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#100 – Titanic: Adventure Out Of Time
If you could go back to 1912, the maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic would surely be among the last destinations you’d choose. Unless you’re a former British spy, magically given a second chance to relive the terrifying night of April 15th in order to successfully fulfill the mission you failed the first time around, possibly preventing both World Wars in the process. Or if you’re an adventure gamer looking to live vicariously through the ordeal yourself – if you manage to survive, that is. In Titanic: Adventure Out of Time, CyberFlix’s 1996 alternate reality tale lets you do just that. You can admire the meticulously researched, faithfully recreated luxury liner with all the other passengers, but you do have an important task to accomplish before the night is out, some of which will be spent in a race against time as the ship begins its inevitable descent into the icy Atlantic waters. Given the tragic outcome of the journey for its 1500-plus victims, this game isn’t the next-best-thing to really being there… it is much, much better.
Digitally rendered from real historical documents and photos, the setting here is the real star of the game, offering a free-roaming virtual tour of the ship’s sights. Puzzles are fairly sparse, but you will need to perform such tasks as disarming bombs, repairing mechanical malfunctions and sending telegraphs using Morse Code. As you begin to interact with numerous other characters, each with their own stories to tell and secrets to hide, it’s important to say and do the right things at the right time. Often there are second chances to correct mistakes, but there are branching paths and multiple endings, not all of them ideal. The stakes really soar after colliding with the iceberg, as the lower levels are cut off by rising water levels and the ship begins to visibly list. Between impressive cutscenes showing the disaster from afar, you must hurry to complete your tasks before all is lost. The timed element makes the tension palpable, which is a must under the circumstances and results in a thoroughly immersive endgame. Will you sink or swim, succeed or fail? It’s entirely up to you, and if you don’t like how it turns out, there’s plenty of genuine replay value to reward going back and trying all over again. You sure wouldn’t want to live (or die) there, but this is one Titanic voyage that sure is fun to visit.
You might also like: Lost in Time, Mission Critical
#99 – Nancy Drew: Curse of Blackmoor Manor
Really we could just as easily have picked any other Nancy Drew adventure to include in this list. The mind-boggling 25 game series (and counting) has achieved an unprecedented level of success that deserves to be acknowledged, though the formula has remained virtually identical through them all. So why the 11th game of Her Interactive’s longrunning franchise? Because Curse of Blackmoor Manor most consistently nails all the elements that go into a great Nancy Drew game: tough, multi-layered puzzles that are well integrated into a story about ancient family bloodlines perhaps mixed with a bit of lycanthropy, a mysterious setting full of visual Easter eggs, lots of information to glean about a fascinating topic (in this case 17th century England), terrific voice acting for all major characters, a surprisingly non-linear pathway to the end, and quite a few scares to boot.
As always, players directly guide Nancy in interviewing a colourful cast of characters, including a wealthy second wife who fears she’s been cursed by the beast of Blackmoor manor, an oddly precocious stepdaughter, and a priggish spinster aunt who tends carnivorous plants, among others. You’ll explore the richly detailed mansion, finding clues everywhere you look, from messages hidden in a family coat of arms to sumptuous wall tapestries depicting scenes from mythology. For this outing, dynamic cutscenes and a smart phone with web search ability were added to the mix. Some enhancements, such as a task list for Junior level detectives, were so successful that they’ve remained in the games ever since. Thankfully, the make-work tasks that bog down many Nancy Drew games are largely forsaken here. Proving that this series isn't just for girls, by 2004 Her Interactive clearly had its teen detective series down to a science, though in the many new adventures since Curse of Blackmoor Manor, none have surpassed it.
You might also like: Nancy Drew series (24 more to choose from!)
#98 – The Space Bar
How does one spice up the classic mystery genre? Easy: set it on the distant planet of Armpit VI and get the same genius who designed the aliens of Mos Eisley’s famous cantina to draw the cast of characters. Directed by Steve Meretzky, Boffo Games’ 1997 The Space Bar casts players as Alias Node, one of the few humans on the planet working as a police officer tracking a shape-shifting criminal who captured your partner. In addition to the usual forensic equipment, your biggest tool is the ability to “mind-meld” with some of the dozens of aliens you encounter; living out a past event in their lives through their perspective.
