Old Video Games: Torin's Passage

This one is going to take some context to explain while I wax nostalgic.

In the summer of 1996, my family went to Disney World. So did I. Long story short: great time. However, Epcot Center had a big push for technology and computers and gaming tech. I specifically remember being stoked by a Sega Saturn display because it was only a year old in North America and not a lost cause yet. One of the buildings had a bunch of PCs set up and this was a big deal for me because we didn't get a Windows PC until November (Packard Bell, if you must know and want a laugh). One of those PCs had a point-and-click adventure game set in a weird fantasy world with a crazy art style and a likable doof of a protagonist trying to rescue his family who'd been kidnapped by evil magic. Typical stuff, but it was charming, and gorgeous in a way that was above King's Quest. I spent about half an hour bumbling around clueless because Point-and-Click Adventure Game, but it left a huge impression. I never even learned the name of the game, so it remained an illusive mystery to me after we left Florida.

Well, I finally beat it. Twenty-two years later. I even know its name.

Its called Torin's Passage, from legendary adventure game developer Sierra On-Line and designed by the equally legendary Al Lowe, father of the Leisure Suit Larry series of bawdy classics.

From a gameplay standpoint, the puzzles are mostly straightforward, with a few trickier mazes and pattern things. (I used a guide because I wanted to get through it in a reasonable amount of time. I'll be honest when I'm being a filthy casul). The difficulty is very forgiving compared to King's Quest, and dying will present you with a funny message and drop you back to where you were before you did the thing that killed you.

Presentation is amazing. The backgrounds are hand drawn, while the character animations have quite a bit of Don Bluth's style to them. The voice acting is top notch for the era, with most of the cast comprised of journeyman character and voice actors who are still working today. Torin was voiced by Michael Shapiro who has done the voices for Barney and the G Man in all of the Half-Life games (which were originally published by Sierra).

The writing is solid, too. Lowe's comedy chops shine, and while its clearly family-friendly, some of his trademark bawdiness peeks through. Poop jokes are all-ages, after all. Its not quite on the Monkey Island level of comedy, but it does have some great bits, like the random black & white sitcom family, The Bitternuts.

Torin's Passage is incredibly charming, and if you like 90s-style Point-And-Click Adventure Games (specifically the Sierra-style), then its a good one of those. Sadly, it was released at the tail end of Sierra's golden age, and never got a sequel. Its available on GOG.

That's it for the gameplay review. Now for story bits. There might be spoilers.

Sometimes Torin looks all noble and heroic

The basic plot is... kind of basic. Torin's a young man looking for adventure when all of a sudden his family is kidnapped by an evil sorcerer. A cloaked man who is in no way obviously evil tells him it was the sorceress Lycentia, who lives in the World Below. Torin sets out to find her to make her free them. He takes his shapeshifting purple & green cat-thing Boogle with him (who isn't that annoying).

What really stands out are three things.

1: The worldbuilding. There isn't a whole lot of it, but what's there is great. It takes the Hollow Earth concept and turns it into a matroyshka doll. There are four worlds within the planet of Strata, each one weirder than the last. Crystals are a big part of this world, with giant blocks of them all over the planet, even on the surface. Travel between worlds is achieved through crystal portals and magic sand. And solving puzzles.

Male Gaze REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

2: The second world, Escarpa, sets up a love interest, the Princess Leenah. The locals politely refer to her as having a wonderful personality, leading Torin to think she's ugly. He meets her on the third world, Pergola, and she's a beautiful redhead. See, she's ugly by their standards. Naturally the two start falling for each other, but their duties pull them in separate directions and she goes back to her level while Torin presses on. Its a sweet little romance and played 100% straightforward. I just wish it wasn't a subplot that gets resolved halfway through the story when it would've been more effective if she turned into his Dejah Thoris.

3: While the main storyline is lighthearted comedy fun, the backstory is anything but. It starts with a magical assassination of a king and queen. Their baby escapes through the quick thinking of the family nanny. Each subsequent chapter follows the fallout of that, with the nanny eventually being exiled to the Land Below. Gloomy stuff, and it connects to the main plot because A) Torin's the lost prince, which is no surprise and B) the Nanny turns out to be Lycentia, which is more of a surprise. It also makes the happy ending a touch more happy when multiple wrongs are righted.

And sometimes Torin looks like a complete doof

The story may lean heavily on cliché, but it does so wisely, which is to its credit.