Five classic Point and Click Adventure remakes you can play on Xbox One right now

Once the most popular genre and then long-forgotten as audiences focussed more on action, the humble point-and-click adventure has had something of a resurgence in recent years… But with so many options to choose from, why would you want to pick up a remake from a forgotten era? And if you did, where would you start? Never fear, we’ve played them all — and we’re here to tell you which of these remade classics are most worthy of your time!

Blade Runner: Enhanced Edition 

When the original Blade Runner video came out in 1997, I was just 14 years old. You can bet your bottom dollar that I had no real idea how important the original movie was, or what it was even about, but the appeal of playing a BBFC rated 18 video game was simply too much for me to resist. 

This classic point and click adventure features the same ideas, mythos and tools as Harrison Ford’s classic movie and has players stepping into the shoes of a Blade Runner as he investigates a series of grizzly animal murders. With voice acting from the original movie and some fairly low resolution graphics by modern standards, Blade Runner: Enhanced Edition has a gritty feel to it that keeps it authentic, and whilst some of these aspects age it a bit, there’s a completely unique experience to be had here. 

Return to Monkey Island

Not a remake in the strictest possible sense of the word, Return to Monkey Island is more like a reboot, with the original designer (Ron Gilbert) returning to the series for the first time in about thirty years. Gilbert is heralded by many as the grandfather of the point-and-click adventure, and despite many years in the shadows, his genius shines through.

Return to Monkey Island is a modern-day masterpiece, capturing all of the humour and visual charm of the original game (and its sequel) backed by a mixture of clever, sometimes silly, but never frustrating puzzles. Arguably this is my favourite game on this entire list — which might be my nostalgic talking, or it might simply be just that!

Thimbleweed Park

Erm, so where Return to Monkey Island wasn’t a remake in the strictest sense, Thimbleweed Park isn’t a remake at all really… So why is it here? Well, basically because there isn’t a remake of my all-time favourite game of this kind: Maniac Mansion — and Thimbleweed Park is as close as we are going to get.

Another Ron Gilbert production, Thimbleweed Park delivers a somewhat B-Movie inspired sci-fi experience, with lots of creepy and kooky goings on, most of which are delivered with more humour than they are horror. Again, clever puzzles, good dialogue and a real visual charm are the hallmarks of a good game, and all of those things are present in spades here. 

Full Throttle Remastered

Originally considered to be quite “edgy” thanks to a fairly adult storyline and the use of occasional bad language, Full Throttle Remastered was originally lauded for its sound, relatively high definition visuals and frequent use of full-motion video cutscenes. Of course, these things are much less impressive to modern audiences — and thankfully Full Throttle Remastered has plenty of gameplay to fall back on.

Written by another legend from the genre’s golden age — Tim Schafer — the dialogue in Full Throttle Remastered is clever, witty and well delivered, whilst the puzzles are framed by how the player character can interact with items in the world. By using his eyes, mouth, hands or feet, our grizzled biker hero can deal with different situations in many different ways, often leading to satisfying success when you get it right or amusing commentary when you don’t. 

Grim Fandango Remastered

Boasting a clever mixture of Mexican folklore and film-noir visuals, Grim Fandango Remastered delivers one of the most original and overlooked concepts in videogame history. Even now, some thirty years following its original release you can say “they don’t make many like this” about Grim Fandango Remastered. 

Another good looking game with unique visuals and clever audio, Grim Fandango Remastered uses its otherworldly setting to deliver dark comic beats through both its dialogue and many of the puzzles that will tax your brain at every step. An undoubted classic, Grim Fandango Remastered is the most unique game in this list, and a definite exemplar of how to make a solid, intelligent and amusing point and click adventure. 

Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars Reforged 

Broken Sword was one of my favourite games of the PlayStation era. This game was printed in limited numbers, and I remember picking up the sole copy at my local Gamestation (another blast from the past.) The story of George Stobbart and Nico Collard was easily the most “grown up” I had ever experienced, despite no adult or mature content. 

Having already been remade twice, Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars Reforged brings nothing new in terms of content, but it does present the game at 4k resolution for the first time, and as with many of the games on this list, it allows players to switch between classic and modern graphics with a single button – which is a touch I like. 

I was slightly less impressed with the sound, however, which seems to reuse (and potentially remaster) the original voice files. I am pleased that the familiarity of the characters remains, but I have to say that these recordings sound a lot more compressed than anything you’d hear today. As such, there’s a slight mismatch between how good this game looks and how aged it now sounds.