It is this ability that gives the game so many memorable moments. One minute you’re a business tycoon negotiating a ridiculously complicated deal; the next you’re a highly intelligent alien confined to a jar, whose only method of interacting with the world is getting through to your dim-witted alien partner. Later you’re a drug-running alien trying to escape the authorities and get off planet despite your laryngitis, and THEN you’re a robotic sports star trying to get over last night’s hangover in time for the big game. All this comes in between solving the mystery of which of the many aliens surrounding you is the shape-shifter in disguise. The game features a fairly unforgiving time limit combined with puzzles that require a good amount of trial and error, but those who are up to the challenge will be rewarded with a hilarious array of characters and a truly unique adventure. The Space Bar isn’t as famous as most of the games on our list, but it deserves to be remembered as the true classic it is.
You might also like: Leather Goddesses of Phobos 2
#97 – Runaway: A Twist of Fate
The first two Runaway installments earned many fans due to their slick cartoon art, comedic road-trip storylines, and catchy techno/pop soundtracks, but niggling gameplay issues prevented them from realizing their true potential. Not so with 2009’s A Twist of Fate, which closed out the trilogy with equally high production values and improved gameplay to match. With striking hand-painted artwork, Pendulo Studios delivered a host of colourful, stylized locations, distinct character designs, and TV-quality cinematics. The finale’s in media res storyline is creatively told, and with chapters alternating between the past and the present, has strong momentum and narrative flow.
In a series first, control alternates between feisty ex-stripper Gina Timmins and her boyfriend Brian Basco, who has apparently gone off the deep end thanks to the increasingly ridiculous events he endured in the previous games. The tongue-in-cheek, fourth-wall-breaking humour afforded by this premise makes Runaway’s often unbelievable scenarios much easier to swallow, while its sardonic tone pokes fun at many genre conventions we’ve come to accept but (let’s face it) don’t make a whole lot of sense. Brian’s incarceration in a mental institution, along with the series’ inherent wackiness, combine to make for unusual, outside-the-box puzzles, and the welcome additions of a hint system and hotspot finder mean you’re less likely to be stumped by pixel hunts or nonsensical puzzles. Overall, Runaway: A Twist of Fate is a solidly entertaining experience that puts its own spin on traditional adventure gameplay, and it wraps up a popular but uneven trilogy on a high note.
You might also like: Runaway: A Road Adventure and Runaway: Dream of the Turtle
#96 – Gold Rush!
Usually we play adventures because they have a great story or offer challenging puzzles – preferably a combination of both. But some we play as much for their appealing interactive settings and detailed research that can teach us about a certain period, a particular event, or a distinctive culture more than any dry history book ever could, all the while entertaining us as the lead character in our own adventure. “Edutainment” may be a dirty word these days, but that wasn’t always the case, as Sierra’s 1988 Gold Rush! is just such a game. Sure, like many games of its day it's full of dead-ends and the gameplay can be incredibly unforgiving, but as you follow the heartwarming journey of Brooklyn newspaperman Jerrod Wilson in his cross-country trip across America, you can't help but have a good time discovering a mine full of secrets and interesting facts about the real California Gold Rush of 1848.
From the moment the game starts, virtually everything you see can lead to a comprehensive description about nineteenth century customs, and when given the choice of three distinct paths to reach California (in-land stagecoach, ship through Panama or ship around Cape Horn), the amount of evident research that went into detailing the life conditions of the time is simply staggering. It certainly helps that, if you're willing to forgive its now-antiquated graphics and some repetitive gold-panning sequences to reach the grand finale, it’s also a lot of fun to play. Especially when creative use of the text parser is involved, like when Jerrod has to figure out a way to prevent a carriage from tumbling down a slope. It's this ability to strike just the right balance between learning and enjoyment that earns Gold Rush! its place among the all-time genre gems.
You might also like: Dr. Brain series, Cryo historical adventures (Jerusalem, Versailles, Crusaders, etc.)
Next up: #95-91...
