NOT ANOTHER WEEKEND

Our position towards adventure games is well known and we are especially happy when high quality productions appear (lately, quite regularly we would say). It's only a few days since the release of Wajdet Eye Games' very good Strangeland and here's another adventure game in pixel-art style. And it's made entirely by Greek hands, as all the teams involved in its creation (Dionous Games, Animatic Vision, Deep Blue Friends) have Greek colors.

Admittedly, before we started our involvement with Not Another Weekend, we didn't have very high expectations. Of course, there's no question of bias against domestic efforts, but first impressions suggested that this was a simplistic AGS adventure, lasting an hour or two, that could be finished in an afternoon. Thankfully, we were wrong on everything. From the graphics engine used (the excellent Visionaire Studio) to the premise and length of the game.

First and foremost, it is obvious that Not Another Weekend pays homage to the adventures of the '80s, especially those released towards the end of the decade and the beginning of the next one. After all, only from the introduction that anyone can notice the strong Leisure Suit Larry vibes (the first, orthodox one, with the text parser), as the game is set in the colourful (and kitschy for some) 80s, while extra kudos are awarded for the a-la Maniac Mansion camera placement.

The story takes us to Hotel 404, a miserable hotel, but one that is surprisingly declared a six-star hotel - the fact that the rating goes up to five is irrelevant. Working there as a bellboy our protagonist Mike Melkout, a bit of a mysterious guy, not particularly likeable and beloved by his colleagues. The day is Friday and the weekend is fast approaching, which means that several new customers will be visiting the hotel. But Mike seems determined to sabotage its operation. In particular, by Sunday night, he intends to evict all the hotel's residents, as well as its employees. In any possible way, fair or foul, that he can.

Probably, the reason he wants to do this is his awful boss. A sad guy who shows no sympathy for Mike, while being the classic 60-something man who only gives orders while "hitting on" young girls (as in the maid, good times). However, there are personal reasons behind Mike's plan, far more serious than the usual bullying of his boss and his colleagues. Who they are is something you'll have to find out for yourself, in a plot that starts on earthly paths and goes really far, always with humour, or rather "underdog" humour, as the common denominator.

Of course, we wouldn't want to reveal anything else, because it's worth discovering what Mike's morbid mind is hiding and seeing for yourself the game's dozens of references to the pop-culture of the era (actors, singers, movies, etc.), which have been masterfully integrated into the game's plot. Particularly if you were lucky enough to live through that decade, you'll certainly smile when you witness them, and it's notable that the game doesn't try to extort nostalgia with rushed references and easter eggs. Barring some modern quality of life features, it does give the feeling of being a product of that era and that's quite a feat on the creators' part.

The action structure is nicely designed and the role of the evil bellboy proves to be quite entertaining. For starters, we get a list of the hotel's occupants and at the same time what are the needs of each of them. Our goal then is to guarantee that these wishes will not be granted. For example, there is a well-known pop singer who hates bugs, especially if they crawl on her towels. Guess what you have to do.

It goes without saying that not all the wishes of the tenants are known from the start, as as we progress in the game, we will need to learn more about them, but also about our colleagues, who ought to share the same fate. Collectively, to get on their nerves. The information we collect is very important for the development of the case and is recorded in our notepad, so that at any time we can refer to it and get an idea as to what to do.

The game is relatively open and with several locations to visit, even though it takes place exclusively on the hotel grounds, as it is possible to take on more than two and three objectives at once. However, in its own way the game makes sure that the player is not overwhelmed, giving regular hints either with Mike's own responses (like "I guess we'll need this later") or by temporarily restricting movement (e.g. when we are called via beeper to go to a certain room). Also some puzzles can't be solved if we haven't previously found the solution to some others, so more or less things are condensed and made clearer each time.

In the puzzle department, Not Another Weekend is passable, especially if you have some experience in the genre. They're based on the classic dichotomy of dialogue-based and inventory-based problems, and without presenting anything we haven't seen before, they have plenty of variety. With a few exceptions (like how to defrost a meatloaf), there are no outrageous solutions, and the creators have done a solid job, a sign that they have many years of heavy... "adventure-ish" under their belt and have mastered the subject. It goes without saying that there are no dead-ends, time limits or action mini-games, so dealing with the game is not going to stress any player.

After all, the whole game is set up based on what any point 'n' click adventures lover would want: simple two-button operation (left click for use/talk/pickup, right click for examine), a notebook that doubles as a fast travel mechanism, the ability to display hotspots on the screen, etc. Even a detailed tutorial is available for newcomers.

However, in the other areas, Not Another Weekend does just as well. The characters we meet are delightful, most of them cleverly based on the real people they portray, and they are accompanied by snappy dialogue that, while not making us hold our bellies from laughing, manages to paint a constant grin on our faces. On a personal level, I find this to be one of the most enjoyable adventures I've played and I found it hard to put it down as my curiosity had hit red hot as to where this story would end up. Especially after the slightly...creepy revelations surrounding the reasons for the eviction of all the hotel's residents.

What's remarkable is that the game's length is a departure from the usual three or four hours we often see, and it took me around a fairly satisfying eight hours to get to the finale, which leaves clear promises for a sequel. Something which we undoubtedly hope will come to fruition.

Moving on to the technical side of the presentation, Not Another Weekend opts for an interesting take on pixel-art, which is quite reminiscent of the early LucasArts games, both in terms of graphics style and colour palette and animation. They won't leave anyone with their mouths hanging open, but they're perfectly functional and successful in their role as an old-school experience. The audio, on the other hand, doesn't include any voice-overs (aside from some... female screams), just some nice background music, which doesn't distract from the action - it's rather relaxing.

To sum up, Not Another Weekend is one of the pleasant surprises of this year. It definitely appeals more to the over-thirty players, who "matured" by playing similar games in their youth, who will naturally appreciate it more than the younger audience. Nevertheless, it has its own charm and is undoubtedly a production that deserves our attention. Not because it is Greek, but because it is a truly remarkable game.