By Adam Smith on May 8th, 2012 at 7:00 pm.
That was unexpected. I saw a link over at IndieGamesMagazine and half an hour later I sit here barefooted, the socks charmed off me by the demo version of Lilly Looking Through which is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever pointed at and clicked on. There’s a short trailer below in which you’ll be able to see that the heroine might just be one of the most delightfully and attentively animated characters to ever grace a game. It’s more Amanita than Lucasarts, with hotspots to click and activate rather than the freedom of the environment, although the short demo ends with a magnificent introduction to a wider world.
I often want to discover every possible interaction in adventure games because they might contain a gag or an insignificant background detail of character or setting. Here, I already want to click everything just to see how Lilly reacts and it took about fifteen seconds of the demo for the aforementioned sock propulsion to occur.
The demo is available for both Windows and Mac, with a Linux version coming soon.
08/05/2012 at 19:14 kastanok says:
LOOKING GLASS?!
…
Well played, Mr Smith.
08/05/2012 at 19:19 djbriandamage says:
As my eyes scanned my RSS feed I had a brief inkling of hope that this story would tell of a Kickstarter campaign for a remake of Ultima Underworld.
Alas, all I got was an incredible-looking, uniquely animated adventure title. Oh, the weighty compromises gamers must bear.
08/05/2012 at 23:08 ResonanceCascade says:
Apparently Paul Neurath is down for bringing Ultima Underworld back. Seems like a project that would do well with a Kickstarter if EA could somehow be talked into a reasonable deal on the rights…and I almost made it through that last part without laughing.
Anyway, this game looks great. Definitely going to get the demo.
09/05/2012 at 02:20 Jason Moyer says:
Someone already did a remake of Ultima Underworld, although I guess it’s 10 years old itself already (holy crap).
08/05/2012 at 19:41 frenz0rz says:
Thats some harsh trolling there, Mr Smith. Very harsh.
09/05/2012 at 00:00 Tuco says:
Yeah, that was a cruel attempt to play with our emotions.
09/05/2012 at 07:25 equatorian says:
Too soon! My wounds, they are still bleeding…
It seems that Adventure Games In General are kind of making a bit of a comeback lately. Now, THAT one isn’t a moment too soon. This one looks incredible, I’ll keep an eye out on it.
Though I do say that I still prefer ‘click on everything to read bits of background lore or protagonist’s sarcastic musings’ to ‘click on everything to see protagonist interact in possibly charming ways’, when it comes down to that.
08/05/2012 at 19:30 Syra says:
Lucidity much?
09/05/2012 at 00:38 Contrafibularity says:
No, not much, I would say a tad, scintilla, or even a splash. Perhaps a hint, streak or soupçon, but not much.
Shut up.
09/05/2012 at 09:23 Syra says:
Art, music, even what she’s wearing. It’s major themes are about a girl exploring and learning the world through her own play and imagination.
I bet it has some cliched sad story to pluck at the heartstrings too.
No you shut up!
08/05/2012 at 19:36 Humppakummitus says:
Oh, not again. I barely had time to put my pants back on after Botanicula charmed them off last time.
08/05/2012 at 20:33 Busty says:
Trailer is pretty unaffecting, maybe the demo is better?
08/05/2012 at 21:42 Rikard Peterson says:
More Amanita than Lucas, you say? That’s good. While I love the Lucas-style of games, many have made that kind of game, but there are not that many games that have taken the path of Amanita. Besides Woodruff (and maybe Gobliiins), I can’t think of any.
08/05/2012 at 22:01 Shadrach says:
Gobliins was one of the first things I thought of as well, for some reason :)
08/05/2012 at 22:15 grechzoo says:
Oh my god, that was beautiful. Thank you RPS for pointing this out.
It’s like someone decided what my perfect game would be (amanita crossed with ghibli?) and then teased me with a breathtaking demo and no sign of a release date.
I love this. and EVERYONE should download the demo and play it. Whether you like the look of the trailer or not, why even watch the trailer when you can get your true impressions with a 94meg download and a few minutes of your time. (that’s all it will take to know)
09/05/2012 at 04:11 Voon says:
I gotta say, this one’s quite charming
09/05/2012 at 04:16 webwielder says:
I really, really wanted to like Botanicula, but clicking everything on the screen to see what happens and then trying to click everything in the correct order got old fast.
09/05/2012 at 13:50 Sparkasaurusmex says:
I agree. I’m more likely to enjoy a proper point and click adventure over the hidden image type. I loved Machinarium but couldn’t get into Botanicula. This one looks interesting, but I’d prefer inventory based adventuring.