Thimbleweed Park is a new indie title from developer Terrible Toybox and designed by legendary creators Ron Gilbert and Gary Winnick, creators of Maniac Mansion and The Secret of Monkey Island. Just like the games they gave us decades ago, Thimbleweed Park is a point-and-click adventure, or SCUMM-based game. With retro graphics and playstyle, fans of the old-school classics will be in heaven. Put on your thinking cap, and let’s solve the mystery of Thimbleweed Park!
In 1987, a murder is committed in the sleepy town of Thimbleweed Park. Two federal agents are assigned to the case. Using the controller to select items, then actions, players switch between the detectives to solve puzzles and various brain teasers while moving from screen to screen. Like the LucasArts games of old, Thimbleweed Park will appeal to gamers looking for a story, a good one at that.
The graphics in Thimbleweed Park are a more cleaned-up version of the old retro 8-bit graphics. Backgrounds are colorful, creepy, or both. Characters are defined but still show pixelization, giving it a unique feel. Movement is bit like just using a mouse with your thumb. In fact, the only complaint I had about Thimbleweed Park was the menus still showed up like it was on a PC, mouse and all. While a tad lazy, it was forgiven once I got into the game.
The old playstyle of selecting an item then an action came back to me like riding a bike. I even remembered how to select a verb THAN an item! I joke, but Thimbleweed Park really is fun. Hell, I remember when these kind of games didn’t even have a graphic interface, we had to make up the scene in our head from just text. You kids got it so lucky these days.
I won’t give away too much of the story, as that’s the star of Thimbleweed Park. If you like dark and sometimes hidden humor, it will make you smirk, a lot. At about 10 to 12 hours to complete, Thimbleweed Park will give players a ton of fun puzzles, many requiring you to remember what person has what item you need to use. If you are a fan of the past games in this genre, you should find lots of hidden easter eggs that only us in the know will get.
It could easily be said Thimbleweed Park is the spiritual successor to Maniac Mansion; the whimsical yet creepy areas, the comical but dark story, and the ability to change characters, all reminded me of that classic game. Thimbleweed Park stands on its own though. The voice acting is great, funny where it needs to be, but not over the top. The story keeps you interested and the puzzles were not overly difficult but just require some common sense many times.
While this review is based on a PS4 copy, I can see Thimbleweed Park being even more enjoyable on PC or even mobile. If you don’t care to play it on console, definity pick it up for you smartphone or even Nintendo Switch very soon. Thimbleweed Park shouldn’t be missed, with so many formats to choose from, everyone who has ever enjoyed a point-and-click adventure should play it.
Thimbleweed Park is available now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. It’s coming to iPhone September 19, Nintendo Switch September 21, and Android October 3. This review is based on a PS4 copy provided for that purpose.