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@Jackal
Congrats on great work. As someone already asked, could you put the games from the list on voting, so that we have users list too? For example, let us choose top 20 games of those 100 (assigning 20 points for best, then 19 for place number 2, and so on), and then you could publish cumulative results of users voting 
I don’t understand people complaining on the list. They are acting like their opinion is absolute and that they are the ones who decide what others should think. So it would be nice to let us all vote and make users top 20 list as an addition to your list, so they can finally stop complaining
Thanks a lot for the list! So many suggestions for the year to come.
Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars….......KING
Perhaps it’s now time to update some of the game reviews, especially those who got a very high ranking in the Top100, but not the appropriate revieuw score.
The teo that come to mind now are both # 1 and 2. The longest journey was considered a 5 star game at it’s days but was pushed back to 4,5 for lack of proper comparison…..
This Top100 proves this decision wrong!
I thinks it’s important to remember that this list is the work of 20+ people, who have very strong opinions on what constitutes their favourite adventure game. The fact that it ever saw the light of day is a testament to Jack Allin’s amazing skills of diplomacy (and as a hard fisted ruler of the empire…) : D. But in all seriousness if we put a vote out to the general public for a top 100 adventure games list, it would most likely come back looking like this (possibly in a slightly different order). The best part about the list, is not whether your favourite game made it on or if it was in the position that you wanted to be in, but rather all the unique opportunities you have to try games that may not have been obvious to you before. You may disagree with a position of a game being in front of your favourite title, but now you have a chance to go off and play that game and decide for yourself (and have some fun while your at it). If anything this is the ultimate Adventure Game bucket list and regardless of how you view each entry, you know the games are going to be good! : )
Nothingman, I’m certainly not opposed to doing a reader poll, but tabulating rankings would be very difficult. It would definitely require some kind of weighted points system. So maybe, but I’ll have to think about it. Might be best to leave it for a while. We’ll soon have this year’s Aggies to start preparing 
Subbi, there are some reviews on the site that I’d be happy to replace; mainly the older ones written before we developed any real editorial standards. But there are lots of games we’ve never reviewed at all, and it can be hard finding/getting older games to run, let alone finding time to review them all. So we’ll get to what we get to! But we won’t be replacing any reviews strictly for marginal score discrepancies.
Ahh…I meant classical, not baroque.
Of course, there is matter to disagree and show nerd rage, but aren’t we, adventurers, supposed to be part of the more mature and level headed demographic of the gamer population?
Plus this top 100 must have been a colossol task to make.
So thanks to the staff, and a happy new year to all!
What a great list! While I can’t say I agree with everything (for one I hate all the video-crap like Gabriel Knight sequels and also Curse of Monkey Island is in my personal top 5) this list is a great inspiration regarding missed games I need to pick up and play - and which to replay! I loved The 7th Guest as a child - it actually scared me so much it gave me nightmares - but I forgot its name and just now rediscovered it due to AG. Thanks for an EXCELLENT article - and a happy new year! May 2012 bring forth a lot of great adventure games.
I was surprised and happy to see a good deal of these games that I knew were available on console and handheld on this list:
#77 Silent Hill, Shattered Memories (PS2, Wii)
#73 Discworld 2 (PS1)
#68 Shadow of Destiny (PS2, PSP)
#65 Hotel Dusk, Room 215 (DS)
#60 Trace Memory (DS)
#59 Myst III, Exile (PS2, XBOX)
#57 Indigo Prophecy (PS2, XBOX)
#55 Syberia 2 (XBOX)
#52 Dreamfall, The Longest Journey (XBOX)
#49 Sam and Max, Season 2 (PS3, Wii)
#47 Professor Layton and the Curious Village (DS)
#41 Ghost Trick, Phantom Detective (DS)
#40 Myst IV, Revelation (XBOX)
#39 Last Window, The Secret of Cape West (DS)
#37 Stacking (PS3)
#33 L.A. Noire (PS3, 360)
#31 Portal (PS3, 360)
#29 Phoenix Wright, Ace Attorney (DS)
#26 Heavy Rain (PS3)
#20 Still Life (XBOX)
#18 Myst (PS1, DS)
#17 Machinarium (to be released on PS3)
#15 Syberia (XBOX, DS)
#14 The Secret of Monkey Island (PS3)
#10 Portal 2 (PS3, 360)
#8 Monkey Island 2, LeChuck’s Revenge (PS3)
#5 Riven (PS1)
#4 Broken Sword, The Shadow of the Templars (PS1, Wii, GBA, DS)
I’ve only finished 11 of these! Time to get adventure gaming! Thanks for making this list AG!
