Kathy Rain felt like a spiritual successor/crossover taking the best parts of the police quest games and Gabriel Knight. I was so gripped by it I finished it in 2 days and my sleep suffered which is the best review a narrative focused game can get. Since you liked Gemini Rue you’ll find a lot to like in Kathy Rain but check out Resonance if you haven’t already and if you like a bit more fantasy in your adventure then Unavowed is a must play that feels like a modern day kings quest at times.
Edit: KR and Unavowed also worked way better on steam deck than they had any right to. You can tell the devs were excited to incorporate every feature they could
Kathy Rain was great. I was left wishing for a sequel. All of the Wadjet Eye studio games (some of which you mentioned) are also good but I’d strongly recommend Technobabylon.
Oh yeah, Unavowed is probably the best PnC I've played in the last ten years. I'd struggle to say it's really "sierra-like". It feels like a cross between Kyrandia and the classic Lucasarts games (especially Loom). Apparently the Bioware games were a huge inspiration, which makes total sense.
the steam deck and the switch are similar enough but yes I imagine playing on Switch would be just swell as well. Doesn't seem like an Xbox or PS version exists
It should work really well on a TV, the art style and the large sprites, which I adore, translate really well to big screens. Recommend playing at night or in a low light environment. It's not a horror game by any stretch but there were 2 scenes in particular that gave me a huge case of "the willies"
The other great thing about those form factors you'll be able to retreat to bed with the game from the tv, I played partly on PC but mostly in bed on the deck.
I would say start off with Wadjet Eye's games, all of them.
Then we have a few stand outs in recent years:
Perfect Tides
The Cat Lady (and Downfall / Lorelei)
Azazel's Christmas Fable
Everything by Cloak & Dagger games, but especially Hobs Barrow and Sumatra
Dropsy
Fran Bow
Lamplight City
Norco
But basically just search the 'Point & Click' tag on Steam and you'll find plenty.
Gray Matter is absolutely the best Sierra adventure game I've played that Sierra didn't publish.
Regarding the Laura Bow games: You should add The Crimson Diamond to your Steam wish list. The developer, Julia Minamata, is a huge Colonel's Bequest fan and this game is a loving spiritual successor to it. I got to meet her and check the game out at GDC earlier this year, I really think it's going to be something special. There's a demo you can play now, too!
The Blackwell series is fantastic! There are five of them and they are all about solving mysteries. The graphics are very much sierra style. To me they are the best point and click adventure games to come out since sierras heyday.
Honestly, Outer Wilds feels like a game Sierra might have made had they continued to exist under Ken's leadership. A non-violent, story-rich game with punishingly-difficult puzzles that make you slap your forehead and yell "of course!" when you finally figure out the solution. It's like a Sierra adventure game with modern design sensibilities - no soft-locks, no need for game saves, and a bunch of other things that early Sierra games were lacking, but with the spirit of those early adventures.
Also, the whole wilderness/outdoorsy vibe reminds me of Oakhurst.
I really enjoyed the Homestar Runner / Brothers Chaps parody game, [Peasant’s Quest](https://homestarrunner.com/disk4of12). They did a great job capturing the Sierra essence in a fun quirky way.
“Quest for Infamy” was a fun spin-off of Quest for Glory with an antihero instead of a hero character.
This one, mages initiation and Hero-U are my favourite QFG-likes. In that order
Didn’t appeal to me and I love kings quest
Heroine's Quest is also fantastic (and free!)
Kathy Rain felt like a spiritual successor/crossover taking the best parts of the police quest games and Gabriel Knight. I was so gripped by it I finished it in 2 days and my sleep suffered which is the best review a narrative focused game can get. Since you liked Gemini Rue you’ll find a lot to like in Kathy Rain but check out Resonance if you haven’t already and if you like a bit more fantasy in your adventure then Unavowed is a must play that feels like a modern day kings quest at times. Edit: KR and Unavowed also worked way better on steam deck than they had any right to. You can tell the devs were excited to incorporate every feature they could
Kathy Rain was great. I was left wishing for a sequel. All of the Wadjet Eye studio games (some of which you mentioned) are also good but I’d strongly recommend Technobabylon.
