DU 5/2022: This is what our users play – Gallery+

For six hours, I was transported to the year 2000 and the island paradise of Perfect Tides. During this season I was allowed to accompany the fifteen-year-old Mara for a year on her way to adulthood. I felt their fears, their joy, their anger, their insecurity. I’ve tried to make friends and just fit in, be it online or in real life. I experienced their family problems and tried to make the best of everything.

And I was only able to get into it because the characters and their stories were written by Meredith Gran well written and are therefore the clear highlight of the game for me. This is followed by the pixel graphics, which are mostly consistent, but sometimes also very coarse. Especially when the characters come to the fore, the depiction becomes very blocky, but I can overlook that. The background music is nice, but not consistent, and there is even no voice output at all. But I can live with that too.

However, I find it a pity that you often wander across the island without knowing exactly what to do next. There is simply a lack of clear information here. The few puzzles are hardly an obstacle even for inexperienced adventure players, after all there are some alternative solutions and optional puzzles as well as different endings. Mouse control relies on Sierra’s familiar right-click toggle interface.

Conclusion: I was slightly disappointed in terms of gameplay, but the overall experience is positive overall thanks to the emotional story.

You can find more about this and many other adventures in my user article “AGS-Highlights 2022 (1)”.