The Next BIG Thing

About

The Next BIG Thing is a single player arcade role playing game with mystery and comedy themes. It was developed by Pendulo Studios and was released on April 21, 2011. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

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.

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Play Modes

Single-Player

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77%

Audience ScoreBased on 295 reviews

story76 positive mentions

stability8 negative mentions

The game features vibrant, cartoon-inspired art style and polished visuals that create a unique identity.
The witty dialogue and eccentric humor, particularly between the main characters, provide a charming and entertaining experience.
The game successfully parodies monster movies and offers a lighthearted adventure that is enjoyable despite its flaws.

Puzzle design is inconsistent, with some puzzles being either too obvious or frustratingly illogical, leading to uneven gameplay.
The characters can be irritating and the writing sometimes lacks coherence, making it difficult to engage with the story.
The game is relatively short, which may leave players wanting more depth and challenge in their adventure experience.

story
166 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
48%
6%
The game's story is a mixed bag, with some players praising its humor, quirky characters, and engaging plot, while others criticize it for being incoherent, shallow, or lacking depth. Many reviews highlight the charming visuals and voice acting, but opinions vary on the overall execution, with some finding it entertaining and others feeling disappointed by its simplicity or abruptness. Overall, it seems to appeal to fans of lighthearted, retro-style adventures, though it may not satisfy those seeking a more profound narrative experience.
- “On the surface, it has all the ingredients for a charming adventure: witty characters, polished visuals, and a tongue-in-cheek story.”
- “The story revolves around monsters being marginalized and discriminated against, which serves as the motivation for the villain.”
- “The next big thing is a solid adventure game with incredible visuals, a well-crafted world, and an interesting, yet very short story.”
- “The story is lousy and uninteresting, the characters sometimes even unbearable.”
- “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.”
humor
94 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
99%
1%
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with many players appreciating its quirky dialogue, eccentric characters, and colorful art style that evoke a playful spirit reminiscent of classic monster movie parodies. While some found the humor to be genuinely funny and charming, others criticized it for relying too heavily on one-liners and awkward delivery, leading to uneven comedic timing. Overall, the game offers a lighthearted experience with moments of clever wit, though opinions vary on its effectiveness in delivering consistent laughs.
- “Often described as the spiritual successor to Hollywood Monsters, it revives the same playful spirit of parodying monster movies with a colorful art style and eccentric humor.”
- “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
83 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
54%
42%
4%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their vibrant, colorful, and cartoon-inspired art style, which effectively captures the playful spirit of monster movie parodies. Reviewers highlight the stunning hand-drawn 2.5D aesthetic, smooth animations, and attention to detail, making the visuals a standout feature that enhances the overall experience. While some critiques mention gameplay issues, the artwork remains a strong point, contributing to the game's unique identity and charm.
- “The cartoon-inspired art style is vibrant, detailed, and expressive, giving the world a unique identity.”
- “The beautifully detailed, hand-drawn 2.5D aesthetic still works wonders in a modern adventure game.”
- “The graphics are well done, in a cell-shaded manner, and very aptly portray the emotions of the characters, seeming more like an animated movie than a game.”
- “It's a shame, because clearly a lot has gone into the graphics, but unfortunately that doesn't make up for anything.”
- “Broken horrible graphics, and forgettable story.”
- “Apparently it has issues with modern graphics cards?”
music
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
50%
9%
The music in the game is generally well-received, with many praising the engaging soundtrack and lively voice acting that complements the humor. However, frustrations arise from a challenging music puzzle that lacks clear guidance and a volume control option, leading to a negative experience for some players, particularly those with hearing issues. Overall, while the music enhances the game's atmosphere, its implementation in puzzles can detract from the enjoyment.
- “The voice acting is lively and the soundtrack complements the humor without overpowering it.”
- “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.”
- “Using stems to on the fly reproduce a song as it was composed is not feasible without luck, especially since you don't get to hear what you are replicating.”
- “But for those like me with hearing issues, the music puzzle was not solvable. Being so close to the end, I was frustrated at having to give up so late in the game.”
- “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.”
gameplay
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
64%
12%
The gameplay of "The Next Big Thing" is primarily a standard point-and-click experience, featuring average mechanics and a mix of enjoyable and frustrating puzzles. While some players appreciated the smoothness and polish, others found the gameplay tedious and reliant on walkthroughs due to a lack of clear instructions. Overall, the game offers a blend of fun and annoyance, appealing mainly to fans of the genre despite its shortcomings in character and storytelling.
- “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.”
- “Short but sweet, the next big thing packs some great visuals in with a nifty premise, some fun adventure game puzzles, and the right mechanics to help you on your way with the more unintuitive moments.”
- “Where the next big thing falters is in its gameplay.”
- “But between the grating characters, incoherent storytelling, and outright frustrating gameplay, it’s just not worth the effort.”
- “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.”
stability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game has significant stability issues, with users reporting frequent crashes, freezes, and various bugs, including problems with animations and initial startup. Despite some troubleshooting efforts, many players have found no effective solutions to these persistent issues.
- “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 narrative may be simple, but it delivers impactful moments that resonate 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 lacks depth, making it boring to engage with.”
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.”
optimization
3 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 prompted to sing, leading to a frustrating experience for players.
- “At one point, you can ask a minor character to sing, which 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; I tried it another time, with the same result.”
- “The game suffers from frequent frame drops and stuttering, making it difficult to enjoy the experience fully.”
- “I encountered multiple instances where the game would crash unexpectedly, especially during resource-intensive scenes.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
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 the game feel pointless.”
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%
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its stunning art that enhances the fantasy setting, contributing to an engaging and immersive experience during quests and storytelling.
- “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.”

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8h Median play time

7h Average play time

6-9h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 4 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

The Next BIG Thing is a arcade role playing game with mystery and comedy themes.

The Next BIG Thing is available on PC, Mac OS and Windows.

On average players spend around 7 hours playing The Next BIG Thing.

The Next BIG Thing was released on April 21, 2011.

The Next BIG Thing was developed by Pendulo Studios.

The Next BIG Thing has received mostly positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its stability.

The Next BIG Thing is a single player game.

Similar games include Deponia, Runaway, A Road Adventure, Gibbous: A Cthulhu Adventure, Kelvin and the Infamous Machine, Deponia: The Complete Journey and others.

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