I have a number of disagreements regarding the games included on this list, yet I say KUDOS! You included my top three AGs in the Top 10 (GK2, BS1 and GF, in that order) and many more of my favorites, giving top place to my beloved Grim Fandango.
That’s what matters. As an adventure gamer of 23+ years, I think this is a mighty list that will serve as a good guide for future adventure gamers.
Worst thing about the lists of any kind, is that kinda “force” the reader to try the items (games on this occasion) which scored very high on that ranking, while his or her favorite-to-be game might be hiding on the bottom of the list, even out of it..
Yes, that happens to me all the time with best-of lists, and that sucks.
Still, when we’re talking about adventure games, this list might be a nice guide for a newbie because there aren’t like thousands of adventure games out there, but much less I guess.
But when we’re talking about music or movies for example, man I DO hate lists.
My advice on a newbie adventure gamer: Just pick a theme you like FIRST (for example horror, mystery, exploration, puzzle etc) and THEN forget about the rankings and just skip randomly through the appropriate games on that nice list. You might be surprised!
After all, it would really suck if you “had” to try 84 other games first, to experience the unique yet unorthodox “The Dark Eye” , for example.
What a bad advice from immortalwind! If you are a newbie adventure gamer you should definitely try the top ranked games in this top. You will have little to lose. You will try the best games of this genre and in the meantime you will develop your tase in adventure gaming as you play.
That was a really great ride down memory lane.
I approve (most ) of the list. But in the end, this isn’t so much a list of the best, but a list of games we loved and still love.
Thank you for making this and creating a new list after the so old one.
*11 thumbs up*
Totally disagree with you small dickie. If I were newbie and the first adventure game I tried was Broken Sword which ranked 4 on this list, I would probably never try another one.
But I didn’t. Instead, for me it was Riven and Grim Fandango that really got me into adventure gaming.
It all comes down to taste… and luck.
A lot of talk about Grim Fandango.
It is a great game (like most on the list), but it did come with a few flaws.
I hope Telltale will make a remake, just without the (awful) keyboard control and with (like any other game) hotspots.
Then it will be number 1! (or at least near number 1)
PS Machinarium higher than Myst, the mother of the 1st person adventure game? Ouch!
Very pleased to read such a comprehensive awards list. You were right to commit to 100, and not just 20 or even 10.
Also happy to see ‘Feeble Files’ on the list although I’m sad it was placed so low. I loved that game and very nearly completed it.
However there was a bug which made it possible to be unable to finish the game.
Without spoiling anything, the problem was that late in the game Feeble was in a location where he could leave without picking up a crucial item needed later. After leaving that location, he couldn’t return.
I played the original 4 CD version of the game so this bug might have been fixed but in any case, the solution is to just backup your save every time you finish.
Which you should do out of paranoia anyway. It’s a looooong game
Hi There,
there is no doubt about this order which was verified between classic games until the least very new ones, but i wonder does anyone here really agree that (the beast within) should take more credits the (sins of fathers) ..? How??
and one thing;
how come i didnt notice any LSL’s at this list at all ? , i Believe the 2 and 3rd parts should have been somewhere from 1-100 Adventures !
I can’t answer why you didn’t notice any LSL’s on the list, since there is one.
yea u r right its 71 , thanks.. i must have missed it
Mark1976 “PS Machinarium higher than Myst, the mother of the 1st person adventure game? Ouch!”
Well, agreed but… who knows, maybe Machinarium will be the mother of a new adventure era. At least, I hope so.
Excellent list. I think I have a set to-play list for the next long while.
immortalwind i it really hurts ! agree…, but i see also lots of other “OUCHs” around , we should have the chance to another round ,lol , something like a Poll for those Hundred
The list has now been linked at Kotaku, on their front page, which is pretty cool!
I don’t really care about lists normally, and this one is decent even if I disagree with lots of things.
