I’d say the effort went into the story lines rather than the UI. Time does pass when you’re planning, when you’re shopping, when you’re exploring, etc. But you quickly get the feel of when you can plan / zoom in on cities without the passage of time being a problem - on long journeys the dialog prompts follow a pattern, and some of them effectively freeze time while the game waits for your choice.
It probably is easier to read on a tablet, which is where I have played thus far. (I dug it enough to pay $1 to be able to do so on my new phone, though.)
I haven’t tried to play on a phone, which I’m guessing would be unpleasant given the UI and the size of many of the selection points…
It’s relatively easy to play on my phone. I don’t think the size has been an issue at all.
Excellent.
There’s a lot to like about this game. First of all, there are multiple levels of challenge: not just make the trip in 80 days, but continue to improve your circuit time, or make a bigger profit on the trip, or raise Fogg’s appreciation of you. Has anyone been hugged by Fogg at the end of the journey? It’s quite a feeling of accomplishment.
Another challenge - find the short cuts. There are quite a few involving different story lines. Get teleported. Buy a ride on a secret airship designed by the greatest Artificer of all. Gain the help of an emperor and his allies. Take a ride on the Nautilus.
Which leads me to another thing I like about it - the nod to Verne’s other books, like meeting Professor Otto Lidenbrock, and wondering if there isn’t a shortcut through the center of the earth. I’m still trying to sort that one out.
The writing is excellent throughout, and there are plenty of hooks laid to expand the story and add new routes - as the December update did. I hope they keep expanding it.
Now on PC.
It seems there’s a big content update coming to iOS on October 1 as well!
Hopefully, other people are still playing this brilliant game. Assuming that’s true, has anyone gone out of their way to be the WORST possible valet? After playing the game several times to find different routes and do things like amassing wealth or getting back in the best possible time, this has proven to be the most fun.
It doesn’t appear possible to be fired, but you can certainly get Fogg mad at you. His comments are priceless. If you want to play this way, here are a few suggestions:
- Never do any grooming (the “Comb” icon).
- Always pick the most boorish possible action when given the opportunity.
- Never stay in a hotel. To do this, advance the time until it’s around 2:00 a.m.at each stop, when it’s too late to find an open hotel.
- When traveling, never select the second conversation icon. The first time the icon is available, it will usually be another passenger, The second time, it’s always Fogg, meaning you will likely be forced to tend to him.
- Sell anything that could improve Fogg’s comfort (clothing, driving goggles, etc).
Obviously, taking these actions will cause Fogg’s health to deteriorate quickly, making an 80 day circuit a real challenge. But, the comments you get from him will make it all worthwhile.
I’m pretty sure I killed Fog once. I wasn’t trying to do it. Things just went very badly.
I finally got around to playing this. I didn’t manage to make the 80 days - took me 96.
I always feel like I’m missing something when I don’t really enjoy a game that is pretty much universally praised. Some of the little stories that crop up can be interesting, but it’s not like I found them to be amazing. There was a lot of generic stuff too, like this person is looking for their baby and another person was looking for their dog.
I assume the yellow messages pop up that say things like ‘you’re feeling clever’, mean that you should try and pick choices that compliment it. Too often I felt the choices were vague and that the game was more about seeing what text would pop up next than trying to get back in 80 days. Maybe I’m not sophisticated enough to ‘get it’, but I found the writing in something like The Witcher 3, or Telltale’s The Walking Dead much better at getting me to care what is happening.
I’m curious to hear what people thought made this game so enjoyable.
For me it was about finding faster routes by taking different decisions. If I recall correctly some luck was involved as well because you need certain items to enable some options.
The choices are vague; there’s no way to know which will prove better unless you’ve tried each one before. The game is meant to be replayed, for the purpose of improving your time by making better choices, as well as getting a different story. It’s really the stories that keep me coming back.