There is a reverence for clay or plasticine based stop-motion animation in the UK, what with the Wallace and Gromit short films being a staple every Christmas. I'm aware of very few mainstream entertainment from other countries to adopt this specific medium, one of them being a small game developer called The Neverhood.
Released in 1996, The Neverhood's first game - which also shares its title with the company - received some decidedly mixed reviews. It was experimental, had a strange and unique sense of humour, and had a bizarre, isolating yet simultaneously endearing atmosphere. The main character is Klayman who, for the longest time, seems to be alone on his planet. The only other character you see for a good portion of the playtime is Willie Trombone, a friend who recites the history of The Neverhood through short films. But these glimpses of an expanded civilization are optional and can only be viewed by collecting the tapes hidden in the game world.
The puzzle designs range from obvious to obtuse and some can be downright tedious. Early on in the game, there's a long hallway that takes around 15 minutes to walk down. It will probably take twice that if you choose to read the immense amount of text on each wall. While some may feel that the graffiti is entertainment enough, your only other reward is one of those aforementioned tapes. You'll then have to slowly walk back for another 15 minutes. Is this bad game design, or a twisted attempt at humour?
I'd say it's a daring attempt at comedy and works very well, but only in retrospect. Much like constantly repeating a dull joke ad nausiam will eventually become funny (Family Guy is prone to doing this, though I suspect it's mainly used to meet a contracted running time), you do fall into a trance state during your stroll. While playing through it though, I'd struggle to call this hallway much fun.
Thankfully, few other sections are quite so tedious. Barring the navigation of a wall maze, many of the other puzzles are fun and often inspired. There is such a twisted sense of humour that's not necessary laugh-out-loud but wry and knowing. It plays with you, almost trolling you but in the best possible way.
Outside of the game itself, this is most exemplified in the glorious soundtrack by Terry S. Taylor who, along with other members of The Neverhood team, worked at Shiny Entertainment on the Earthworm Jim series. They range from catchy and infectious jazz riffs to experimentalism with a punch-line. Songs like Potatoes, Tomatoes, Gravy and Peas and An Elf Sings the ABCs sound exactly like you'd imagine with those titles. You'll also discover a sound effects tape where you'll discover what a 'man reading' and 'a mime and his audience' sound like (hint: they're all the same).
The Neverhood remains an oddity in gaming, even 20 years after its release. The flaws which were a deliberate artistic choice saw it gaining some very low review scores. While some journalists recognised the genius here, it wouldn't be until much later that it found an audience. As such the original boxed version can be highly sought after and often commanding large prices on auction sites. I'm sure it will continue to rise until an official re-release arrives. Alas, a 2011 attempt by the original creator proved fruitless.
As it stands, we'll just have to make do with the awesome program known as ScummVM, and the revelation that a spiritual successor is in the works (Edit: Armikrog is out now! And it's bloody good!).
To download the game, follow the link below. This custom installer exclusive to The Collection Chamber uses ScummVM to allow the game to run on modern PCs. Manual included. Soundtrack available as separate download. Read the ChamberNotes.txt for more detailed information. Tested on Windows 10.
30.08.2017 - Ver.2 - Updated SCUMMVM to 1.9.0
10.11.2022 - Ver.2 - Updated SCUMMVM to 2.6.0
Fixed SAVE and SCREENS folder issues
File Size: 669 Mb. Install Size: 751 Mb. Need help? Consult the Collection Chamber FAQ
Download
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The Neverhood is © The Neverhood & Dreamworks Interactive
The Neverhood Chronicles is © The Neverhood & Electronic Arts
Review, Cover Design and Installer created by me
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For some odd reason, I'm unable to save the game. The save file simply isn't created. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
ReplyDeleteJust tested and it's savig for me. If you've installed to program files, try running in admin mode. Or installing to outside of that folder. You probably don't have permission to allow a program to write data there.
DeleteHaha, I didn't know about the savegame bug and jumped in the drain just too see the animation and load the savegame... Oh well..
DeleteIt's me again. I've managed to get it to work, thanks. The Neverhood was the reason for me even finding this blog, but there are a few other games I'll certainly be downloading as well. Your work is very appreciated, especially by those who, like me, grew up with many of these games. If I may, I'd like to suggest a few more for future inclusion: Golden Axe, Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, the original Prince of Persia, the original Myst, and the four Heretic/Hexen games. Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Unfortunately I won't be putting those game on here because they are still being sold in some form or another. Golden Axe is part of the SEGA compilation (though there is one arcade exclusive sequel I might consider). The others are on GOG or Steam.
DeleteI also can't save. What did you do to fix it?
DeleteThere's a comment in the FAQ regarding this. Either create a folder called SAVES (if this is one of the ones affected by this) or your admin statis is preventing the save file to be written. In this case, run the game as admin or install outside of program files.
DeleteI would love to see Future Wars here, I loved that old point and click adventure game many years ago, I played the death out of that amazing game on my Amiga 500!
DeleteHello again. It's perfectly undestandable that you won't add games that are still being sold. So, I'd like to suggest five others that, as far as I know, are not (if they are, please let me know where). Q RAC Rally Championship, Jazz Jackrabbit, Corridor 7: Alien Invasion, Dark Angael and Montezuma's Return. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThe only one from that list that's still sold as far as I can tell is Jazz Jackrabbit (the collection is at GOG). At least 2 of those are in the works and may be coming soon (unless something crops up).
DeleteHello. I've already made the comments above, so I thought I'd just write here again. I'm pleased to see that Network Q RAC Rally Championship is now available. Thanks a lot, I really mean it. Also, I'd like to take the opportunity to mention another game that I haven't been able to find, Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure. Is there any chance we might see it here eventually?
ReplyDeletePerhaps not The Mayan Adventure. IIRC you can buy it on Nintendo's Virtual Console. It's not the PC version but if the game itself is still supported in any form, it won't appear here (will have to check though). At this point I'm more likely to add the later games in the series which have never been re-released like the underrated Pitfall 3D and The Lost Expedition.
DeleteIt's no longer available on the Virtual Console, unfortunately. And honestly, the PC version's just the best, in my opinion. Anyway, it's great that you intend to grace us with these later Pitfall games. But please do consider The Mayan Adventure as well. It's a game that, along with the others, should be available to play and enjoy again.
ReplyDeleteI just noticed that I made the same comment twice. Please delete, alright? Sorry for the inconvenience.
ReplyDeleteI loved this game, and Earthworm Jim, but years later, finding out what a complete and utter twatwaffle the creator is sours things a bit.
ReplyDeleteI tried to configure the INI file to setup a screenshot path by placing screenshotpath=.\SCREENSHOTS under [neverhood-win] and adding a SCREENSHOTS to the directory. It doesn't seem to work. Maybe such a feature doesn't work with ScummVM v. 1.9.0.2 and was only implemented with later versions.
ReplyDeleteIt would be a nice feature in order to avoid cluttering up the main directory, and since the screenshots are named in order (e.g. scummvm00000.bmp, scummvm00001.bmp, scummvm00002.bmp, etc.), following the names of the last screenshots taken, you can't easily declutter the directory on a regular basis; every time you declutter it resorts back to scummvm00000.bmp again, meaning you have to manually rename each new screenshot when decluttering in order to avoid erasing already existing screenshots with the same name when putting them together in the same screenshot folder.
It's possible that's the case. I know my newer ScummVM packages put them in a folder. Perhaps this one's due an update.
DeleteHas anyone had any luck running this on ScummVM for Android?
ReplyDeleteWhat a breath of fresh air! Your enthusiasm and positivity are contagious. Thank you for spreading such good vibes!
ReplyDelete