Moebius: Empire Rising

Successfully funded through Kickstarter in May of 2012, Moebius: Empire Rising is a point-and-click adventure game from the creator of Gray Matter and the Gabriel Knight series, Jane Jensen. It’s the first game from Jensen's newly launched studio, Pinkerton Road, that will focus solely on third-person adventure games.

Outright, Moebius gives players an option to view the game's intro e-comic, revealing the detailed background behind the game's protagonist's nature. Moreover, players may not realize they have exposed a major plot twist before even beginning Moebius. An instant reward to those whom enjoy a story driven game.

Our leading character, Malachi Rector, is an antiques dealer who quickly turns investigator when a mysterious government agency seeks him out. In this tale, Malachi travels the world on a quest to find the answers behind a mysterious murder. Throughout his adventures, players are tasked with using Malachi's special skill in evaluating treasured collectibles and analyzing the behaviors of the characters surrounding him. 

This aspect of analyzing is where much of Moebius’ puzzle features come into play. Paying attention to dialogue and seemingly innocuous details prove to be important with this component, as guessing won't always allow smooth progression through the story. Players are faced with a series of data points, each with three available answers to the analysis, and only one correct option. Choose foolishly and frustration may settle in, defeat on the horizon.

The combination of successful analyses, the discovery of new clues and logic skills is where Moebius truly shines among a sea of point-and-click games. It requires more than just endlessly clicking around a scene and demands effort from its participants, making for a game that people can enjoy in more than a handful of sittings.

With this being said, Moebius is best played over a duration of days. Any less and fatigue may set in, making for a boring disconnect with characters, a droll within the plot and a dissatisfaction with the game's ambitious puzzles. Like a heavy book, Moebius is best taken in a slow stride, to be picked up when the time seems appropriate.

As with a good book, Moebius offers onlookers a chance to fill their minds with semi-useful information. In the case of Moebius, players are given a history lesson, connecting  characters to past pioneers of the world: philosophers, artists, rulers. A plus considering us gamers can't always impress our friends with random video game facts.

The nuts and bolts of Moebius are intrinsically simple; however, minor annoyances pop up here and there. A nifty feature allows for players to quickly move Malachi from point A to point B. Instead of slowly clicking a path to Malachi's destination, players can simply double click on the target, and he will swiftly transport to the area. A surprising addition to the game, until one realizes the majority of scenes are not very large - an unnecessary good.             

Players have access to an inventory, and to solve certain puzzles, the combination of items within the inventory is needed. However, if one stumbles upon a needed object before the puzzle is presented, they are often unable to store said item in the inventory. This requires players to backtrack to an already explored area in order to pick up an item that earlier seemed blasé. Clever, yet bothersome for the point-and-click fanatic. 

At first glance, visually, Moebius is what you'd expect: simple 2D and 3D graphics. Graphical perfection is not essential for the story, however, at times minor hindrances do occur. Wanting to move through heavy dialogue or a cutscene is often presented with slight glitches concerning character's speech and their physical features. Working endlessly at solving one specific puzzle may see players dissatisfied as they discover they must repeat an action that seemed to be previously completed.

To its core, Moebius: Empire Rising is for the gamer that enjoys a story; more specifically, a "paranormal mystery adventure." Unraveling an intriguing narrative overlooks any obstacle faced in the game and offers an appreciation for the writer behind the tale.     

Moebius: Empire Rising is now available for PC and Mac via Steam and other digital distributors.

Megan Bethke (@XboxBetty), NoobFeed