Whodunnit?
The Abbey is something of an odd beast. It's a cartoonish point-and-click adventure which looks a little like Discworld crossed with the Name of the Rose (check out La Abadia del Crimen for a superb video game interpretation of the classic movie) and which is certainly interesting but fails to live up to its potential. The lush cartoon visuals are at odds with the creepy nature of the story while there's just a little too much dullness which gets in the way of this being a great experience. Set in an old abbey, a medieval version of Sherlock Holmes and his apprentice are sent in to investigate a series of bizarre events but who quickly find themselves under attack and in the middle of a complex conspiracy to guard an ancient secret. The gameplay is classic point-and-click stuff, where you navigate the various environments, searching for clues and items and solving the many puzzles which will allow you to get one step closer to the solution to the mystery while there are also multiple choice dialogue sections. The Abbey isn't a bad game and lovers of mystery adventures should get a kick out of it. The storyline is complex and entertaining for the most part, with lots of twists and turns, and with the writing being of a decent standard. The visuals are quite lush too, with lots of atmospheric environments to explore which are dripping in detail, while the voice acting is reasonable. The puzzles are quite satisfying to solve, if a little over complicated at time, while the whole thing is a bit too linear with the multiple choice sections only giving the illusion of choice. Apart from this though, The Abbey is an enjoyable romp.
