My love for point-and-click adventures originated back in the nineties where I was totally hooked on these types of games. Sadly the heydays are long gone and the development has largely shifted from big companies to indie developers. Lone McLonegan is a perfect example of a small devoted team making an ode to classic point-and-click adventures.
Reclaim your throne
Lone McLonegan is an outlaw extraordinaire. He is the cream of the crop when it comes down to the outlaw game. Feared all around, Lone McLonegan is granted the title “Most wanted outlaw in the west”. One day this all changes. There is news about a heist done by Bragg Badass making him the most wanted outlaw. On hearing this news, Lone McLonegan is set to reclaim his throne. He finds out Bragg Badass went to the Oldewell and put his loot in the best safe in existence. With the help of stagecoach Marie, Lone heads over to the old town to start his newest adventure.
Peculiar characters
The western backdrop is the ideal ground to populate it with odd characters. The guy who lost his feet, the eery undertaker, and even the mustache-bearing bartender… all look pulled out of a classic Western. The addition of popular culture references makes this game fun to just explore. When you first enter the town you can see a guy standing in front of the store resembling Kevin Smith’s alter-ego Silent Bob. When talking to him you get presented with a message saying he doesn’t seem like a talkative person and is probably just waiting for his friend. These small nods to popular culture aren’t too obvious which makes it fun to spot them. The more talkative characters offer many options to interact with, all filled with humorous responses.
An ode to the classics
Getting to the bank and opening the safe is only the beginning of this adventure. All along the way, you’ll get thrown a lot of curveballs. You’ll get caught in all sorts of difficult situations. Puzzling your way out of them is never straight forward and some deeper level thinking will be necessary to advance. The developers did a great job by using the dangling carrot principle. All around the scenes presented are things you know are relevant for your story but aren’t quite accessible without doing some other thing first. This can be frustrating at times but never in a bad way. You just know you have to think harder and try out different things. The reward feels somehow bigger once you’ve found that one thing you’ve been missing all this time.
This shows how much the classics inspired the two-person team that made Lone McLonegan. Adventure games are only as great as the challenges they present. Making things straightforward is just boring and making them too hard can alienate your audience. Lone McLonegan uses an almost ideal balance. The ode to the classics continues not only through the LucasArts’ style used but also in little references. At one point you’ll escape through a tunnel. When emerging from the tunnel, Lone yells “ah Venice” which made me crack up immediately. This is a reference to an Indiana Jones adventure game from 1989 which will probably go over a lot of people’s heads. The love for the classics shines through even though I’m sure not everyone will get these references.
Go for the PC version
I got to review this game on the Nintendo Switch. Lone McLonegan on console feels a bit odd, to be honest. These types of games are meant to be played with a mouse but we’ve seen conversions making it work on console too. This time I don’t feel the console version can meet the standard set by PC. The “mouse pointer” is controlled by the joystick. The joystick doesn’t feel precise enough to play smoothly. The objects to interact with often have small areas to interact with. These become a hassle to “point” at when using a controller instead of a mouse. It’s playable and after a while, I got the hang of it but still felt it was a bit of a hassle. I presume a smoother experience can be had with the PC version.
Conclusion
If you want a pun-filled adventure Lone McLonegan got you covered. Fans of the classics will surely rejoice when seeing what this adventure has to offer. Get it on Nintendo Switch if you have no other option but those who can opt for the PC version.
