Point & click games worth playing despite not liking the genre?

[Reincarnatedwolfgod]

I happens to dislike the point & click gameplay. Despite that I know there exist some point & clicks worth playing just for the writing and story. I usually highly value writing and story in game and I sure that i'm missing out on some good stories by avoiding the genre.
So I am interested a point & click games that has really good writing and an interesting stories.

I find it that point & click games with good writing has fairly easy to tolerate gameplay of as long as I use walkthough the whole time.


So far there is only one point & click game that I really liked. The Longest Journey

The writing was great, I was interested seeing what happen next in the story, it had many interesting characters, and I had a great desired to learn more about the world the game took place in(I still do). It's one of my favorite games. Much like any other point & click; I used a walkthough to make the gameplay tolerable.

I liked telltale's walking dead; but I don't count it as a point and click game.
It's narrative based game with some basic point & click mechanics and QTE's. Which better I like better then old school point and clicks.


EDIT-
Well following one the recommendation. I played and beat Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers. it was a pretty good game and I see why is considered a classic but My opinion of point & click gameplay has not changed. I not would not make a top list of favorite game story's if I made one but still a good story that I felt worth experiencing.
I am able to play the next two games but plan take a little break before playing the second game.

 

[The Madman]

The Longest Journey is amazing and I'm glad more people are playing it. It's sequel Dreamfall is a bit strange but equally worth playing if it's story you're after and the new Dreamfall: Chapters series has been shaping up really well also. Consider giving those a look if you haven't already since despite their gameplay flaws, the series has consistently great writing and some of the most likable protagonists in the gaming genre.

Those aside however... hmm...

Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templar is a fun point & click I always like to recommend. Unlike TLJ it's a bit more puzzle driven but it's also largely a lot better at puzzles than TLJ was and the story itself is a fun one; A sort of murder mystery plot with a pair of entertaining protagonist who share good chemistry with one another. It doesn't take itself too seriously but doesn't fall into the trap either of being too ridiculous.

Any of the old Tim Schafer point & clicks are worthwhile. Most people will say Grim Fandango or Monkey Island, but me, I'm all about the Full Throttle! If you want a funny well written point & click you can't go wrong with any of his older games nor will you go wrong with Sam & Max: Hit the Road, which is my favourite comedy point & click out there. The newish Telltale Sam & Max series aren't bad either, they take a while to get going as it was Telltales first real attempt at a game but once they find their feet they make for a great fun comedy adventure.

I have not actually played it myself yet, but I've heard very good things about Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. Keep meaning to try it.

Want something more serious though? The Dig. Damned good game, done in the style of a Spielberg movie with the cooperation of the man himself. A sort of space sci-fi thriller it's totally worth trying out.

Also since you mention Walking Dead, do try Wolf Among Us if you haven't. I actually prefer it over Walking Dead, it's got better style and a more unique story to be told with characters that were fun and interesting enough it actually got me to go out and buy the comics its based on.

 

[Reincarnatedwolfgod]

The Longest Journey is amazing and I'm glad more people are playing it. It's sequel Dreamfall is a bit strange but equally worth playing if it's story you're after and the new Dreamfall: Chapters series has been shaping up really well also. Consider giving those a look if you haven't already since despite their gameplay flaws, the series has consistently great writing and some of the most likable protagonists in the gaming genre.

I already beaten Dreamfall: The longest journey and played the two books of Dreamfall: Chapters. I hope the game developer gets a chance make the next The longest journey game after the dreamfall story is done.

Dreamfall: The longest journey-I was not as good writing wise compared to the first game but the writing was pretty good if you ignore the horrible cliffhanger ending. The gameplay worst the first game for me since a walkthough does not help one deal with shit combat.

Dreamfall: Chapters- I am liking it so far and it's definitely shaping up to a great game. Now I am waiting for book 3 to come out. I am also quite excited that Crow will be in book 3 because Crow is awesome.

I really should make thread dedicated to talking about the The longest journey/Dreamfall games.

 

[Dalisclock]

Monkey Island 1, 2 and 3 are all pretty good, though most people would put 1 and 2 as much better then 3. Nobody really likes Escape and the Telltale Monkey island games are generally considered decent.

If you're into the humorous games, Sam and Max might also scratch that itch. Hit the Road was considered great, while the new ones(made by Telltale) are good and get better as they go along.

The Broken Sword games are generally well done. 1 and 2, again, are considered the best of the bunch. I liked Sleeping Dragon but it has some crap puzzles(AKA a lot of Box puzzles) and some annoying QTE and stealth sequences. I just finished 5 and liked it, though the game doesn't actually pick up until the second half. Angel of Death....we don't talk about it.

Gabriel Knight is similar to broken sword with more of a horror and supernatural emphasis. Sins of the Fathers is considered the best, with the other games in the series tied for 2nd, depending on who you ask(both have flaws and strengths).

 

[The Madman]

I hope the game developer gets a chance make the next The longest journey game after the dreamfall story is done.

