- Unforeseen Incidents is a point and click conspiracy thriller
- Explore Yelltown and discover what lies behind a mysterious outbreak
- Find out what we thought of this title and whether we recommend it
Is it too early to look back fondly on games where a mysterious pandemic has people on edge? It has nothing to do with it, but you don't have a cough or a cold, do you? Just kidding.
Today’s focus is Unforeseen Incidents, just released on mobile from Backwoods Entertainment and Application Systems Heidelberg. Set in a remote town suffering from a strange epidemic, the mystery thriller lets you play as average handyman Harper Pendrell as she stumbles upon a deadly conspiracy that could have consequences not only for her home but for the entire world.
The point-and-click genre is notoriously Marmite, so if you're completely horrified at playing it, you should look away now. But if you're open-minded or a seasoned veteran of the inventory-searching, tap-everything-on-everything style of gameplay, you'll want to stick around.
How does Unforeseen Incidents hold up? And how well does it work on mobile? Let’s find out!
Game Mode
Gameplay-wise, Unforeseen Incidents is perfectly acceptable as a point-and-click adventure. You tap to move and interact with objects while dragging items from your inventory to combine or use them in the environment. I did find opening the inventory a bit fiddly, however, as it requires tapping the top of the screen, and I accidentally pulled down my phone's status bar more than once.
Movement is also decent, as you can avoid the tedium of walking from screen to screen by double-tapping your desired destination. Not so lucky if you need to move somewhere within a single screen (or wallpaper in this case), as you’ll have to walk all the way there. These are all minor gripes, though, and they do leave Unforeseen Incidents a bit behind the more elegant design of the recently released Darkside Detective.
I will say that the puzzles tend to be more intuitive than you might expect, often requiring the use of Harper's multi-tool which has a variety of attachments, such as a screwdriver or pliers. This isn't quite the same as Monkey Island in terms of bizarre puzzle logic, and most are fairly simple yet wordy as you'd expect from the genre. Even so, it falls into the “Oh, so that's how it works” trap of any point-and-click title, so if that's your main complaint with the genre, this probably won't change your mind.
Graphics
The visual style of Unforeseen Incidents could best be described as: “hip European comic book incidentally set in America(?).” The scathing, stylized art would probably look a little more basic on a larger screen, but it blends together well on mobile. The art direction and environments can feel a little cluttered, but the welcome return of a button to highlight interactive objects makes this a minor concern.
The atmosphere of Unforeseen Incidents is conveyed very well by Yelltown's design, and you can feel the melancholy and decaying nature of this small community. The bright colors also pop really well on a small screen, highlighting or blending objects as needed. It's as much of a visual feast as any game of this type can be, and proof that you don't have to be 3D to stand out on phones.
Perhaps the only issue I might have is the playback and facial expressions. Some characters, like the reporter Helliwell, just have a facial expression with their eyes rolling like some kind of demented puppet. It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that the camera insists on zooming in for some sort of dramatic effect, which makes it all a bit awkward. But these are small things.
I think the audio is where Unforeseen Incidents really shines. The soundtrack is incredibly varied for pretty much every scene and really sets the mood. The ambient sounds also let you drift through the world and are perfect for anyone who enjoys that style of easy listening. Some clever tricks include the soundtrack being muffled in one room and clear in another, leaving you unsure of what is diegetic and what isn't.
As for the voice acting, it ranges from “pretty good” to “cloying, but we'll allow it.” It's not Shakespeare, and for fans of the Monkey Island series or other more humorous takes on the genre, it might be a little too dry to be laughable, but there's nothing offensively bad or even mediocre about it. Although I will admit that the Professor's terrible Scottish accent does encourage a laugh or two.
Performance
Nothing to complain about here either way, it's a point and click game so I'd be genuinely surprised if there were any performance issues. The transition from one screen to another is practically instantaneous. While we're expanding this section to include all the technical aspects, I suppose I should complain about the lack of separate volume sliders in the settings menu. The music can sometimes drown out what the characters are saying, and the ability to tweak those levels would have been very welcome.
But aside from that, you can play in multiple languages and you can even select different font styles, including one for dyslexics!
What I liked
While I agree that Darkside Detective is the better game in terms of art and technical aspects, I also enjoyed the atmosphere and tone of Unforeseen Incidents more. There is some comedy there, but when it gets serious, it can definitely create a very disturbing tone. I also enjoyed the more logical aspects of the puzzles, and the use of Harper's multitool is a very nice addition.
What I also liked is the fact that you can actually grab pretty much anything you need if you look around carefully enough. There's very little going back if you're a tireless scavenger, and I think that's always a plus in adventure games, since having to backtrack is always the least enjoyable part of the genre.
What I didn't like
Again, this is a short list, but there are a few technical issues that stand out to me. The aforementioned facial expressions can really get a little off-putting after a while, and of course, you'll find that the puzzles are quickly ballooning out of control and your inventory is inflating. But the last two are at least the kind of things you should expect to see in any point-and-click adventure.
I think my biggest complaint, though, is that there are clearly a few things that should have gotten a second pass for mobile use. The aforementioned tap to bring up inventory, for example, and in particular a really annoying puzzle where you have to set the dials on the radio. You can tell the developers knew that last one would really turn people off because they actually make the number jump to the correct one when you get close enough. Why they don't just let you manually enter them somehow (since figuring out what the numbers are for said puzzle is most of the work) is a mystery.
Conclusion
Unforeseen Incidents has a strong core, and aside from a few minor gripes about the controls, it has strong graphics, sound, and gameplay that, while it won't appeal to point-and-click skeptics, will give open-minded gamers a good entry point into the genre. It's a well-rounded experience that I definitely enjoyed watching and listening to as much as playing.
But since I’ve drawn favorable comparisons to games like Maid of Sker, I should temper my comments by noting that Unforeseen Incidents is a $4.99 upfront payment, just a dollar less than Sker and with no option to try it first. It is, however, significantly cheaper than the much shorter Darkside Detective which is priced at $6.99 (not including the second installment which I also reviewed).
So, whether you're an avid point-and-click gamer or looking for something with a more serious tone, Unforeseen Incidents is probably more than up your alley.