Willy Morgan and the Curse of Bone Town - PC Review

Willy Morgan and the Curse of Bone Town by developer imaginarylab and publishers VLG Publishing, WhisperGames—PC (Steam) review written by Richard with a copy provided by the publisher.

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Not long ago I got the opportunity to write up a preview for Willy Morgan and the Curse of Bone Town. Now, only a month later, I have the opportunity to finally finish the tale the preview set and as an added bonus have all the issues I had with the preview version improved upon.

Those of you who have read the preview know what to expect, but Willy Morgan and the Curse of Bone Town is a point and click adventure starring young Willy Morgan and his search for answers behind his father's disappearance ten years ago. After receiving a letter telling him to go to Bone Town to search for answers, off Willy goes to see what he can find out. Or at least he would, if he can put his bike back together again.

WMatCoBT is a point and click adventure just like those classic titles like Monkey Island and Day of the Tentacle, where you roam around an area interacting with objects, picking up items, and then using those items either directly or by combining them in your inventory to create something more useful. While the basic formula is still there from the classic pieces, there's also the added benefit of a sort of "interaction assistance", where you can bring up little orange circles on items or people you can interact with, and also shows entrances and exits to areas. While I do feel that this takes a little bit of the challenge I like to see in these types of games away, when you get stuck at a part and really can't figure it out, having this option as a toggle (and it is a toggle) is really useful when you're starting to stress yourself out.

As you help Willy figure out how to put your bike together and manage to leave your house for Bone Town, you will meet a cast of interesting and unique characters, explore a town that's well past its prime, and perhaps even discover a conspiracy about Bone Town and the reason for the disappearance of Willy's father. The whole art style is in that sort of cartoon-y sense that some of the point and click classics held, with 3D-styled character models for people.

Exploring Bone Town you will visit a lot of the same type of scenery, the semi-decrepit town that it is, as well as get introduced to some of the more...quirky, townsfolk. There's a drug store owner totally not inventing Dr. Pep**r, a new resident who started up a bar (really just a vending machine)/3D print shop, and an armoury and blacksmiths that have some items that may look familiar to you. Bone Town is full of references and little cameo style appearances, and I really loved the personal flavour that went into the game.

What I was particularly happy to see was that between the preview and the full release version, despite there not being much more content time wise, pretty much all of my concerns or issues with the demo were swept away. Full voice acting now available, the map destinations are easy to read, the orange interaction dots aren't showing up through the map, and no longer do I have to struggle to put away letters or readable notes that Willy picks up. Also, the text for said notes are significantly easier to read. Let it be know that the developers can't be accused of not giving some thought to quality checking.

There are a few issues I have with Willy and his adventure, mostly concerning length. Overall, the title did not take me too long to finish, especially after playing through the demo, as the demo covers most of the story itself, but this could be more so because I got through it fast, rather than it being short. Most of the puzzles are fairly reasonable, except for a few that are less about improbable solutions and more about how you think about solving a puzzle.

Some of the jokes and gags also fall a little flat, and while this may be attributed to translation as I'm fairly certain English isn't the developer's first language. Like the name "Bone Town". For a first title you probably don't usually want "Bone Town" associated with your game. Or maybe you do? I'm not a marketing professional, but what I do know is that the name of the town is appropriate for the pirate themed adventure that Willy experiences, if nothing else. For a first title from a developer, much less in a series, I can honestly say that imaginarylab did a a truly wonderful job.

Willy Morgan is a wonderful throwback of a game that will appeal to those looking for a piece of their past as a nostalgic trip, as well as those breaking into the point and click adventure scene. With puzzles that don't make you want to flip tables, a clearly defined cast of characters, and some well done visuals, Willy Morgan and the Curse of Bone Town is definitely a title that can show its potential. The ending set up the possibility of a sequel, and I can tell you now I would love to see this series take off with more title to its name.

Score: 8 / 10

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Willy Morgan and the Curse of Bone Town - PC Preview

Willy Morgan and the Curse of Bone Town by developer imaginarylab and publisher Leonardo Interactive, WhisperGames—PC (Steam) preview written by Richard with a copy provided by the publisher.

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes.

Willy Morgan and the Curse of Bone Town is a wonderful throwback to the old days of point and click adventure. A great throwback to the old days of titles such as Day of the Tentacle and Monkey Island. Let's take a look at what imaginarylab has to offer.

Willy Morgan details the adventures of the titular Willy, as he receives a letter from his archaeologist father who disappeared ten years ago. So off Willy goes, down to Bone Town in order to figure out the mystery behind his father's disappearance. Willy will meet the remaining residents of Bone Town, a town that's on its hind legs and starting to become a ruin of its former self. In the preview, we get introduced to some of the residents: the innkeeper, the librarian, the mayor, and a new resident who decided to open up a bar in a failing town. All the characters are rather unique and quirky, and are interesting to interact with.

Willy Morgan works mostly like any old-school point and click adventure: you click on things to interact with them, click on the ground somewhere to walk to it, and click on inventory items to inspect/combine them. To put it in a bit more perspective if you haven't played a point and click before (for shame), you will roaming around the environment, looking for items and objects that can help you get other items you need, or help you to get into places you otherwise would be unable to. You can also use items on other items in your inventory to combine them.

Like all good point and click titles, this is met with a combination of puzzle solving, roaming around to find something you've definitely missed, frustration, and feeling dumb when you finally work out a puzzle (Editor's Note: Can confim). Willy Morgan helps out a bit in this regard with the option to toggle on an "inspection" sort of mode, where any object that can be interacted with will be displayed on the screen as a sort of orange target.

Honestly I sort of have mixed feelings about this, as on the one hand, it saves a load of frustration if you just simply clicked a little too far off to actually hit the target, but on the other hand I'm old (Editor and Editor in Chief's Note: He doesn't know what being old is) and bitter about games that don't provide that option and how "kids these days" have it easy. Yes I used the feature, no I don't regret it. There's no way I would've noticed the sign hole otherwise. The only problem is, at the moment, that if you bring up a letter or the map while the mode is turned on, the interaction points appear through the map.

Speaking of maps, the area of Bone Town you have to explore isn't all that big, at least in the demo version. You are given a map that allows fast travel around which can be handy, as sometimes the streets of Bone Town can get a little confusing. Speaking of confusing, I have to hand it to the development team, as there were only two puzzles that stumped me for a while, one of which made me feel like a idiot when I finally got it, and the other was in the tutorial. Speaking of the tutorial, when I first started up the game my first thought was "this seems kind of like Day of the Tentacle", quickly followed by "Is that a Day of the Tentacle poster on Willy's wardrobe?" followed by "Yes it is.", so you know inspiration was taken from a good place.

The art style is very cartoon-y, reminiscent of those old games you loved in your childhood, while not being grainy and tough to view like some "retro style" titles try and do. The scenery might be a little drab, but that is on purpose, and the amount of detail and little cameos and references thrown in throughout the game really bring it to life. I will call out the fact that, as of writing this, the only voice acting you get is in the tutorial section, which left me wondering when I was going to get the voiceovers back later. Keep in mind this may change for the full release however.

Summary

As a demo, this was a great three hours spent getting through it that left me wanting more. As soon as the full title drops I'm going to be all over this like a bad smell on old gym socks. Even more than that, I sincerely hope that this will become a series if the title takes off well enough, because I'd certainly be looking forward to more from this.

Score: N/A

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