The gaming industry doesn't really have that many "auteurs" in the business. In contrast to films, literature, and music, selling a game based on a name alone is almost entirely unheard of. Tim Schafer is one of the few in the industry who can boast that feat. If the words "A Tim Schafer Game" appear on a game box, it's pretty much guaranteed to be a funny and memorable adventure.
Even though Schafer's games take on completely different settings and genres, they all still bear his distinct style and humor. To commemorate the recent success of Psychonauts 2, there's never been a better time to dive into Tim Schafer's ludography.
10 Psychonauts The Rhombus Of Ruin Makes Good Use Of VR
Rhombus of Ruin bridges the gap between the first and second Psychonauts titles and shifts the genre from action platformer to first-person graphic adventure. Despite this change, Raz's psychic powers from the first game such as pyro and clairvoyance work pretty much as they did before. Rhombus of Ruin makes great use of the VR as players can use their clairvoyance powers to switch to the perspectives of the other characters who inhabit the rooms. The puzzles are creative and it's nice to see these characters once again, but the adventure is criminally short.
9 Full Throttle Is A Heavy Metal Biker Adventure
Full Throttle marked Schafer's first solo led title. While considerably shorter and less refined than Schafer's other graphic adventures, Full Throttle still boasts his trademark humor and entertaining cast. Ben represents a deviation from the standard graphic adventure protagonist by being more of a wish fulfilment character. Instead of taking on the role of a weak schmuck, players took to the road as a tough as nails biker. The ride gets considerably bumpier during the third chapter as players are forced to engage in some clunky combat sequences and puzzles start getting more obtuse.
8 Broken Age Brings Back A Seemingly Dead Genre
Broken Age was the Kickstarter success story that helped pave the way for other crowd funded classics. Players take on the roles of a boy named Shay and a girl named Vella. Both characters have their own story that the player can switch between whenever they want. While the two settings seem entirely disparate, both characters are eventually forced out of their comfort zone and into the other person's world. Broken Age's tantalizing mystery as to how these characters are related is peppered with some interesting red herrings. The only real downside is that the reveal doesn't quite live up to the story's early promise.
7 Brutal Legend Puts On An Amazing Show
Part real time strategy, part hack & slash, and part sandbox game, Brutal Legend puts on an amazing rock show. The main campaign is composed of RTS battles where players can fly around the arena and can even join their troops in the fray. Between missions, players navigate a creative heavy metal world filled with distinct landscapes, exotic wildlife, and compelling characters. Bolstering the funny dialogue are solid vocal performances from the likes of Jack Black, Jennifer Hale, and Ozzy Osbourne. Brutal Legend's ambition, comedy, and soundtrack are enough to overlook some of its gameplay quirks.
6 The Secret Of Monkey Island Is A Treasure Worth Uncovering
Released around a time when most graphic adventure games were just Tolkien knock offs that were entirely po-faced, The Secret of Monkey Island was a breath of fresh air. The witty dialogue and memorable characters made players want to talk to everyone and their dog- literally, Guybrush can actually talk to a dog at one point. There's just so many funny moments, such as the insult sword fights where it's more important to have a sharp wit than a sharp blade. After all these years, The Secret of Monkey Island is still a treasure worth uncovering
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Day of the Tentacle was the sequel to Maniac Mansion and marked Schafer's last collaboration with Monkey Island co-writers Ron Gilbert and Dave Grossman. Nailing the look and visual gags of Chuck Jones, Day of the Tentacle was the first LucasArts graphic adventure to fulfil the promise of an interactive cartoon. Players were forced to think more three dimensionally as the time travel mechanic led to some creative puzzles. Need some vinegar for that patented super battery? Just bury some wine in the past and then open it up in the distant future when it's properly aged.
4 Monkey Island 2: Lechuck's Revenge Expands The World
Monkey Island 2: Lechuck's Revenge was darker, more ambitious, and featured a more dynamic soundtrack than the first game. Rather than being a standard graphic adventure where players progressed through a linear moving story, Lechuck's Revenge had three different islands that Guybrush could explore with their own specific puzzles and characters.
Once players passed the tutorial chapter, they largely had the freedom to solve the game's puzzles in the order that they wished. Monkey Island 2's only blemish was that the story and characters were of lesser quality than in the first game.
3 Psychonauts Put Double Fine On The Map
Psychonauts marked the first game by the newly formed studio Double Fine and Tim Schafer's first non-graphic adventure title. In contrast to the uninspired grasslands and lava worlds that populated almost every other platformer, Psychonauts boasted varied and imaginative locales that all took place in the minds of the quirky cast that populated the story.
Levels included a stage play that reenacted the tragic upbringing of a washed up actress, a city that's ravaged by a giant rampaging bull, and a twisted suburban neighborhood filled with government agents disguised as road workers and housewives.
2 Grim Fandango Is LucasArts' Swan Song
It seems poetic that Schafer's finest graphic adventure would be his last title at LucasArts. Grim Fandango whisks players away to a calaca afterlife with charming characters and a journey that spans four years. Paying homage to cinematic classics such as The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca, the game takes on a film noir style and aesthetic without ever succumbing to pastiche. While players may take issue with the tank controls and cryptic puzzles, the first rate story and unforgettable cast is enough to see this adventure through to the end.
1 Psychonauts 2 Is The Culmination Of Everything The Studio Has Learned
Some might say it's too early to deem Schafer's most recent release as his best work yet, but Psychonauts 2 is probably the culmination of all the lessons that the studio has learned. It not only addresses the gameplay problems with the original title, but opens up a world of psychic espionage that was only briefly glimpsed at in the first installment. There may not be a level that's quite on the level of the Milkman Conspiracy from the first game, but the minds players can plunge into tackle serious subjects in a way that's light-hearted without ever coming off as pretentious or exploitive.