Anyone who lived through the 80’s would agree it was a fantastic decade. The music, fashion sense and a vast catalogue of hit movies are etched into the memories of everyone. I was born in 1985 and whilst I was far too young to appreciate everything, I consumed it all throughout the rest of my life and still listen to 80’s hits today. 

When I saw the synopsis of Unusual Findings, I knew it was a game I had to experience. Developed by Epic Llama Games and published by ESDigital Games, we follow three kids trying to unravel a mystery in an adventure that has disrupted the neighbourhood. It’s Christmas however and these teens are wandering around in the darkness of night without their parent’s knowledge, will they be OK, and will they solve everything they have sent out to achieve? We have another absolute indie gem on our hands here, so you’ll want to stay tuned.

Introduction

I won’t be dipping into much of the storyline in this review since it is the meat and potatoes of the game and I do not want to spoil it. The game follows three teenagers who are seemingly grounded for a science experiment gone wrong. 

After sneaky conversations, they link up and have obtained a descrambler for their cable TV connection. Doing what teenage lads do, they are desperately trying to access adult pay-per-view channels. Things don’t go swimmingly, and they instead pick up a signal from an alien craft which has crash-landed in nearby woods. Shocked and confused, Nick, Tony and Vinny decide to sneak out and investigate. 

One Small Team, One Great Achievement

Epic Llama Games is a small studio consisting of a three-man team from Argentina. Hernan Lopez, Juan Manuel Arfinetti and Fabian Peruggia Ribeiro are childhood friends who grew up a stone’s throw together. This is what makes this game a total passion project and you can feel their blood, sweat and tears has gone into making this game a reality. After a small lift at the end of the year with a PC demo and a month-long Kickstarter project, a little funding was able to push this stunning game across the finish line. Unusual Findings is by far their most ambitious project to date after their previous outing of Darkestville Castle. The team deserve a huge pat on the back along with the help from Tomas Ferrero with the remarkably atmospheric soundtrack.

Gameplay

The entirety of the game is played as a point-and-click adventure. You’ll be able to explore the local area in an attempt to find out what has occurred. Knit everything together by speaking to NPCs in a cast of well-voiced characters with well-written narratives. Starting a conversation is a case of simply clicking on someone. You’ll then have a wheel to select from, observe, grab and speak are the three options to decide from. It has a very Broken Sword-esque feel to it, by this I mean you’ll have to think about your actions and conversations and use specific items that you’ll pick up to trigger reactions and develop the story. 

For example, you may hand a wrench to an engineer who is trying to repair a bridge or build a device with various components to zipline down to your treehouse. These elements are carefully crafted to blend well within the adventure. Admittedly I did do a lot of back and forth across the game world trying to figure out what I was supposed to do next to progress, but I enjoyed this aspect of not everything being handed to you on a plate. The control scheme is very simplistic since it is just walking around and clicking and interacting, but there is a lot to engage with throughout the game and again the witty humour and writing carry everything so well. The only bugbear was occasionally on transitioning through screens you’d perhaps click something accidentally and go through a loop of dialogue you’d heard several times before.

Graphics & Audio

Pixel art understandably isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. It very much suits the atmosphere of Unusual Findings though. You can tell a lot of work has gone into designing the backdrops, animations and surroundings. We’re not just talking about blocky assets thrown together here. There is some really intricate detail poured lovingly in all areas. It’s done in such a way that it blends with the 80’s aura magnificently. 

I was pleasantly surprised to see the game’s intro open up with an 80’s banger! It’s not often you get licenced music in an indie title, but the team pulled it off. The rest of the soundtrack is a fusion of 80’s synth vibes and high-tempo music that hits the right notes and ticks all the boxes.

In Conclusion

Unusual Findings is truly a special indie game, especially if you’re an 80’s kid like me. Playing this genuinely made me feel like I was back in my childhood era all over again. It is a fantastic success story of a three-man team who have created a stunning package which has it all. The voice acting is absolutely superb across the board with interesting engagements with likeable characters. 

I adored all the deliberate nods to my days as a kid. Even the first five minutes had references to Yoda from Star Wars and War of the Worlds. Bring with this beautifully illustrated pixel-art graphics, fantastic voice-acted narrative and a fabulous soundtrack. It may possibly be one of my favourite indies of all time because it resonates with me so much. Those who weren’t aren’t as old as I will still find a really enjoyable point-and-click adventure that is exciting and intriguing to unravel.