A Finale Years In The Making
Recaps are essential in this day and age of endless content. In the old days, when you got to the third film in a trilogy, it was easy to remember what had happened beforehand. But now it feels like we are constantly taking in countless trilogies and sequels to stories that have rolled out over the course of years.
Thankfully, Amanda the Adventurer 3 comes with a handy recap that takes us through all the events of the first two games – the original Amanda the Adventurer, and that of Amanda the Adventurer 2 – all summed up in a nippy little trailer. I was also reminded just how much I enjoyed these dark, yet strange, puzzle games.
If you haven’t played these games before, then I would advise taking things in from the very beginning, if only so you can get the best out of the narrative and see how this small story has evolved into something much bigger.
Bringing The Amanda Mystery Full Circle
The first game was set in an attic, with a person called Riley discovering videotapes of the creepy children’s programme Amanda the Adventurer and her pal Woolly. It developed into a dark story that subverted the children’s TV programme format and hinted at a larger world at play.
The Amanda TV story is amazing, and its meta moments and direct turns to the camera can be deeply chilling at times. When one of the characters suddenly gets angry or violent, it is genuinely disturbing.
The sequel starts exactly where the first game finishes and takes us into a wider conspiracy, moving us out of the attic and into a local library. Here, a creepy entity linked to the tapes stalks you throughout. Amanda the Adventurer 3 begins with Riley escaping the sewers from that entity and ending up at the Hameln Entertainment facility. This is the source of where the TV tapes come from and gives the player the opportunity to finally answer the narrative questions built up across all three games. It’s a great conclusion to the story and, without spoiling anything, it made me want to go back and replay the previous two games with the knowledge I now have.
Every Tape Holds Another Puzzle
The gameplay once again puts you in a first-person perspective and follows a similar structure to the previous games. You watch episodes of the TV show, which then provide clues to solve puzzles in the real world. I think the puzzles here are a definite upgrade over those in the previous game, which I found a little more obtuse than the first. Here, they’re still challenging, but all the clues are there if you pay attention.
For example, early on there is an emergency shutdown sequence, and to pull the correct levers you have to watch one of Amanda’s videos, which hides both the answer and the order you need. In the episode, Amanda and Woolly are searching for different objects around a town, such as a dog and a sock. The order in which they discover those items matches that in which you pull the levers. Don’t worry – it makes much more sense when you’re actually playing it.
There is a nice variety of puzzles to discover and solve. Occasionally, though, things become a little frustrating. For example, while watching a tape, it can be difficult to work out exactly when you need to pause it and when you should restart it after completing part of a puzzle. This happened to me several times during a food-blending puzzle involving some toy rats.
When Children’s TV Becomes Nightmare Fuel
The environments Riley explores look good though. The office where you spend most of your time inside the Hameln facility is well designed, with plenty of lovely visual touches and environmental storytelling. But it’s still the TV show that steals the spotlight, with its low-resolution characters inhabiting ordinary yet deeply unsettling environments.
Sound-wise, the game also does an excellent job. The soundtrack balances the more action-oriented moments in the real world with the cheerful TV music from Amanda’s show. The voice-over work is excellent throughout, with the performances from the TV characters remaining one of the highlights of the series.
A Worthy End To Amanda’s Story
When I played the first Amanda the Adventurer, I never imagined it would grow into the trilogy we have here today. The developers have done a great job of expanding the lore and taking the world to another level, and I’ve loved taking in the story, and how everything is wrapped up in Amanda the Adventurer 3. The puzzle design feels more varied and less obtuse than in the previous game, although I still think some puzzles could have benefited from a few extra hints when the objective wasn’t entirely clear.
Overall, I’d just like to thank Amanda the Adventurer for our time together. It’s been emotional.
Important Links
Amanda The Adventurer 3 Arrives On Console As The Creepy Trilogy Reaches Its Finale – https://www.thexboxhub.com/amanda-the-adventurer-3-arrives-on-console-as-the-creepy-trilogy-reaches-its-finale/
Buy Amanda the Adventurer 3 from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/amanda-the-adventurer-3/9P0G627FVWLT/0010
