If there is one trend that from the nineties to today has managed to attract and satisfy PC players, without upsetting certain rules and styles of play, it is undoubtedly that of "point and click" graphic adventures capable of thrilling many players thanks with well-articulated plots and engaging with investigations, dialogues and puzzles. And that's how it is Willy Morgan and the Curse of Bone Town fits, exactly 30 years after the timeless The Secret of Monkey Island, into the PC scene thanks to the work of a small Italian studio, Imaginarylab, drawn by the creativity of Ciro Camera and supported by VLG Publishing for distribution via the Steam and GOG platforms.
Pirates, treasures and archeology
In the role of the teenager Willy, orphaned of his father at an early age, we will investigate the mysterious disappearance of his parent, linked to the pirate story of Captain Kidd and his crew, while we will explore the alleys of Bone Town, a small depopulated village but characterized by presence of various rather characteristic personalities. The pretext for starting Willy's future is as simple as it is effective: the young protagonist receives a letter sent by his archaeologist father Henry, and dated 10 years ago, containing a clue about his mysterious fate and the secret kept in Bone Town. Here then is that the pirate and adventurous blood that flows in the veins of the little and bespectacled Willy begins to heat up and sets in motion a search driven by curiosity and by wanting to follow the last steps taken by the late archaeologist father.
If the plot of Willy Morgan and the Curse of Bone Town is very simple, even the gameplay is not far behind with truly elementary commands and manageable exclusively with the two mouse buttons to perform actions and observe objects, and the space bar to highlight points of interest in the various game frames. After a short tutorial inside Willy's house, also present in the demo released by Imaginarylab, we will move to Bone Town where we will be able to interact, through often ironic dialogues, with the few inhabitants of this small town located in an unspecified continent but which it seems to stop halfway between a Central American destination and a pirate port.
The Secret of a good graphic adventure
As a good point and click we will then go to observe, collect, combine objects and solve simple puzzles that will allow us to bring Willy closer to discovering the truth about his father's end. The general difficulty level of the title therefore stands at medium-low levels and, adapting even to the less experienced of the genre, guarantees a longevity of Willy Morgan and the Curse of Bone Town over a handful of hours of gameplay: our run lasted about 4 hours, at the expense of the 7-8 hours of gameplay suggested by the developers. To increase the short duration of Willy Morgan we think the 35 objectives present in Steam, able to satisfy the most demanding players and who want to complete this indie title 100%.
While we will explore the many points of interest of Bone Town, which can then be traveled quickly thanks to an interactable map, we will come across sometimes surreal and funny situations packaged thanks to the Unity graphics engine and characterized by a cartoon style that mixes static backdrops and 3D animated characters well. The animations, however limited, are quite fluid and natural and well characterize the peculiarities of the various bizarre characters with whom we will have to deal. To accompany the graphic thrust we will then have an original soundtrack, a few but effective credible sound effects that are well aligned with the adventurous and ironic style that accompanies the title and, finally, a good level dubbing in English. The lack of a dubbing in Spanish, a choice dictated by probable budget limits of an independent studio, is accompanied by an excellent and complete localization in Spanish (and in numerous other languages) of the game menus and dialogues via subtitles.
Willy Morgan and the Curse of Bone Town is a small title packaged by a young studio that expresses the passion for an evergreen genre such as that of point and click graphic adventures. With a simple but interesting plot, well-characterized characters and convincing and ironic dialogues, we can only consider the Imaginarylab product a good title and advisable both for veterans of the genre and for newbies. Certainly we would have liked more variety and difficulty in puzzles, capable of increasing a very limited longevity, but for being the first work of an indie developer, it effectively manages to lay a solid foundation for a bright future in the gaming landscape on PC.
