Summary
Like most guide writers, I take a lot of pride in my work. I like solving puzzles, working out the best boss strategies, and uncovering all those hidden collectibles so that others don’t have to tear their hair out looking for them like I did. It’s why I like working on games like Broken Sword. There’s a sense of satisfaction and achievement in writing a good guide, in knowing it will help someone else. Most of the time.
While writinga complete walkthroughforBroken Sword - Shadow of the Templars: Reforged, I decided to really challenge myself. My aim? To identify the most efficient way to play, narrowing down the interactions and puzzles to only the absolutely essential needed to progress. Yet in doing so, I realised I had utterly ruined the game for myself, and anyone who might decide to follow in my footsteps. It might be efficient, but it’s incredibly boring to play this way. Trust me, I did it.
There was so much I didn’t know that was entirely optional. Even though I know Shadow of the Templars back to front, when I put it to the test I began to notice just how much you could cut out. You don’t even need to speak to the waitress in the cafe after the bombing at all. You can play the entire game having never spoken to her. But, equally, this means you miss out on all the quirky moments you can choose in this scene, such as pretending to be a doctor.
It wasn’t just the waitress either. In my efficient, watered down playthrough there are many characters you don’t bother speaking to at all, areas you skip until absolutely necessary, and so much added context and humour lost in the race to the finish line. You still get the main story beats, of course, but it’s not the same. You lose so much exposition, finer details about the Knights Templar, the characters you’re dealing with, and their relationships.
Even the silly little side plots all add to the overall adventure. Without taking the time to stop and fully exhaust all conversation options, you’ll miss funny moments or voiced lines. You’ll never discover that Maguire and the old man in the bar in Ireland both think they saw a ghost, but really it was each other. Some of the wittiest lines and best scenes are hidden away in optional conversation threads, and daft things you have to make George do or say. You’ll never know what it’s like to go around multiple countries showing everyone a dirty tissue if you only ever use it when it’s really needed.
You’ll also never experience the true frustration of the game’s hardest puzzles, including the notorious goat. This may seem like a good thing, but you just can’t fully appreciate the craft behind the game when you’re given the answers on a platter. Moreover, you won’t receive the same sense of satisfaction of solving it without having to figure it out, one painstaking headbutt to the ground after the other.
Reforged can easily take you up to (or even over) ten hours if you’re going in completely unfamiliar and are less experienced with classic point-and-clicks. That’s part of the joy of puzzle games after all, figuring out the solutions through trial and error. However, playing using my most efficient walkthrough halves that, at least.
It’s a strange thing to accept that you’ve worked out the least enjoyable way to play a game, especially for a game you absolutely adore. For once, I hope players don’t use all my guides. They’ll still serve a purpose for players to simply check in when they’re stuck on a specific puzzle, see where they’ve gone astray, and then continue playing for themselves. Don’t play following each and every step of my guides. I promise you it’s nowhere near as fun as enjoying everything the game has to offer for yourself.
