It's here!

[Fender_178]

I've just reached Aesthenia. I must say that I was a bit disappointed by Pergola: by the look of it, I was eager to explore it but - in the end - I had nothing to do apart from a couple of phenocryst puzzles. I hope that Aesthenia will be more tough and long

Congratulations on completing a pretty frustrating phenocryst puzzle (the one in Pergola). In my opinion that puzzle was the most frustrating puzzles in the game.

[AndreaDraco]

Congratulations on completing a pretty frustrating phenocryst puzzle (the one in Pergola). In my opinion that puzzle was the most frustrating puzzles in the game.

I loved the color-based one. As for the music-based one, I did the woman part of it out of sheer luck , while the man part took me a little time to figure it out - I hate music-based puzzle

[Fender_178]

Man back in the day I had to ask a friend of mine to help me with the 2 puzzles that are in Pergola. But maybe now that Im much older maybe I can probably do it with out any problems.

[AndreaDraco]

I've reached Tenebrous.

I liked Aesthenia, even if it was a solitary experience and I usually like tons of characters to interact with. But I like it because of its very melancholic, end-of-the-world atmosphere.

I fear that I'm near the end

[Fender_178]

Congrats on reaching Tenebrous.

[AndreaDraco]

Yesterday night, after a good three months of total hibernation, I finally finished Torin's Passage.

Well, I liked it. A lot.

It was colorful and funny without being too much zany or wacky, and its story was compelling enough to hold my attention from beginning through end (I had to stop playing due to other business). Also, the game had a good dramatic crescendo near the end and I was really intrigued by the backstory of the setting.

I know that Al Lowe considers Torin to be his most accomplished adventure, but I have to disagree, and mainly because the game feels too much like a first chapter of a saga of which I'll never play the following installments: I really want to explore Pergola and Tenebrous, I want to go back to the Land Above and see what will happen now that Torin knows his heritage... Unfortunately, I can't, and this - in some way - hampers even my appreciation of this adventure.

I would rate it 7.5/10, maybe even more if I think at the dozens of great characters I've met, but if I had a Torin's Passage 2 to play the score would have been way higher.

[Tawmis]

I'd wager that if he was given the chance back there, we would have been given a TORIN'S PASSAGE 2...

[Datadog]

I was really disappointed with Pergola. It felt like they ran out of budget for whatever Al had planned and they had to skip ahead to the puzzle section instead. Shame too, considering how interesting that world looks.

I definitely would've wanted to see where Al Lowe was going with this series. The whole game is sort of like transferring planes. Everywhere you go see, you can see exciting new worlds waiting for you, but you only have an hour until your next flight leaves, so you just hang around the airport. There was so much to return to.

I wonder whether Al actually has a TP2 written out somewhere.

[AndreaDraco]

Everywhere you go see, you can see exciting new worlds waiting for you, but you only have an hour until your next flight leaves, so you just hang around the airport. There was so much to return to.

That is exactly the feeling I've got!

[Tawmis]

I wonder whether Al actually has a TP2 written out somewhere.

Just shot Al Lowe an email.

[Akril]

According to the section on Torin's Passage on Al Lowe's website (and an email that Al sent me on the subject a while ago), Torin's Passage was supposed to be the first in a multi-part series following Torin as he grew older and became the next king of The Lands Above, eventually becoming an old man by the last game. The design document actually describes an ending to Torin's Passage where Torin is crowned king while Boogle becomes the Court Jester, but this was disregarded in favor of the somewhat ambiguous ending to the actual game.

[AndreaDraco]

Interesting information!

It goes without saying that I'd have preferred the ditched ending

[Tawmis]

Indeed!

I originally planned Torin's Passage for 5 games, each covering a significant period in Torin's life. #2 was his marriage and assumption of the throne. #3 was "the rebels strike back," i.e., a challenge to his leadership. #4 was a "coming of age" story about his sons and their fight to be next in line for the throne. And #5 was the "passing of the torch," and I planned to include Torin's death. (If for no other reason than to prevent more sequels! <grin>)

[AndreaDraco]

Gosh... They would have been wonderful! It's such a shame that they were never produced...

[Fender_178]

Congrats on Completing Torin's Passage. Im glad you enjoyed it.