Loco Motive
Main game
3.37 average rating based on 27 ratings
- Developers
- Robust Games
- Publishers
- Chucklefish Games
- Platforms
- Nintendo Switch, PC (Microsoft Windows)
- Genres
- Adventure, Indie, Point-and-click, Puzzle
- Themes
- Comedy, Mystery
- Steam
- View on Steam
Release Dates
User Stats
How Long Is Loco Motive?
Just not for me
Loco Motive is definitely not a bad game. The animations are super impressive, it has that classic LucasArts point and click humor, and it just checks all the boxes of that side of the genre. Unfortunately, I’ve just come to accept that I really dislike this type of game.
The goofiness is just so not up my alley. I find the sense of humor so childish and cartoony, which just makes me glaze over in boredom. It gets even worse when the abdurdism of the humor plays into the random logic of the puzzle design, which I really don’t enjoy stumbling through,
There’s some major exceptions for me though, where the light-hearted humor doesn’t get in the way of a solid game - Lucy Dreaming or Prim come to mind. But here it’s just so blah and I cant get into it.
Personally, it’s a 1 star game, but I can’t deny how technically impressive it is. It has amazing animations, good voice acting, just everything is super polished. It will definitely make some people happy, but it’s not for me.
InnuendoStudios's review of Loco Motive
well, the animation's real good. script much funnier in text than in voice acting - lotta lines that would've read as great throwaway jokes are milked too hard by the performers. also everyone talks so much slower than you can read, by the end I'm just skipping most of the audio. a shame. a central design problem is usually knowing what the game wants you to do and having no idea why - like there is clearly a puzzle chain that involves getting into the kitchen, but zero clue how getting into the kitchen is supposed to help anything. I dig the three-protagonist hook, but they spend a long time setting up diana and then give you very little time with her, shoved so deep into act 3 when most of the plot has already happened. and I can point to the inspirations for everything - that bit's from monkey island, this bit is from full throttle, this is a nod to grim fandango, etc. etc. etc. sometimes a point 'n' click is indebted to its inspirations while still having its own identity (e.g. kathy rain) but this was more of a goulash of things that came before, presented with …
well, the animation's real good. script much funnier in text than in voice acting - lotta lines that would've read as great throwaway jokes are milked too hard by the performers. also everyone talks so much slower than you can read, by the end I'm just skipping most of the audio. a shame. a central design problem is usually knowing what the game wants you to do and having no idea why - like there is clearly a puzzle chain that involves getting into the kitchen, but zero clue how getting into the kitchen is supposed to help anything. I dig the three-protagonist hook, but they spend a long time setting up diana and then give you very little time with her, shoved so deep into act 3 when most of the plot has already happened. and I can point to the inspirations for everything - that bit's from monkey island, this bit is from full throttle, this is a nod to grim fandango, etc. etc. etc. sometimes a point 'n' click is indebted to its inspirations while still having its own identity (e.g. kathy rain) but this was more of a goulash of things that came before, presented with a degree of polish that wasn't feasible at the time. (frankly could've borrowed more from the last express, certainly lends itself to it!)
it's not bad, but I am genuinely disappointed. :(
agersant's review of Loco Motive
- Traditional 90s point-and-click
- Outstanding pixel art with expressive animations
- Gameplay mostly consists in clicking on every interactive object and then guessing what the designers wanted
- Tedious writing, with lots of repetitive dialog options
isabelp_97's review of Loco Motive
This felt like a true classic nostalgic point and click adventure. I really enjoyed the story even though the dialogue was a bit long and drawn out at some moments. I like the multiple character perspectives we got to experience the story from, it added to the overall twisty turny nature of the mystery being unraveled. The pixel art and animations were also done so well. All in all this was a fun, light hearted murder mystery point and click adventure that really taps into all the entertaining qualities of the OG point and click games!
The best Lucasarts adventure in 30 years!
Such a wonderful game — I couldn’t be happier with it! If you have even a bit of passion for the old LucasArts adventures, don’t miss out on this one. Sure, Daedalic and Wadjet Eye Games have made great adventures in recent years, but none have come this close to the classic LucasArts experience while also breathing fresh life into the style.
The complete package is incredibly impressive: fantastic animations, beautiful backgrounds, professional voice actors for a charming cast, great music, a sweet story, and cool puzzles. It doesn’t get any better than this. I’m absolutely blown away and wholeheartedly recommend it. Here’s hoping for a sequel!
Meh
I admit there's a certain charm to Loco Motive. I particularly found the graphics and the voice acting very appealing. It did remind me of Broken Sword -- one of my all-time favorites -- in more than one way. So, I really wanted to like it, but at the end of the day, it turned out to be a very "meh" game.
The story had its moments, but I'd be lying if I said I was invested in it. It had a "been there, done that" feel to it. And it might be a minor complaint, but I wish it took itself a little more seriously. I think it took the comedy part too far, to the point I couldn't relate to anyone in the story.
The puzzles were rather uninspiring. There wasn't a single puzzle in this game that I'd remember. There were just combining items together. And some of them didn't make a whole lot of sense to me.
I wish I could praise Loco Motive. I love adventure games, and it did manage to take me back to the good ol' days at first, but my honest opinion is that it's a miss. Sorry.