Conquistadorio is a rather macabre point and click adventure game. The general atmosphere and feel of the game is pretty unique as a result. For some reason I can’t quite put my finger on, the game conjures up the same feeling as Limbo even though the two games are quite different in mechanics.
The similar feeling may be due to the dark but quiet atmosphere Conquistadorio shares with Limbo. There’s a strange but calming sense of quietness to the game. While Limbo can get pretty gruesome with the many ways the protagonist can die, Conquistadorio shows the main protagonist butchering these giant pill bug like insects with no regard for the sanctity of life.
For example, for one puzzle, you pull a mostly dead pill bug out of the water with a hook and then proceed to cut a hole in its skull and pull out a robotic organ of sorts. In the process, you see the character just scooping out the innards whilst the bug seems to be in its final death throes. The cartoonish graphics provide a stark contrast to the more gruesome displays of violence.
The macabre elements aside, Conquistadorio is a classic point and click adventure at its very core. It shares the same DNA as the classic point and click games of yore and while I say this as mostly high praise it also means the game shares the same elements that can cause frustration to most gamers in this genre.
Solving puzzles in Conquistadorio is definitely satisfying. It feels fantastic because the game doesn’t put on the baby gloves and just throws you into the mix. There’s really no overall sense of what you’re supposed to do at any given moment. Some games will point you in the general direction, i.e. “open this door!” or “get past this guard” but this game will do no such thing.
This makes the puzzles truly feel like puzzles you are solving but it also creates temporary moments of frustration where a player may feel completely lost and unsure of how to proceed. This results in the very common practice of frantically clicking on everything visible and trying to combine as many items as possible and use those combinations on the environment until something progresses.
While these frustrating moments of feeling lost are a standard rite of passage for most point and click adventure games, it may deter, how do I put this, a generation of gamers trained for immediate gratification off from giving the game a chance. This is quite unfortunate because Conquistadorio is quite possibly one of the more interesting games I’ve played in a while thanks to the puzzles. I also understand that this type of game isn’t for everyone to begin with.
The way the narrative is delivered is quite interesting as well. It takes a more hands off approach and uses the environment and short interactions between characters to tell the story. Much like the puzzles, the story is designed to let the player fill in many of the large gaps in order to come to a tidy, logical conclusion.
Overall, Conquistadorio is a fantastic point and click adventure. They managed to copy the DNA of the classics right down to both the euphoria that comes from solving the puzzles and the frustrating moments leading up to the solutions but with an uniquely macabre aesthetic and feel. The only criticism I have is I wish the little hint button to highlight objects you can interact with would make the items more visible. The dot is so tiny and my old man eyes can’t spot it as easily anymore.
Additional Info
Steam Store Page : https://store.steampowered.com/app/2472550/Conquistadorio/
Review Score: N/A as the game isn’t out yet as of this writing (10/03/23)
Developer: Morion Studio
Publisher: AD Gaming
Release Date: Oct 20, 2023
MSRP: TBA
I received a key from keymailer. Thanks for lending me a hand and a boot!
Time spent: 2.2 hours
Achievement Score: 8/16 achievements
Ducky Obrien 