A great-looking point and click adventure game in a medieval setting.
The world’s most famous and most quoted astrologer Nostradamus lived and worked during the 16th century. Besides reading the stars, he also worked as a mathematician and a doctor. His legacy is not from his medical profession, though, but from his texts that are said to predict the future. These prophecies have been used in war propaganda among other things, and this is what Nostradamus: The Last Prophecy is about.
It’s a classic point-and-click adventure game played from a fist person perspective, but that doesn’t mean that you can move the camera any way you want; instead you click your way through the environment. As usual with point and click games, the controls are very straightforward – the left mouse button is used for interacting with items and people and the right button lets you access a menu.
You start in the year 1566 – the year of Nostradamus’ death – and take on the role of his daughter Madeleine in the game. The prophecy that you’re about to be involved in concerns the French royal family; Nostradamus predicted that the royal family (which is currently away) would suffer after the death of twelve people, and when the story starts the prophecy seems to be fulfilling as people in the court start dying.
Nostradamus himself is asked to investigate, but as he’s old and fragile this responsibility falls on Madeleine. To get around more easily she dresses up as her brother, who as it happens is also out of town. Once in the game you can change attire to play the sister or the brother, making people respond to you differently and adding some more depth to the game.
Now it’s time for some detective work. With the help of a toolbox containing a magnifying glass and other essential detective’s gear you have to examine various places, items and corpses. As you’d expect, a fair share of the puzzles has to do with astrology and math. You don’t get that many clues for free either, so some experimenting is necessary to move forward in Nostradamus: The Last Prophecy.
Throughout the adventure, you have to rummage around in the castle and its surrounding town to solve the mystery. The game looks very nice and the atmosphere is immersive. As opposed to many other games in the genre, the voice acting is also pretty good. On the downside is that some puzzles are a bit too far-fetched, but that is often the case in modern point and click games. To summarize: If you’re in the mood for an old-fashion point and click adventure game for the PC, give Nostradamus: The Last Prophecy a try!
