Pleurghburg: Dark Ages

Pleurghburg is a freeware adventure game created using the AGS engine responsible for AGDI's King's Quest remakes.  While nothing can compare to the production values of those games, Pleurghburg is at the cream of the crop.

You play Jake McUrk, a detective in charge of a murder case that snowballs into a city-wide crisis ,endangering your friends lives as well as your own. Gameplay is standard point'n'click fare, much in the vein of Gabriel Knight: Sins Of The Fathers, with days progessing as events pass. Puzzles are mostly logical and intuitive, with only some pixel-hunting madness that stops player progress.

The graphics, while crude, are done reasonably well. Most things are well-defined, and the designer implements some effective (and optional) gory sequences much in the vein of Manhunter. The sound effects and soundtrack are also appropriate and contribute to the forboding predicaments Jake finds himself in. The dialogue is straightforward and bland (with occasional humor), but never irritating.

What rises this game above most freeware (and helped it garnish several AGS awards) is the story. While none of the plot twists are surprising, they are all told well and rarely fail to engage the player. None of the characters are developed particularly well, but they all have personalities and you find yourself rooting for the protagonists all the same. And rare in adventure games in general, there is one major plot branch halfway through the game (can we say replay value?), and four separate endings that are all worth finding.

If you're looking for a new detective game or are tired of searching through all the freeware for a solid adventure, you'll be hard-pressed to be disappointed with Pleurghburg: Dark Ages.