Unusual Findings Review

Blast from the Past
By Richard Jewell
Reviewed on PC
Released on Oct. 12th, 2022 on Xbox, PC, PS4/5, Switch
Developer: Epic Llama
Publisher: ESDigital Games

​Within moments of starting up a new game, Unusual Findings has already hit its mark as a 1980s nostalgia trip. You are thrust into the midst of a game of Space Invaders that ends almost as suddenly as it began when your father yanks the power cord out on you. An upbeat synth track plays as the next scene comes into focus. Our teenage protagonist Vinny has just been caught by his father doing some covert late-night gaming when he was supposed to be punished because he and his friends blew up the neighbor’s lawn during one of their “science experiments”. After a short speech, he takes Vinny’s videogame cartridges (pain) and leaves. Not long after, his closest friend Nick comes plinking rocks at his window. Seeing Nick for the first time with his olive drab jacket and red bandana brought back memories of Corey Feldman’s iconic Lost Boys character, the amateur vampire hunter Edgar Frog. Nick breaks exciting news: the third nerdy member of their trio, Tony, has finally received the parts he needed to make a satellite signal scrambler. The goal? Unlimited Pay Per View channels featuring naked ladies. So far, so good.
 
Now you get a light sampling of the type of classic point-and-click problem-solving you can expect from the game. Nick is waiting for you in the treehouse across from your second-story window. Lucky for you there is a rope leading from your room to the treehouse but you won’t be able to cross it until you have some sort of zipline. Now that you have the chance to explore your room, you’ll be able to take a good look and interact with your surroundings. Here there are a few interesting references to be found, like a pixelated Yoda figurine, a Nintendo Entertainment System, and a Back to the Future movie poster. These are but a few of the many, many 80s pop culture references that you will encounter throughout the game in this loving homage to popular media from one of the most beloved decades. 

​During the game you will usually have three options available for interacting with the environment; talk, look, or the contextual read/grab. The look option offers up colorful insight and dialogue, while the other two options are self-explanatory, I feel. Now is also a good time to note that the entire game is voice-acted. The actors do a solid job of bringing the eccentric characters you will bump into to life. After finding the parts needed to create a zipline, you combine them in your inventory and off you go. Once you reach Nick, the two off you take off into the night on your bicycles. The iconic Dead or Alive’s You Spin Me Round starts bumping out the speakers as you are treated to a cool intro where you get to watch the small quaint town of Southplains scroll by in the background as the duo make their way to Tony’s. If you pay attention to the background, you’ll probably recognize plenty of nostalgia-inducing pixelated posters of era staples like Pac-Man and Return of the Jedi. One of Unusual Finding’s coolest features is that it is absolutely jam-packed full of references to famous and alternatively obscure pop-culture icons. You could also consider the reliance on nostalgia as a weakness if the player has no interest in the media of the era. I grew up with a lot of the stuff referenced, so I can’t help but feel biased, so I want you, the reader, to take that factor into account when reading this review, as mileage may vary. 

​For the most part, the puzzle-solving makes sense but there have been a couple of times when I was stumped because of a tiny detail I missed earlier. One example takes place late in the game. I needed to clean a circuit board and I already figured out that I needed an abrasive drink called Lemonkola to accomplish that. There is a group of ladies handing out samples and while at first, I thought I needed to exchange another soft drink to receive a sample, what I actually needed to do was cajole one out of one of the girls by taking part in the “van challenge”. One of the girls thinks that Tony is cute and wants to talk to him in the back of the Lemonkola sample-filled van. Tony is too shy to talk to women so Nick and Vinny hide outside the van to give him dialogue prompts whenever he asks for help. There is a bunch of different dialogue branches to take here, but to solve the puzzle you need to not choose anything and remain silent for a minute or so. This prompts a makeout session that causes a can of Lemonkola to fall out of the van for you to collect. The only way you would have figured this out is if you recalled one of the previous conversation branches you had with the Snake Plissken/Terminator-inspired tough guy The Bull. There is no type of hint system available to help you correct your course, so you may need to comb over each area again to find whatever crucial piece you’ve missed.
 
The plot and characters feel like an amalgamation of popular movies such as E.T and the Goonies, while the game itself captures the spirit of classic LucasArts point-and-click adventures. The combination results in a lighthearted and nostalgic romp tinged with memories of a decade-long past. While I think Unusual Findings may not have the same impact on younger gamers, those with fond childhood memories of the awesome eighties will definitely have a blast with it.
*Note: A copy of the game was provided for the purpose of the review.

Final Score: 8/10

​+Packed to the gills with 80s nostalgia
+Captures the feel of classic point & clicks perfectly
+Lighthearted adventure with a charming ensemble cast

​-Getting stumped can be extremely frustrating and the lack of a hint system exacerbates it