Azada

So, I've been playing through the second Azada game, picked up for cheap on gameclub credits because it's not the sort of thing I'd normally buy.

It clearly is an adventure game... there's not really that much difference between this and something like Samorost.

But the self-contained books help contribute to a general lack-of-plot feeling. Sure, there is an over-arching plot, something about collecting cards to find and drive out an evil spirit, but it's clearly meaningless and just a framing for "solve all these books". Each book has a little bit of story in it (based on famous stories) but since there's no carryover from one book to another, there's no real development. (And if you've read the famous stories, you may boggle a bit at the way the game interprets those plots.)

That sense that something is lacking, despite all the bells and whistles, impels me to keep playing faster and faster, searching for the elusive sense of meaning. Surely the next bit will be really exciting, right? (No, not really. It will be cute and empty, just like everthing else.)

It's not a bad game. It's just surprising to, at last, see the vast difference between this kind of adventure and the visual novel, no matter how many puzzles the VN adds.