Unforeseen Incidents
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Unforeseen Incidents
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this game.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Unforeseen Incidents is a downloadable adventure game for Windows and Apple computers. The game deals with a viral outbreak, with an unlikely hero stepping in to try to save the day. While there's no combat, players will encounter dying characters who have blood on their face and clothes. Characters are seen drinking in a bar, and one character smokes. Otherwise, there's no inappropriate content. While the game's easy to learn and play, the lack of a hint system and challenging gameplay could frustrate some players.
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What’s It About?
UNFORESEEN INCIDENTS is a point-and-click adventure game for Windows and Mac. In this single-player, hand-painted game, you play as the young and broke Harper Pendrell, who lives in a small town and unknowingly stumbles upon a major conspiracy tied to a recent and deadly virus outbreak. By talking to townsfolk, performing tasks, and unraveling the mystery, you might just figure out what's behind this disease and stop it from destroying civilization. It's similar to classic '90s adventures for the PC, such as Grim Fandango and Day of the Tentacle: You'll navigate around various indoor and outdoor scenes, interact with characters, and solve puzzles. A key tool for Harper is his "multi-tool," which opens up to reveal a knife, scissors, a wrench, pliers, and more. This is the main way you'll manipulate the environment or objects that you collect to complete some of the puzzles you'll face as you try to save the day.
Is It Any Good?
For players who enjoy slower-paced, story-driven adventure games, this difficult title is just what they're looking for. Unforeseen Incidents is a fun and challenging indie game that reminds people that adventure games are still being made (and being made well, at that). The first thing you'll notice is the hand-drawn 2D artwork. The characters and environments have a very unique, attractive art style that looks great, despite some awkward animation (such as walking up and down stairs). The music and voice acting are also fantastic, helping draw players into the movie-like conspiracy.
The puzzles are smart, requiring clever use of your inventory items, including your multi-tool. Sometimes they can be tough, though, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes it can be confusing to figure out the right item to use to get past a tricky section, because the game looks for a very specific solution to each puzzle. Plus, there's no hint system, so if you get stuck, you have to figure things out on your own. These issues aside, Unforeseen Incidents is one of those games that draws you deeper into the story the more you play. It's well-written, and the characters you meet are memorable, so expect an increasingly immersive experience. For those with a nostalgic soft spot for PC adventure games of yesteryear, Unforeseen Incidents is well worth the time and money.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about character strengths like compassion, empathy, and courage. Why is it especially important for the main character of Unforeseen Incidents to show these character strengths when he's helping people that are sick?
Are story-based video games a dying game format? What about slower-paced adventure games? Is there a reason they were so popular 20 years ago, but are virtually nonexistent today?
Game Details
- Platforms: Mac, Windows
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Available online?: Available online
- Publisher: Application Systems Heidelberg
- Release date: May 24, 2018
- Genre: Adventure
- Topics: Adventures, Friendship, Great Boy Role Models
- ESRB rating: NR for No Descriptions
- Last updated: March 16, 2020
Our Editors Recommend
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Stellar adventure game revisits the Land of the Dead.
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Tales of Monkey Island
Episodic, downloadable pirate game mixes humor, adventure.
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Day of the Tentacle Remastered
Wacky adventure has cartoonish violence, annoying puzzles.
For kids who love adventure
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