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AdventureCasualIndie by Double Fine Productions

Broken Age

Broken Age is a hand-animated point-and-click adventure by Double Fine Productions and Tim Schafer, funded via the landmark 2012 Kickstarter campaign that revived interest in the genre. Two narrative threads — a boy in a storybook world and a girl volunteering to be sacrificed to a monster — eventually intersect. Voice acting includes Elijah Wood and Jack Black.

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Broken Age

Steam reviews

6,898 of 8,242 Steam user reviews are positive (83.7%) and Steam's own label is “Very Positive”, according to Steam's review summary for Broken Age at the last data refresh.

What Steam reviewers mention

19 of the 20 sampled reviews recommend it. Substantive texts widely praise the art, voice acting, music and humorous writing, while many recommenders also criticise the second half for obtuse puzzles and an abrupt ending, and some note a short, linear runtime.

Sample: 20 reviews from Steam's English filter (10 most helpful, 10 most recent, ), 19 recommending · how Claude counts topics

  • Art, Voice Acting and Music (praised in 13, criticised in 1 of 20): Many reviewers praise the hand-drawn art, voice cast and soundtrack, describing a storybook look, memorable performances and a calming score; one notes the visuals charm rather than impress technically.
  • Puzzle Design (praised in 7, criticised in 8 of 20): Reviewers find the early puzzles satisfying and fair, but most who discuss puzzles say later ones turn obtuse, tedious or reliant on trial and error, with one citing awkward drag controls.
  • Second Half and Ending (praised in 4, criticised in 8 of 20): Most reviewers who discuss the later acts find them weaker, calling them rushed, puzzle-heavy or abruptly ended, while a few still enjoyed the final puzzles or felt the ending left them wanting more.
  • Story, Characters and Humor (praised in 15, criticised in 5 of 20): Reviewers widely praise the funny writing, memorable characters and interesting world, though critics say dialogue choices change little, one lead is underdeveloped, and the story ends abruptly or weakens later.
  • Length and Replay Value (praised in 4, criticised in 3 of 20): Some reviewers find it short, linear or unfinished with little replay value, while others report replaying it many times or call their playtime well spent.

Good for

  • Point-and-click adventure fans, particularly those who grew up with LucasArts titles
  • Players who value hand-drawn art direction and strong voice performance
  • Those interested in Kickstarter game history — this campaign changed crowdfunding for games
  • Family-appropriate adventure game with no mature content

Avoid if

  • You expect the puzzle density or length of classic LucasArts games — Broken Age is shorter and easier
  • Traditional adventure game logic puzzles with obscure solutions frustrate you
  • You want replayability — the game offers a single linear path through both stories
  • The second half's difficulty spike relative to the first half is known to disappoint some players

Is Broken Age an indie game?

Borderline. Steam lists Broken Age under the "Indie" genre, but its publisher is on this site's major-publisher list, so both facts are reported rather than one.

  • Steam genre tags on record: Adventure, Casual, Indie — includes "Indie".
  • Developer: Double Fine Productions.
  • Publisher: Double Fine Productions, Xbox Game Studios — on this site's major-publisher list (Xbox Game Studios: games label of Microsoft, a platform holder: it makes and sells the Xbox Series X and Series S consoles).

The rubric, its limits and the publisher list: methodology.