But seriously Fahrenheit… better than Toonstruck or IHNM?
Why Portal is listed as an Adventure game? In that case Metroid Prime should be listed it has more adventure elements than Portal.
And a whole lot more combat. Apples and oranges. Portal is eligible for all the reasons we’ve specified since we started covering it. You’re welcome to look them up.
I enjoyed this list very much! Thanks for all the hard work put into it. I’m sure I’ll be referring to it when I need a game recommendation
Any reason why Machinarium (runner up in 2009 AGGIES) nails #17 on the list and Tales of Monkey Island (Winner 2009 AGGIES) is not mentioned at all?
Was it because of the hype that Tales won the 2009 AGGIES? Or the fact that Monkey Island was already featured 3 times in the TOP100 that Tales didn’t make it?
Don’t get me wrong, I agree with the fact that Machinarium should be in the TOP100 and Tales not, simply because it’s really something different and therefore rightfully deserves a spot in the TOP100, but should Machinarium also not have won the 2009 AGGIES aswel then?
Different criteria. Tales was thoroughly enjoyable at the time, but it’s part of an already impressive series that’s well represented, and it doesn’t really distinguish itself above the others as an all-time achievement, whereas Machinarium is far more memorable even a couple years later. There are other possible factors too. New staff turnover since then that hold Machinarium more highly, more people having played the game than had at the time, etc.
Good top (it’s rare) but I think you have forget games that should be in top 100 before nancy drew for example: Prisoner of ice and Kyrandia.
@Jackal,
That makes sense. I was just suprised by the relatively high ranking of Machinarium and not winning the Aggies of 2009
Also why not Zac mac Krakhen?
Guys !
Where are the :
- Dracula series ?
- Necronomicon
- The Legend of the Prophet and the Assassin
- The secret of alamut
Comeonnnnn
Leaving away the ranking would take some fun away.
But then again the numbers really hurt more than they do good, imho.
I wouldn’t mind having a top ten or twenty and the rest presented more equally.
Because really, any kind of ranking can only be arbitrary and will lead to arguments. Which brings us back to the fun part and brings me here. 
Nonetheless: Thank you for the list and here is a suggestion for the next time, in case you want to do a ranking again. (Most probably.)
Perhaps make two lists. One where historical importance for the genre and innovations in gameplay are taken into account, (perhaps not ranked, simply a timescale) and one where every jurymember can shove that thought overboard and simply rate by fun/fear/headaches/immersion/whatever. Ok, Nostalgia will always play a part.
Even keeping one list, but openly showing two ratings could help understand the decision better. You already did a decent job, though, showing us the reasoning behind each decision.
Even so I got the feeling that the historical importance of some games was acknowledged or got them into the list in the first place while the one of others seemed to be neglected.
As for Portal: I haven’t played the second game but really enjoyed the first. I understand your reasoning for covering it here and applaud that.
Still I have to agree with those who say it doesn’t really fit into this list.
A very well thought-out list from the AG editorial team. The quality and consistency of writing in each of the entries is superb. And it can’t have been easy making a lot of those agonising decisions that inevitably push some personal favourites out of the list altogether.
Funnily, I had read through all the way to the top 10 (on the eve before it was published), then just got caught up in other things and didn’t read the final entries till just this evening. I was delighted to see most of my all-time personal favourites there, including Pandora Directive which is my #1 (IMO, it often doesn’t get the credit it deserves). And The Last Express!
As an aside, I was mightily chuffed to see that your screenshot for Gabriel Knight 3 (with Gabe in silhouette in the church) was from my original Games Domain review of the title when it first came out (though in retrospect, my review was… a bit over-exuberant. But, hey, we live and learn). Wherever did you find it? I recovered the review text and most of the screenshots from the Wayback Machine, but that was the one shot I couldn’t retrieve. I might just grab it back :-)
WHERE. THE. HELL. IS. SHENMUE?!?!?!?!?!
Probably hanging out with all the other action-adventures that weren’t considered for this list.
Was “Lost Eden” considered and did not make the Top100 or does it fall outside the Adventure category?
I remember playing this many years ago and it was quite nice
Lost Eden was definitely eligible for the list; just didn’t make it.
