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There was a time when everybody was looking at adventure games to introduce crazy technical innovations, explore unconventional stories, or just give us a strong argument against our dismissive parents who considered all games juvenile and insubstantial. Since the golden years of the graphic adventures, we've seen certain trends come and go, foreign genes spliced into the genre's DNA, and adventure games evolving into a variety of experiences that sometimes have little in common with their early predecessors.

Richard Cobbett, a longtime fan of adventure games and their close offspring, has recently compiled <span class="bold">a comprehensive list of 29+ titles</span> that all fans of the genre should check out. Newcomers and veterans are treated to an introduction to the history of adventure games, some advice on how to get started, and a list of the standouts, broken down into sub-categories for convenience: The Classics, Story-driven, Puzzles & Exploration.

Take your pick: there are all-around legends like The Secret of Monkey Island or Beneath a Steel Sky, masterpieces of storytelling like Grim Fandango or The Walking Dead, brain wreckers like Myst or Zork: Grand Inquisitor, and deliberately paced experiences like Gone Home.

Plenty of developers continue to be fascinated by the narrative possibilities of adventure games, even if they don't feel like adhering to their original formula. These 29 games (and the additional honorable mentions) are both celebrated classics and the product of experimentation with innovative ideas and are all more than worth your time.

So, how many of these have you already played and what others would you add to <span class="bold">IGN's list</span>, fellow adventurers?
Post edited May 22, 2017 by maladr0Id
Agreed that following good police procedure is important in Police Quest, but IMHO that counts as puzzle solivng.
List of "must play" games and nothing with non-linear story, like Blade Runner!
Adventure games are like PIzza.....everybody has their own ideas about what is "Good".

Another sort of forgotten game...despite the fact it was a big hit at the time,made a lot of "Ten Best Games Of The Year" lists,and won quite a few Best Adventure game of the Year awards...is "Beavis And Butthead:Virtual Stupidity".
Not only is it one of the funniest games ever made...because Mike Judge was heavily involved in making it,it captures the warped humor of the TV show very well....it is also a good game in it's own right,..it requires real game play,and has some clever puzzles.Though warning:to solve the puzzles without a lot of random clicking,you have to know a lot of the tropes of the TV Show...like how to turn one of the boys into The Great Cornholio at one point.
Luckily, because it sold so well, it is fairly inexpenvise to pick up used copies, and it is supported by ScummV.