Trüberbrook (2019)

There aren't too many German video games around, let alone high-quality video games. Truberbrook is a very welcome exception. It's a science-fiction point-and-click game that tells the interesting story of an American physician who visits an isolated mountain village in Central Germany in 1967. Soon after his arrival, his essay papers are stolen in the middle of the night and he teams up with a young female paleoanthropologist to retrieve his works. They soon discover that the isolated village has a sinister past and that a mysterious company was looking for something else than precious metals in the remote mines. Soon, the physician doesn't only have to retrieve his documents but must prevent a catastrophe that might change our existence as we know it.

Truberbrook has numerous points that make it a really unique, entertaining and atmospheric game. The twisted, quirky and imaginative story comes around with quite a few twists and turns. The characters are all weird, unpredictable and unique as they all have significant depth. The locations are stunning and vary from an isolated tree house over a creepy sanatorium to a hidden laboratory. The graphics look stunning and remind of a graphic novel of the highest quality. The soundtrack is vibrant, diversified and atmospheric. The game includes many addictive side quests, challenging puzzles and detailed conversations. Depending on how fast you play, it takes roughly between six and eight hours to complete all five chapters of this game. There are so many details that the game has a certain replay value. Let's note that the game includes many obvious references to legendary American television series Twin Peaks. Since this is still my favourite television series, this is definitely a very positive point.

The game isn't without its flaws. There are a few graphic glitches when backgrounds suddenly disappear. Sometimes, the game has trouble loading new sequences and needs to get restarted. The controls are simple on paper but sometimes complicated to handle. The game has some repetition, especially regarding some long-winded dialogues, and the player has to take a lot of random guesses in order to advance efficiently which might be frustrating for less experienced gamers.

Still, Truberbrook convinces with a quirky story, creative settings and charming characters that make for a truly immersive universe centered around an intriguing story. The numerous cultural references to my home country make this game stand out even more. This game deserves its international release and should get even more attention than it has gotten so far.

Detailed rating:

Atmosphere: 9/10 

Challenge level: 8/10

Controls: 6/10

Game flow: 6/10

Graphics: 8/10

Length: 8/10

Long-term fun factor: 7/10  

Sound: 9/10

Soundtrack: 8/10

Story: 8/10

Total score: 77 / 100