Gomo
Platform: Mac, Windows
Gomo is a point-and-click puzzle game created by Fishcow Studio. Taking pages from Machinarium, Hapland, and half a dozen classic adventure games, Gomo sends you on an adventure of mundanely epic proportions as you attempt to thwart an evil alien who stole your dog and refuses to give him back unless you delivery a big shiny crystal. The nerve of some trans-galactic species, right?
Gomo sits in an area between an adventure game and a point-and-click title. It takes place on a series of flat single-screened set pieces, each featuring a simple puzzle you must work through in order to proceed. Move the mouse around until you find an area you can interact with, then click. The cursor changes to indicate when an action can take place, so it's a simple matter of watching the animations and knowing what needs to happen next.
The music, sound and artwork in Gomo are aww-inducingly charismatic, but the gameplay can be a bit restrictive at times. You can't really explore or fail at puzzles, for example. Each room has a limited number of points you can click at any time, This gives the slight impression that you're playing an interactive animated movie instead of playing a video game. It's a cute, captivating movie, but not the cranium-busting point-and-click game you might expect.
Despite being a little lighter on the puzzles than we'd like, Gomo manages to turn itself into a delightful casual gaming experience. Expect a good two hours of playtime, complete with bonuses to find and plenty of lovable moments with your new slightly clumsy best friend.
Windows:
Play the browser demo (click top image)
Get the full version (via GOG)
Mac OS X:
Play the browser demo (click top image)
Get the full version (via GOG)
Super cute with some funny moments (I've been playing the demo), but I am not sure I understand something on their site. It says there are "35 locations to explore", but in the demo alone there are half a dozen locations which are just jetted through with no interaction, as well as several that only have a single click. Are those included in the 35?
I didn't count, but I don't think those are included. Most of them are at the beginning of the game, anyway.
Demo was fun ... and funny lol
Thanks, John. It really is the kind of game art that trips my trigger, so I will probably take a chance on it.
It seems like it is entirely possible to get permanently stuck in the game.
I'm at the crate that needs to be lifted. I've filled the oil can, plugged in the cable, and pushed the button but since the crate won't go all the way up, I assume I have to oil the gears. However I can't use the oil can on anything no matter where I stand.
I think that I'd like this game very much if this were the first time I'd seen the ideas it uses. As it is, many of the elements are so similar to Amanita games (Samorost, Machinarium) that--and this is a generous interpretation--the game feels like an exercise in reinterpreting some beloved favorites. The dog kidnapped by aliens, the character straining on the toilet, and the ore cart scene are all found in Amanita games. Although, about the toilet scene I have to say that it's pretty funny that this character actually needed to go.
@ThemePark: I had the exact same issue at that gear box. Here's the solution:
Stand to the left of the gears and move the mouse closer to Gomo than the gears. You'll eventually find the spot, it's fussy.
Thanks, John!
Turns out the hotspot is beneath the gears.
Hmmm, I don't know what to think about this one. It took me a little more than an hour to play through, there are many things I didn't really like.
The creature that reminds me of one of the strange puppets of Salad Fingers reacts rather slow. The puzzles are absolutely not innovative. It's like a waste of possibilities, one screen and perhaps two very, very simple puzzles. Although I liked the style most of the time, some screens seem like they don't fit into the game. Then the humor: What the heck was that tripod scenario all about und why end it with a bomb? I didn't like the character too much, because it was pretty violent. All the time, I played, I had the feeling, something was missing, perhaps the lack of emotion of the main character and it really anoyed me, the way he threw away the things he just used. And it annoyed me for example, that the red crystal wasn't in the inventory, but then, there was one screen, were you needed it, so it appeared again: and this for the strange tripod scenario. The game played as it was done for 6-12 old children, the contents spoke a different language. If it was free, I would recommend it; of course it's nice to see an Independent team create a game. But what have these many people you see in the credits done all the time? I don't quite understand, how these guys altogether couldn't have produced a much better game.
After all it was more of a better browser game than something I would expect to have to pay for. My expectations were perhaps to high because Daedalic is involved.
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