So just how interesting could a game about a struggling artist trying to pay the rent possibly be? Pretty darn interesting when it’s being created by Brawsome, who took home the Freeplay 2011 Award for Best Game Writing for MacGuffin’s Curse! Now they’re teaming up with Ayopa Games to bring this dramedic adventure to iOS. If the time we’ve spent with it so far is any indication, it should be a real hit with fans of casual adventure games, logic puzzles, and plain old great storytelling once it hits the App Store on April 19.
Down-and-out Lucas MacGuffin has taken to pilfering valuables in the dead of night, but to call him a “cat burglar” would be somewhat inappropriate — now that his latest theft is complete, in any case. The Lupine Twine amulet should have been just another shiny, inert display in the museum of curiosities he’s snuck into. However, trying it on was a bad move: it curses its bearer with lycanthropy and it’s awfully hard to take off. The rest of MacGuffin’s quest focuses precisely on finding a way to do that, but you have to give the Lupine Twine amulet credit for its use in puzzle solving! Taking advantage of its reaction to moonlight, the player switches MacGuffin between human and wolf forms wherever there’s a window or other natural light source. In human form, MacGuffin can swim, activate doors and operate machinery; his canine alter ego busts up obstacles and lugs around big objects with ease. Naturally this leads to a series of brain-teasing logic puzzles.
It’s easy to see why the writing in MacGuffin’s Curse is so celebrated: the hero crosses paths with a deliciously sordid cast, and as an ambiguously single father, he’s not your typical protagonist in and of himself. Brawsome clearly spent a lot of time developing the game world, which is absolutely littered with scraps of history — not to mention trinkets for the player to discover.
We’re howling in anticipation of giving you a full review; here’s Brawsome’s website for the game, as well as their Facebook page and Twitter account in the meantime. MacGuffin’s Curse is expected to retail at $4.99 USD. Let’s leave you with this preview reel: