80 Days

CUSTOMER REVIEW



This is an excellent game. You play Passepartout, the servent to Fogg, as you two attempt to circumnavigate a steampunk version of the victorian world. The game allows you to choose your own path around the world, and the developers have stated that you'll only see about 3% of the content on a typical playthrough, which means the game offers lots of replayability.



Within each city, you have a number of options: the marketplace, exploring, going to the bank, staying at a hotel and planing and departing the city

In the Marketplace, you can buy and sell items. Some items are in high demand in certain cities, and so you may be able to buy and then sell items at a profit, if your journey takes you through a city where one of your items is in high demand. Items may also make certain routes visible on the map, may make the journeys less tiresome for Fogg, may allow you to bring up the departure time of some method of transportation for cheap or free(eg, if you obtain the 2 pieces of the gentlemens outfit, it will help you on gentlemanly methods of travel), or allow you to interact with people (like offering them a drink or playing dominos with them)

At the Bank you can take out a loan/withdrawal. Generally, the higher the loan you want, the longer you have to stay in the city to obtain it. There may be a limit on how much you can take out, though I haven't used this option much.

You can explore, which offers you narrative segments with options (think of these as short choose your own adventure tales) - the result of this may be obtaining some item or discovering some new routes from the city. These narritive segments are the heart of the game, and I'll talk more of it later.

You can stay the night in the hotel, which usually gives the option of caring for Fogg, doing a little bit of work for a little money, or some narrative options.

Planning and Departing are the same screen, the only difference is that you can't depart unless theres a scheduled departure, otherwise you can only see what routes are available (as I stated previously, you may be able to bring up a departure).



While in transportation, there re also narrative options available, or conversational options that may give you some insight on the city youre going to or what routes lie ahead. Or you could choose to take care of Fogg or read the latest news.

Depending on what travel method you're going through, you may only have limited space for luggage, so you may need to sell off some items to make room, or in some cases, you can pay more to have more room. Also, depending on the method, travel will bring down the health of Fogg. Some items may reduce or prevent this, and you can also spend time taking care of him to raise his health.



As I said before, the meat of the game are the narrative structures. It really feels like a adventure story with lots of little adventure vignettes: You may be robbed and have to deal with thieves, try to solve a murder, Learn about some secret new technology, avoid a city under siege, go undercover, go boxing, try to convince a captain to go faster, have a romance. Some storylines may cover multiple cities or legs of a journey (well, provided you go on that path - it's also possible to lose that storyline if you've decided to go a different route, or if you've made a wrong decision).



Its no wonder this was Time's Game of the Year. Excellent game. Highly recommended.