Adventure Gamers - Forums

Ben Jordan Case 8: Relics of the Past

It’s easy to understand why some people are turned off when they see “Case x” or “Episode x” or whatever it is in the title of a freeware game as more often than not you know that the series is unlikely ever to be finished and that you could be waiting a seriously long time for the bits that you do get.

However one guy who did actually achieve what he set out to accomplish is Francisco “Grundislav” Gonzalez (now working for Wadjeteye) in the 8 game Ben Jordan series. I should say that they are not “episodes” in the telltale sense of the word, but 8 separate standalone (mostly) games in the series in which an overarching narrative is eventually revealed (although admittedly if you tried just to play case 8 in isolation you would have missed such a large amount of backstory and the cliffhanger at the end of case 7 that it wouldn’t really make sense).

The screen above is from the final game in the series which does mark a definite end point and answer some questions from the series. The whole scope and quality of game 8 is absolutely unrecognisable from the first game and is quite an interesting study in one developer’s own development as well as a really enjoyable series of games.

I really enjoyed the series and the wait between instalments was almost part of the fun (mostly a few months but about 3 years between 7 & 8!). Thanks to deluxe re-released editions of the first couple of games, the release of which partly explains the long wait for the last instalment, all games are voiced with soundtracks - and really very good soundtracks towards the end too.

This series is part of AGS legend for sure and although the first and second one aren’t likely to trouble your personal top 10 adventure games list, it’s a bit Harry Potter in that the third one really is great and it’s generally very good stuff after that. You do become attached to the characters and their stories but whether Dumbledore dies and Snape turns out to be a goody after all? You’ll have to play them to find out!

I’ve often thought that the whole series in one go would make for an interesting community playthrough, but I’m not sure how much interest there would be and some people might drop out after completing the first one in an hour or less. (Later instalments take a lot longer obviously).

Anyway, if you have never played a Ben Jordan game then get stuck in, there’s a lot of good quality entertainment to be had for everyone’s favourite price tag.

Also keep an eye out for the future release of “Shardlight”, or pick up “A Golden Wake” on steam for more of Mr Gonzalez’s work.

Hmmm, difficult to say as I know them quite well, having replayed them in the run up to the release of the next episode a few times.

Although the first couple of games won’t take too long at all I suspect the whole series would be 20 hours+ (possibly a reasonable bit more for a first playthrough).