Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon (PC) Review

The plot of Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon is a joke when compared to previous instalments, and especially to the original, which was basically a theological conspiracy novel à la Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code brought to the world of videogames. Comparisons aside, though, it's not that bad, and, typical of the series, it seamlessly blends ancient mystery with comedy, while giving the chance to globe-trot around… the globe.

Revolving around a seemingly endless source of power, this will lead back to some familiar groups of people, and yet, it can be enjoyed on its own without any prior experience with the franchise. If there's something bad to say about it, besides the fact that it's not as good as expected, it would be that it relies a bit more than needed on fantasy, when previous games were basically Indiana Jones-like adventures, with just a little bit of imagination thrown in.

The saving grace of this episode is, without a single doubt, the protagonist couple; the made-in-the-USA, hunky wiseass known as George Stobbart, and the - almost equally wiseass - ze fantastique, Parisienne Lois Lane, Nico Collard. While not at their best, their chemistry is, once again, great, and although their romantic fire had to be rekindled all over again, they are one of the reasons that this journey is an enjoyable one. No, big mistake… they are the main reason.

The third Broken Sword was caught up in the maelstrom of that early 2000s trend that wanted everything to be in 3D. The thing with that, however, is that, unless done right, the visuals will look inferior to hand-drawn 2D graphics, especially since, back then, adding a dimension meant losing detail. Does this look bad? No, but it looks boring, with every location, both modern/urban and mysterious/ancient, simply devoid of life.

George and Nico are, once again, the exception, with the latter one having the best facial expressions… as well as being at her sexiest. Unfortunately, the same can't be said about the voice acting. Apart from George, who is an American, the rest of the cast uses some cringe-worthy accents… especially the French NPCs (like Nico), who are the majority. Even worse, dialogue sequences and cut-scenes can't be skipped, something that wouldn't be such a big deal if everyone wasn't so eager to speak about all sorts of subjects… without being asked. Finally, the story, while not bad, relies way too much on coincidences, which makes it feel somewhat hastily written - but enough with the nit-picks…

Instead of the typical point-and-click control scheme (which has generally been used both for 2D and 3D adventures), this has the arrows move the lead around, and a contextual system, which, depending on where George and Nico stand, provides a variety of choices like 'Open,' 'Use,' and so on. While this sounds pretty simple, it feels very awkward in action. The worst thing, though, is that the camera likes to jump back and forth (many times in a matter of few metres), which can be very disorienting since this doesn't use tank controls as it should.

The final nail in the coffin, however, is none other than how lame the puzzles are. First of all, there's not a single one that can pose a challenge to someone experienced with the genre. Secondly, there's an overabundance in puzzles that, like in Resident Evil, require pushing crates - a task that feels simplistic, tedious, and repetitive. Finally, it tries too much to feel like an interactive movie/action game, with lots of "platforming" sequences (which are just a matter of pushing the required button when asked), QTEs in many cut-scenes, and even a bit of sneaking. In other words: every obstacle feels more like a speed bump than an exciting step towards the finale.