Slender Threads Review

Argentinian developer Blyts is no stranger to the adventure genre, having released three entries in its Nobodies series and Kelvin and the Infamous Machine in 2016. All of its titles are sitting on Very Positive or Positive user reviews on Steam, so the expectation for its latest game Slender Threads was high. Thankfully, as it has done several times before, Blyts gives players an experience that leaves a positive impression and could be its best yet.

The story sees aspiring writer and travelling book salesman Harvey Green arrive in the town of Villa Ventana as he tries to populate the local bookstore shelves with his stock. However, on his first night, Harvey gets caught in a missing persons case, thrusting him into a mystery full of twists, strange characters and death. To make matters worse (and more intriguing) Harvey is having premonitions about the events that are unfolding. So the question is whether it’s simply the town playing games with his mind, or is there something more going on?

Purple Rain

Harvey himself, well, to say he’s insecure would be an understatement. He’s a pessimist at heart, going through life waiting for the worst to happen and never really believing that he’s worth more than the raggy clothes on his back. He’s got a likeable and relatable sense of humour, which is thanks to some excellent voice acting (Joe Gaudet as Harvey) and great writing. In fact, all of the characters that Harvey interacts with, whether it’s the charismatic real estate agent or the cranky chef, are superbly voiced and written, which makes chatting with them all the more entertaining. The only downside is that some of the characters feel underused – there are a few that I would have liked to have seen a little more from.

Visually, Slender Threads is a winner, especially when it comes to the character designs. If the pitch was Tim Burton’s take on the new Monkey Island game, then Blyts has nailed the brief. Characters have almost puppet-like features and every one of them stands out in their own way, so you can tell that Blyts has made a big effort to make them all unique. The soundtrack also helps bring Villa Ventana to life, with each location’s music composed to maximise the impact of each spot.

By exploring the town, players will discover new locations and uncover clues that push the narrative forward. Whenever you visit a location for the first time you’ll unlock it as a fast travel point, and it’s easy to jump into the map and choose where you want to go rather than backtracking needlessly. I know some point-and-click purists will scoff at the notion of things being made more modern (easier), but effortless backtracking can alleviate so much tedium in a game like this, and Blyts understands this.

The authentic Italian pizzeria experience

If there’s one big knock on the gameplay it’s the inventory control scheme. The inventory is accessed via a briefcase icon at the top of the screen, but instead of selecting the items you want to combine, you need to drag one onto the other. Simply clicking on it returns you to the game with the item equipped. It’s a clunky system that I never got used to, and I wonder how many other seasoned point-and-clickers cursed the game for this design choice.

A lot of point-and-clicks pride themselves on challenging puzzles, and while Slender Threads has a couple that will rack your brain, they’re mostly fairly straightforward, which I appreciated. If you do find yourself getting stuck, you can highlight all points of interest in an area and Harvey’s notebook has a hint system that will slowly but surely put you on the right path.

What I love about the puzzles is that they’re connected to the narrative beats and not there to simply unlock doors and pad the game’s length out. They’re also quite interesting. One sees Harvey deliberately consume toxic mushrooms to get sick in order to see a doctor, only to trip hard and have to interact with talking human organs to proceed. It’s one of the game’s coolest moments.

One puzzle could turn Harvey into mince meat

Final Thoughts

Clocking in at around five–six hours, Slender Threads is a great example of a point-and-click adventure that simply tells its story and does not overstay its welcome. I wish more developers understood that not every story needs to drag on because it has to hit a longer runtime. In saying that, any story still needs to be entertaining, and Slender Threads’ finale may not be the conclusion that everyone is hoping for, but I enjoyed it. Regardless, Slender Threads is a great fusion of modern and classic point-and-click design that should be played by all fans of the genre.

Reviewed on PC // Review code supplied by publisher

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