What a fun list! I was delighted to see Riven and The Longest Journey in the top ten, especially since neither game received the popular recognition it deserved. The Longest Journey sold well in Europe but not in the US (which is why the sequel took so long to produce), while Riven never approached the number of sales it deserved. The Longest Journey is still wonderful to play; I play it at least once a year and am playing it again now. About Riven, people need to know that it’s available for the iPhone/iPod, and it’s a wonderful iPhone experience. I play it all the time on my phone and it’s great to always have it in my pocket. If it sells well, Cyan might be persuaded to create an HD iPhone/iPad version.
I’m surprised “Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon†didn’t make it. It was not only an excellent game but was one of the few adventure games with a full, exciting, well-rounded ending. And, I’m surprised Dreamfall was on the list, and at as high a rating as 52. The sequel to The Longest Journey was delayed for lack of funding and it shows. Despite implementation of a 3-D environment, Dreamfall’s world seems far smaller and much more constricted than the world of The Longest Journey. And, it’s notorious for its spectacular lack of an ending. Dreamfall is not really a game; it’s a quarter of a game that leaves the impression it was never finished because Funcom stopped funding its development.
I agree that The Sleeping Dragon should have gotten a spot in this Top100. Probably somewhere in the lower half. It had excellent production values and I remember that Charles Cecil really tried to re-invent the Adventure genre with this game. We can all agree it was not a full success, especially due to some repetitive puzzles, but the gameplay felt more physical also due to some nice QTE’s. This was before Heavy Rain or Fahrenheit.
Coincidently Tornquist also tried to “re-invent” the genre a couple of years later with Dreamfall.
I think that both games, though they did not fully achieve their objective, deserve a spot in the Top100.
I know “Sleeping Dragon†was criticized for the box-moving puzzles, but I’m probably the only person who actually enjoyed those.
Also, I just downloaded “Broken Sword: Director’s Cut†to my iPhone and it’s fantastic! I’m almost shocked at how well the game works on the iPhone and how much fun it is, especially considering all of the detail and animation. If anyone wonders why I’m taking hour-long coffee breaks, “Director’s Cut†is the reason.
Speaking of “Broken Sword,†what’s the consensus on “The Angel of Death?†I thought it was so uninteresting that I never finished it. Should I give it another try? I enjoyed “Sleeping Dragon†so much that I was really looking forward to it and was disappointed when it came across as gray and dull, almost the opposite of the lightness and brightness of “Sleeping Dragon.â€
@Jackal: Oh, I see. lol. xD My bad.
Are we going to get a list of honourable mentions who didn’t quite make it? The biggest surprise for me is the omission of the Kyrandia series.
Just about every game that got serious consideration has been included in the alternate recommendations. Not in any kind of order, obviously, but that was one of the reasons for including them. Fun fact: Kyrandia did actually make the list before Book of Unwritten Tales was released and bumped it.
Ah, I’d choose Kyrandia over the Book of Unwritten Tales any day, but I do admit that it hasn’t aged that well, especially the first game. Is this list final or are there going to be occasional alterations to it eventually?
The plan is to revisit the list every year-end to keep it updated. Not with a big countdown like this, but each year a new list replacing the current one.
Okay, I’ve just finished “Azrael’s Tear”.
First of all, how in the name of seven hells it may be considered even remotely similar to “Amnesia: Dark Descent”?
Secondly, while I by no means state this to be a perfect game… why isn’t it in top100? I mean, it’s definitely NOT WORSE (and I personally consider it to be quite a bit better) than “Zork: Nemesis” (which is as high as being right in the middle of the list), for all it matters.
Tl;dr: Any chance it might get a closer examination by your team for the next year’s corrections to this list?
Who said the games are similar? As I pointed out already, the heading says “You might also like”. And the same people who like free-exploration 3D games with a touch of danger and action may well like both. The secondary recommendations are really a way to get other good games some exposure they wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. Are the associations a reach sometimes? Maybe. The alternative is to leave them out entirely. Would that be better? Revisiting AT isn’t a priority for future updates, but it is one I want reviewed on the site, so I hope to get to it at some point. We’ll see if it makes the cut if/when we do.
