Point&Click Scifi Adventures
Neuromancer (1988) is a great cyberpunk adventure loosely based on the events of William Gibson's eponymous novel. Undoubtedly the best "hacking" game in existence, Neuromancer was 2004 inducted into GameSpot's list of the greatest games of all time. Taking place in the year 2058 in Chiba City, Japan, the plot is centered around the protagonist attempting to discover the truth behind the mysterious disappearances of friends and foes. Locations, characters, items and nuances of cyberspace from the novel appear. Before you start, you should carefully read the manual, as there are many hints hidden. Start it with the NEUROCRK.COM-file and get yourself the walkthrough. A notepad is absolutely essential for playing Neuromancer. Also very important: save often!Funfact: the soundtrack was done by DEVO!
Frederik Pohl's Gateway (1992) is a beautiful and impressive interactive fiction adventure, based on the eponymous science fiction novel. You embark on a cosmic adventure, where you explore a space station known as Gateway, which was built by an alien race called the Heechee, navigating through the station, encountering various characters and solving puzzles as they unravel the mysteries of the Heechee and their technology. Being one of the best sci-fi games ever made, this gem received critical acclaim for its immersive storytelling and atmospheric graphics. Here are manual and walkthrough!
Dark Seed (1992) is one of the most memorable science fiction-horror adventures ever released, based on the haunting artwork of H.R. Giger, creator of Alien. You assume the role of Mike Dawson, an advertising company manager who buys an old house in the town of Woodland Hills. After falling asleep one night he has a horrible nightmare about an alien from an alternate world planting a seed of darkness in his mind; unfortunately this turns out to be real, and he has 3 days to find a way to save himself. You definitely need a walkthrough for this one!
Beneath a Steel Sky (1994) is a gripping cyberpunk sci-fi point&click adventure game. Set in a dystopian future, the player assumes the role of Robert Foster, who was stranded in a wasteland known as "the Gap" in young years and adopted by a group of local Aboriginals, gradually adjusting to his life in the wilderness. After being abducted by brutal soldiers and his kinfolk butchered, Robert Foster finds himself in Union City, a vast metropolis under the tyranny of a fascist AI. Alone, except for the circuit board of his digital best friend Joey, Foster has to discover a sinister truth and why they specifically came for him. Start the game under ScummVM. Here's the manual, and you may need a walkthrough.
Return to Ringworld (1994) is a great science-fiction point&click adventure game based on Larry Niven's 1970 novel Ringworld. The story follows three characters, who are on a mission to explore Ringworld. This is a colossal artificial ring-shaped structure, built by a technologically advanced civilization, which serves as a habitat for various alien species. The plot revolves around the discovery of another Ringworld, located in the vicinity of the original one. The three companions embark on a thrilling journey to investigate this new Ringworld, encountering various challenges and mysteries along the way. They find new civilizations, face conflicts, and uncover secrets about the origin and purpose of the Ringworlds. It's a satisfying game that should please all sci-fi fans. Depiction of Niven's complex political drama is very faithful, and coordinating actions between the three characters and hearing them tease each other is a lot of fun. Here's the walkthrough.
Dreamweb (1994) is a graphically pretty point&click top-down cyberpunk adventure. It features mature themes and a dark plot filled with violence and brief full frontal nudity. Much of the look and feel is reminiscent of Ridley Scott's Blade Runner movie, and Dreamweb's musical score is highly regarded, contributing to the atmosphere which made the game admired by many at the time. The protagonist and anti-hero is Ryan, a bartender in a futuristic dystopian city, who has been plagued by strange dreams of an entity known as the Dreamweb. Play it with ScummVM. You may need the manual and a walkthrough!
Mission Critical (1995) is a great, captivating FMV- and 3D-graphics-supported point&click adventure, that was eons ahead of its time and stands out as a hidden gem among classic DOS games. The player takes on the role of the sole survivor of the USS Lexington and USS Jericho, a pair of starships sent by the Alliance of Free States that are ambushed on a secret scientific mission to Deneb Kaitos. Mission Critical has a varied mixture of gameplay formats, including a large number of traditional object puzzles, Myst-style backstory deduction from fragments of evidence found about the ship, a couple of excellent riddles, and a real time strategy minigame, in which the player must defend the ship from two waves of enemy vessels. A terrific storyline and a superb tactical combat engine make this the best of Legend's many quality adventure offerings! Download the three ISO-files, use WinCDEmu to open them as drives and mount them in DOSBox. Here is the walkthrough.
The DIG (1995) is a an exceptionally atmospheric and masterful point&click adventure game from LucasArts, produced by Steven Spielberg. It features a captivating science fiction storyline where you assume the role of Commander Boston Low, an astronaut who is part of a team sent to investigate an asteroid heading towards Earth. Upon landing on the asteroid, you discover an alien world filled with mysteries and ancient technology. "The Dig" received praise for its intriguing puzzles, and beautiful hand-drawn graphics. It is considered one of the classic adventure games of the 90s and has maintained a dedicated fan base over the years. Check out manual and walkthrough, and play it with ScummVM for solid performance.