The Adventures of Bluke Bifton: Chapter One

The first episode of Brainloaf Studio’s The Adventures of Bluke Bifton is an interactive monument to the absurd. It uses a nifty mouse and keyboard combination to unite vibrant graphics, sprightly music, and polished voice acting to tell a quirky coming-of-age story. In this visual novel, a restaurant worker named Bluke Bifton discovers the value of assisting others. The game contains various arcade sequences, which may be challenging for players with slower reflexes, but this Hero's-Journey-tale is entertaining and worth experiencing.

This game boasts amusing, brightly colored graphics straight out of a comic book page and zany-looking character models. Bluke's movements resemble those of a marionette, with humourously exaggerated motions that are a delight to watch. The playful background music only adds to the humor of his performance. Its fast-paced and upbeat rhythms left me feeling excited and energized. I particularly liked the background music on the map screen, as well as the grand and heroic end credits tune, which added to my sense of triumph and achievement. But it's not just the music that players will appreciate. The voice-overs are also impressive.

The voice acting serves its purpose well, making the story more relatable and increasing empathy for the characters. Players will want to interact with this funny, colorful world. Luckily, thanks to a straightforward mouse and keyboard combination, that is an easy wish to grant. 

The streamlined interface makes it simple to control the game. Pressing A moves Bluke left, and D moves him right. Left-clicking on a character brings up a selection of choices that will affect the story. Holding down the left mouse button until the choice is encircled with a blue outline activates it. The attitudes of characters may change based on players' choices. For instance, if Bluke is impolite while conversing, a character may get angry, resulting in repercussions for the story. Arriving at a destination requires left-clicking on its map-screen icon. My favorite location, Bifton’s Bar and Grill, is Bluke’s restaurant and home. It's lively, uncluttered, and easy to navigate. 

While doing a favor for a friend, Bluke is drawn into a quest to rid his home, the Isle of Flungo, of the forces of evil. This requires him to go to the capital, Gusk City, and vanquish multiple villains. He’ll need help and, fortunately, Flungo is home to many characters who can assist him.

The many well-crafted characters are the funniest part of this game. Paul, who's hilarious to watch, is a cross between a duck and The Incredible Hulk. His well-chiseled muscles distract from his only piece of clothing: white underpants. Another favorite is Bluke himself; throughout the game my empathy for him continued to increase. Meeting these laugh-out-loud characters made playing the arcade challenges worthwhile, even though I felt stymied by my slow reflexes and sluggish fingers.

Most of The Adventures of Bluke Bifton was highly entertaining. I relished speaking to the characters and exploring the island locations. For many players, the main difficulty of this game lies in its various mini-games: for example, the sequence at the fair where breakneck button-mashing is favored. Similarly, I encountered difficulties when making hamburgers at the restaurant as the ingredients eventually came too rapidly for me to keep up. It's helpful that, after four unsuccessful attempts, players have the option to skip the Boss battle. I was relieved that I didn't have to excel at the arcades since you don't have to 'win' the challenges, but simply complete them, so that I was able to finish the game despite my subpar reflexes.

The Adventures of Bluke Bifton: Chapter One contains charming graphics, delightful sound, and impeccable voice acting. It provides a comical first installment for what promises to be an enticing episodic story. If you enjoy visual novels and don't mind arcade mini-games, give it a try!

The Good

• An amusing story
• Easily understandable interface
• Eye-catching backgrounds and well-animated characters
• Unobtrusive background music
• Great voice acting

The Bad

• Players who have difficulty keeping up with fast-paced mini-games may experience frustration — though fortunately you don’t have to “beat” the arcades but just participate in them in order to progress

Our Verdict

Very good

A game of very high quality. Although some aspects might have been executed better, we would recommend this game without hesitation.

A clever game with beautiful graphics and well-animated characters, The Adventures of Bluke Bifton: Chapter One reveals a hilarious slant on the classic Hero’s Journey tale — though the arcade sequences can be aggravating for those who don’t care to twitch their thumbs.