagonists.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
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.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
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.
- “Amazing art, which is very pleasing to the eyes and perfectly complements the fantasy atmosphere of this story.”
- “I enjoyed the quests, the story, and the atmosphere.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's optimization is criticized for causing significant freezes during specific interactions, such as when a minor character is asked 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.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
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've completed the game, there's little incentive to go back and experience it again.”
- “The lack of meaningful choices means that replaying the game feels more like a chore than an enjoyable experience.”