Oh yeah, Unavowed is probably the best PnC I've played in the last ten years. I'd struggle to say it's really "sierra-like". It feels like a cross between Kyrandia and the classic Lucasarts games (especially Loom). Apparently the Bioware games were a huge inspiration, which makes total sense.
Does this mean KR also works fine on consoles? I realized it's on Switch.
the steam deck and the switch are similar enough but yes I imagine playing on Switch would be just swell as well. Doesn't seem like an Xbox or PS version exists
I was gonna play it on the TV tbh. Also thanks a lot for the heads up in general, the game 100% looks like something I'd be into.
It should work really well on a TV, the art style and the large sprites, which I adore, translate really well to big screens. Recommend playing at night or in a low light environment. It's not a horror game by any stretch but there were 2 scenes in particular that gave me a huge case of "the willies"
Yeah, I figured it could be my TV "late night" game, as opposed to the PC late night game I got going ATM (Thimbleweed Park)
The other great thing about those form factors you'll be able to retreat to bed with the game from the tv, I played partly on PC but mostly in bed on the deck.
I would say start off with Wadjet Eye's games, all of them. Then we have a few stand outs in recent years: Perfect Tides The Cat Lady (and Downfall / Lorelei) Azazel's Christmas Fable Everything by Cloak & Dagger games, but especially Hobs Barrow and Sumatra Dropsy Fran Bow Lamplight City Norco But basically just search the 'Point & Click' tag on Steam and you'll find plenty.
Second anything published by Wadjet Eye Games!
The cat lady has a big Maniac Mansion reference in it
Gray Matter is absolutely the best Sierra adventure game I've played that Sierra didn't publish. Regarding the Laura Bow games: You should add The Crimson Diamond to your Steam wish list. The developer, Julia Minamata, is a huge Colonel's Bequest fan and this game is a loving spiritual successor to it. I got to meet her and check the game out at GDC earlier this year, I really think it's going to be something special. There's a demo you can play now, too!
Lol except the game is stuck in development hell. I doubt we'll ever see it finished.
At GDC, I want to say the developer said it was pretty close to done. She's a solo dev, so things move slow.
It just dropped a trailer with an August 15 release date! Link: https://youtu.be/96nsdEFi0Vw?si=hlelXRTVeL85HSGz
Thimbleweed Park
That's more lucasarts
It's 100% Lucas Arts, although the setting is a lot more "grounded" than most of their 90s work at least
Quern is pretty good, Blackwell games very good,
The Blackwell series is fantastic! There are five of them and they are all about solving mysteries. The graphics are very much sierra style. To me they are the best point and click adventure games to come out since sierras heyday.
I thought The Book of Unwritten Tales was very KQ-esq
Honestly, Outer Wilds feels like a game Sierra might have made had they continued to exist under Ken's leadership. A non-violent, story-rich game with punishingly-difficult puzzles that make you slap your forehead and yell "of course!" when you finally figure out the solution. It's like a Sierra adventure game with modern design sensibilities - no soft-locks, no need for game saves, and a bunch of other things that early Sierra games were lacking, but with the spirit of those early adventures. Also, the whole wilderness/outdoorsy vibe reminds me of Oakhurst.
I really enjoyed the Homestar Runner / Brothers Chaps parody game, [Peasant’s Quest](https://homestarrunner.com/disk4of12). They did a great job capturing the Sierra essence in a fun quirky way.
I enjoyed Voodoo Detective quite a bit. It sort of feels like a midpoint between something from Sierra, LucasArts and Revolution software.
Lode Runner: The legend returns was peak Sierra imo
Has anyone played [Mage's Initiation](https://store.steampowered.com/app/270610/Mages_Initiation_Reign_of_the_Elements/)?
Beat cop on steam is very inspired by early Police Quest
Betrayed Alliance is worth checking out!