Yesterday Origins Preview
The point & click approach has made storytelling as well as gameplay in video games unique and a genre all on its own. For instance, games from Telltale, the Myst franchise, and other adventures of the like make storytelling interactive and immersive in a way other genres may not be able to. That’s where Yesterday Origins comes in – an upcoming point & click adventure dealing with immortality for the price of memories (and probably other things not yet revealed).
Playing the first two chapters of the preview build for Yesterday Origins offered just enough intrigue and spark to make me wonder what will happen to the two main protagonists. As John Yesterday and his partner Pauline Petit, you explore the world through various time periods by solving puzzles and going through certain sequences to progress.
All you need to know is that both protagonists are immortal, but differ in their “rebirth” or “comeback” after dying. John returns without any memories while his partner returns with them which relates to how they help complement one another. It has an insidious undertone that employs dark humour while covering aspects of occultism. There’s also the flip side of being an investigative adventure relating to history and even supernaturalism. I did get stumped about once per chapter, but only momentarily; everything would eventually click and I could figure out what I needed to do. There was already a twist and a bit of a shocker in this preview build that caught me by surprise and ultimately made me curious about the full release.
Gameplay incorporates straightforward actions such as exploring the immediate environment, collecting items, and speaking with characters. Clickable areas are indicated when your mouse hovers over them, but further allows you to look at the given objects by zooming in and panning a camera to click various areas. When certain items are collected, you’re able to use them on other objects, combine them with ones you have, or even obtain hints on what to do with them. Speaking with other characters often hints on what’s needed to move forward, but is also an interactive narrative as you can choose what questions to ask or facts to confront them with.
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“While visuals may not be as refined as other leading point & click adventures, it doesn’t falter in any major way.”
Visually, Yesterday Origins uses 3D graphics similar to the 2015 King’s Quest – full of shadowing, characters that pop, and cross between realism and cartoon. While visuals may not be as refined as other leading point & click adventures, it doesn’t falter in any major way. There’s also full voice acting in both English and French coupled with subtitles of different languages. So far, it’s been reasonably enjoyable, but some characters do dominate and convey their feelings and emotions a bit better than others. Nonetheless, things will progressively develop through the full game.
So far, Yesterday Origins has been enjoyable. Many intriguing features in both gameplay and story are present that can only be satisfied by more chapters. Depending on how it develops and expands, it may just be the next point & click you’ll have to get your hands on.
