Ceville - PC

After enjoying a golden era in the 90s with titles such as Monkey Island and Grim Fandango, the point and click adventure genre eventually fizzled out.

However, the last year or so has seen the genre enjoy a renaissance, with old favourites Sam and Max and Broken Sword resurrected. There has also been a push to deliver new IPs, with A Vampyre's Story appearing a few months ago and now Kalypso's Ceville joins in the fun.

Set in a Shrek-like fantasy realm, Ceville is a bitter and mean old king, who rules the land of Faeryanis with an iron fist. As such, this miserable little tyrant isn't well liked by his subjects, so it's no surprise when an uprising leads to him being ousted from his throne.

Taking control of the pint-sized despot, your ultimate goal is to reclaim your position as rightful ruler of the land, but it's not going to be easy. Your first objective is to elude the dim-witted guards who are keeping you ensconced in your throne room. From this point, you embark on a highly amusing and colourful adventure.

Although you’ll be in control of Ceville for much of the time, other characters come under your command as the things march along: Lily, a sweet natured little girl, who is the antithesis of Ceville, and Ambrosius, the arrogant and self-obsessed Paladin.

As with all point and click adventures, using simple logic and combining items solves the puzzles. For example, a frothy tankard of ale is perfect for dousing flames, while an axe combined with a rope makes an excellent grappling hook.

Throughout the game, most of the head scratching conundrums can be solved with a bit of lateral thought and it's refreshing to play an adventure which doesn't handcuff the player with ridiculous, ill thought-out brain benders.

The voice acting and soundtrack are quite impressive, while the graphics are beautifully presented. From musty old dungeons, to sunny beaches and verdant rolling landscapes, every location in Ceville is a visual treat.

There is some repetition when it comes to background conversations, though, and it's advisable to switch the subtitles on, as some of the audio cues can be a bit muffled. However, these issues are small and don't spoil the game.

It's a polished title, and one that could easily be overlooked. However, Ceville is a highly enjoyable adventures and comes highly recommended.