You and me both. Dreamfall: Chapters is the only kickstarter I've ever thrown any serious money at because I just so desperately wanted to see it succeed. You thought Dreamfall's ending was a cliffhanger? Imagine waiting around 9 years like I had for a continuation of the franchise.

And for what it's worth if Dreamfall: Chapters continues to go as smoothly as promised I'd have absolutely no qualm whatsoever throwing money at a Longest Journey kickstarter down the line as well. Hopefully Chapters might do well enough to fund a potential continuation of the series on its own, but if not I do hope the devs give kickstarter another go since while we're not the biggest fanbase out there I like to think TLJ fans are at least passionate ones.

 

[Reincarnatedwolfgod]

Gabriel Knight is similar to broken sword with more of a horror and supernatural emphasis. Sins of the Fathers is considered the best, with the other games in the series tied for 2nd, depending on who you ask(both have flaws and strengths).

I just got those 3 games on gog for little less then $5. I will be playing the first one later today.

 

[Mutant1988]

Day of the Tentacle, Sam and Max Hit the Road and Full Throttle are all worth playing even if you're not into point and clicks. The comedy of the first two is top notch and the badassitude of the last one shouldn't be overlooked by anyone. The Monkey Island games are also worth checking out.

 

[CrystalShadow]

Space quest. Corny, stupid, but almost always hilarious.
But... It suffers the same frustrations as most of Sierra's adventure games.

Also... The first 3 are graphical text adventures, and those bring a whole other level of pain.
You think point & click is annoying? You've clearly never played 'guess the word that describes the thing you need'... Ugh. XD

 

[asdfen]

Grim Fandango
The Secret of Monkey Island 1,2,3
Day of the Tentacle
Sam and Max original
The Walking Dead
Wolf Among Us
Loom
Gabriel Knight games
The Longest Journey games

 

[Reincarnatedwolfgod]

It suffers the same frustrations as most of Sierra's adventure games.

Is the frustration is moon logic puzzles?
That is a thing I know expect to exist in old adventure games. Even The Longest Journey had a couple of those kinds of puzzles.

 

[FPLOON]

Corruption of Champions!

But seriously, outside of some of the other choices mentioned so far, I would throw in Back To The Future by Telltale because why not...

 

[Dalisclock]

Not quite what you were asking about but Yahtzee made a series of Horror Adventure games called "5 days a stranger', "7 days a skeptic", "trilby's notes" and "6 days a Sacrifice".

"5 days" is at best OK(it's basically a haunted house story), while "7 days" is pretty much the same thing, but IN SPACE(and frankly, pretty shitty). "Tribly's Notes" is actually fairly good and quite creepy(Silent Hill-type creepy), but isn't point and click(you have to type commands). "6 days" is point and click and nicely wraps up the entire series.

All are either free or available cheap if you want the "Special version"(aka you want to support Yathzee).

If you are into horror games, I'd recommend at least playing "Notes" and "6 days" and watching Yathzee's Ego review(a LP where he plays his own games) of the first two games so you're up on the plot without having to deal with the crappy puzzles and interface.

 

[Dalisclock]

It suffers the same frustrations as most of Sierra's adventure games.

Is the frustration is moon logic puzzles?
That is a thing I know expect to exist in old adventure games. Even The Longest Journey had a couple of those kinds of puzzles.

Moon logic is part of it, but also the fact that you can and will die....a lot. Usually for really stupid reasons. One of the space quest games involved the possibility the PC stepping off a 2 ft high ledge and breaking his neck, because the character is incredibly stupid(apparently). Or picking up a piece of glass and cutting open your arm and dying instantly. Though the Gabriel Knight games were actually really good at only killing you in situations where it made sense and giving you fair warning you were in danger(Are you in a dark forest hunting a werewolf? Probably a good idea to save....).

Lucasarts had the "no PC death" policy pretty much as a response to Sierra's love of totally murdering you all the time.

 

[Neverhoodian]

It's not exactly Shakespeare in terms of writing, but The Neverhood Chronicles makes up for it with humor and charm. The game was a financial failure, but it's gained a rabid cult following over the years (of which I'm a member, as you could probably tell by my username).

The brainchild of Doug TenNapel (better known for the Earthworm Jim series), it utilizes zany stop-motion claymation visuals. It also has the weirdest soundtrack you'll ever hear, courtesy of Terry Scott Taylor. It's an insane combination of jazz, folk, bluegrass and absurdist improv...and it is awesome. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wh4WnHlsbvM] There are a number of puzzles, but most of them are straightforward. Best of all, the game still works on most modern operating systems with little to no fuss.

There are some issues, though. For starters, it can be hard tracking down a copy nowadays. Only 40,000 were sold in stores, and there hasn't been an official remake or re-release (though a spiritual successor called Armikrog is coming out this August). Decent copies often sell for $80-100 in the original jewel case. Also, a few puzzles near the end are needlessly obtuse, most likely in an attempt to pad the game's length (you can beat it in 2-3 hours if you know what you're doing).

