Truberbrook is a point-and-click sci-fi adventure game that has players follow American quantum physics student Hans Tannhouser during his vacation to the eponymous town of Truberbrook in rural Germany. While Truberbrook’s graphics are unique and constitute one of the game’s most positive aspects, not much else contained within the game does much to recommend itself. From unintuitive puzzle solutions to a weak plotline, Truberbrook’s many negative elements ultimately relegate what could have been an interesting adventure to mediocrity.
After a brief introduction scene that orients players to the game’s controls, Truberbrook introduces players to the town of Truberbrook. Protagonist Hans is dropped off on the city’s outskirts, and players take control from there. Even at this early juncture, the beauty of the game’s graphics is apparent. Game developer btf utilized photogrammetry – a technique in which pictures are taken of real-life miniatures and then rendered within a computer – in Truberbrook, and the results are graphics that truly stand apart from those of most other games. The sets and character models in Truberbrook definitely represent the game’s high point, both in terms of implementation and innovation.
However, despite the fact that the town of Truberbrook is located in Germany, it is devoid of any uniquely German characteristics. There are sprawling mountains, a lake, and a small town square, but all of these features could have been found in the Pacific Northwest, which Hans calls home, or even in the upstate New York town of Ithaca, which Hans studies quantum physics in. Besides for certain characters speaking in vaguely German accents, nothing felt distinctly German about Truberbrook, which feels like a missed opportunity.
To advance the plot in Truberbrook, players must comb through the environments available to them at any given time and find objects to put in Hans’s inventory. This system hews closely to the gameplay of the classics of the point-and-click genre, but feels exceedingly tired when combined with the fact that the game automatically puts together objects in Hans’s inventory for players. Players do not need to try to think up the item combinations necessary to achieve objectives; instead, once they have found all requisite items, the game will do it for them.
Moreover, there’s an option to show players all the on-screen objects that Hans can interact with. This option would be nice for players struggling at a given point in the game, but Truberbrook takes it too far by seemingly punishing players who do not mechanically click on each item and perform every possible action until something works. Many solutions to puzzles are downright unintuitive, while other obstacles appear to exist solely to elongate the game. Problem-solving in Truberbrook is, in essence, minimized when it could have been celebrated.
On a positive note, most of the inhabitants of Truberbrook that Hans meets are memorable. The cast of characters, ranging from the manager of the inn that Hans stays in to the town’s eccentric patron, is colorful and zany and imbue the game with additional life and vivacity. However, Hans’s encounters with these side characters feel too spaced out. Hans will go significant periods of time unable to converse with many of the interesting characters introduced early in the game.
In the same vein, many of the discussions that Hans has with side characters feel meaningless. Hans can learn facts from talking with a given character only to be surprised when learning the same exact thing from a second person. The speech options presented to players during Hans’s conversations are also static, no matter if players may have uncovered a certain detail that would have been interesting to talk about with a specific Truberbrooker. These types of occurrences detract from the player’s level of immersion, which is a dangerous proposition for a game that revolves around its storyline.
Even though Truberbrook has stunning aesthetics and much potential, in its current iteration it is not worth delving into. A short game lasts about six hours, Truberbrook fails to deliver in terms of its storyline and its puzzles. These failures ultimately bring down Truberbrook’s score to a 6.2/10.
Check Out the Trüberbrook Launch Trailer:
Trüberbrook is available for 29.99 USD / 29,99 € / 24,99 GBP on the Nintendo eShop, Microsoft Store, and PlayStation Store (EU/US). PC, Mac and Linux players can purchase the game on Steam or GOG.
PlayStation 4 Review
I'm a recent graduate of Columbia University. Gaming has been a passion of mine my entire life; I enjoy everything from RPGs and FPSs to stealth and narrative-driven games. I love the deeply immersive quality that good video games inherently possess, and am looking forward to highlighting games worthy of acclaim. When I'm not studying or reading, you can catch me playing games like Uncharted, Dishonored, The Witcher 3, and Far Cry.
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