Encodya

Encodya is an attractive point and click adventure game with a wonderful cyberpunk setting, in which certain pixel hunting problems and a couple of obtuse puzzles prevent it from shining on a par with the best games of the genre.

I wish the devs from Chaosmonger Studio could decide whether they’re making a funny and cute game or a dark and depressing one. Encodya tries to be both and is not great at it, as it pulls its punches when it has a chance to tell something more meaningful, only to bestow some cheap wisdom a bit later. Apart from that, it overwhelmed me with the amount of useless junk you hoard in your inventory (I didn’t use most of the items even once), and disappointed me with uninteresting puzzles.

In an attempt to recapture Studio Ghibli’s magic, the creators of Encodya put a lot of effort in amazing visuals, composed excellent music, hired great voiceover actors, and… botched narrative and game design. Without them, Encodya fails on both counts, as a fairytale and a game.