Here's a starter tip if you decide to try it out:

Spoiler

Yes, you have to walk down the entire Hall of Records and pick up the item at the end, or you won't be able to finish the game. No, you don't have to actually read the Hall of Records.

 

[CrystalShadow]

It suffers the same frustrations as most of Sierra's adventure games.

Is the frustration is moon logic puzzles?
That is a thing I know expect to exist in old adventure games. Even The Longest Journey had a couple of those kinds of puzzles.

Not just moon logic. The real killer for sierra games is hidden irreversible checkpoints. Forget something early on in the game? Too bad. Now you can't solve this puzzle at the end of the game, and nope. We won't let you go back and get what you need.
Hope you have a guide! And a save file old enough to go get that thing...
Otherwise, have fun redoing the whole game, sucker!

(space quest is actually pretty good for logic usually. As long as you can get into the spirit of a sci-fi parody, and are decent at scifi references, and looking for amusing combinations. It's also very thorough. Most 'bad' combinations often have some humourous effect, and failing can often be more fun than getting the right answer to solve the puzzle)

I mean the most frustrating game by far is kings quest 3. Which is because they tried something unique, but ultimately very misguided. (you have to observe the pattern of the main enemy, and be in the right place at the right time, doing the right thing... Or you die. But... You have to go off and do random exploration in the gaps... Except you have no method beyknd rote memorisation to know how long the gaps are. Even 1 second late? You die. Thematically brilliant, but as a game? Frustrating as all hell)

Other problems of sierra text adventures; their text parser is awful. Seriously, you know exactly what items to combine? Tough. We wont accept anything but the exact right words for those items, and the action to take with them.
Oh, you got away with calling it THAT before? too bad. That's not acceptable for this puzzle.
Oh, there's an item here? What, you want it? Hah. No. Use the correct action (which we don't explain how to say), or we won't let you. What's that? We described an item as being X? well, too bad, you can't get it unless you use word 'y', which we never call it ourselves, EVER, and no, if you call it 'x' which we just used as a description for it, we won't know what you mean. Good luck figuring out what it's real name is, sucker!

Oh, quick! You have 3 seconds to type this absurdly long sentence that has to be just right. Use the right words now. No spelling errors thanks! Ohh... Too slow! You die! XD

Ugh. Text adventures. Such fun. XD

Give me a pixel hunt any day...
They can be worth it, but the frustration levels... Wow.

(also, Sierra games often contain puzzles as DRM. You literally cannot solve these with any amount of logic. You are expected to find the answer in the manual. Which can be tough with re-releases that skimp on manuals. Or make stupid mistakes. Eg the space quest collection from 2006 failed to include the 'tricorder chip puzzle' solution for space quest 6, and that puzzle basically amounts to trying to solve a 5 number combination lock with no clues. Intentionally so, because a legit copy of the game is supposed to tell you the correct answer in it's manual. But the company that did the re-release forgot... Thankfully we have the internet now... XD)

 

[Arshaq13]

I'm only mentioning this because I haven't seen anybody else mention it but(and I have just finished playing it, so take this with a grain of salt if needed),

Charnel House Trilogy. It's pretty new and it's a psychological horror game that stars a little known man named Jim Sterling.
It's not the greatest but it's horror done right.

 

[Fieldy409_v1legacy]

Dont force yourself to play a game you dont like, just watch a lets play.

 

[ccggenius12]

So, I notice that Back to the Future: the Video Game hasn't been given a mention yet, so I'll do that. Maybe it's because I got if for ~85% off during a GoG sale, but I'd say it was worth what I spent. If you always wanted more Back to the Future, but that animated series didn't do it for you, this is a solid add. The puzzles are all pretty straightforward, and there is no fail state, they just reset if you screw up. And, if you REALLY just want the story, there's a built in hints function that pretty much tells you exactly what to do, if you want it to.
I don't know if my install was screwed up or whatever, but I'd recommend playing with subtitles on, as the audio cut out a few times during my play through, and I missed some dialogue as a result.
Mostly though, I'd say that the few dollars I spent was well worth it just for Christopher Lloyd's delivery of new lines.

By the way, this seems like the place to ask, does anyone know if there's a way to easily get Parts 3 and 4 of the Monkey Island series? GoG and Steam only offer the first two, and the fifth. I know those two didn't get an hd remake, but still, I like getting the whole story, and would put up with '90s graphics to do so.

 

[Fat Hippo]

I'd recommend Technobabylon. It's very new, but it looks like it could be twenty years old. The writing is great, the voice work is overall solid, and the puzzles tend to be fairly logical and rarely leave you frustrated. I'm not a big fan of old school point-and-click gameplay myself these days, but I played through this and enjoyed it the entire way. If you're fan of science fiction, and don't mind pixel-art graphics, there's really not much reason not to play it.

 

[Rastrelly]

Syberia games are great. Mentioned before Grim Fandango is great. There are wonderful classics like Kyrandia series, Space Quest series (and a bunch of other games with -quest in the title)