Frequently Asked Questions
The most-asked questions about adventure games of the 2010s, part 2.
What does 'adventure games of the 2010s, part 2' actually cover?
This second volume of the fan encyclopedia surveys the narrative-driven and exploration-focused adventure titles released roughly between 2015 and 2019, picking up where the first volume left off. It includes indie darlings like Life is Strange, Firewatch, and Return of the Obra Dinn alongside episodic studio productions, treating them as a single creative wave.
Which creators and studios do fans most often credit for defining this stretch?
Dontnod Entertainment (Life is Strange), Campo Santo (Firewatch), and ZA/UM (Return of the Obra Dinn) are the names that appear most frequently in community discussions. Individual figures like Noelle Stevens, Tim Louch, and Alex Beachum are regularly cited as the creative forces behind their respective breakout titles.
If I've never played an adventure game, where does the community recommend I start in this era?
The most common suggestion is Life is Strange, because its branching choices and episodic pacing make the genre's mechanics immediately legible to newcomers. Firewatch is the second most-recommended entry point for players who prefer a linear, atmospheric experience with minimal inventory puzzles.
How is this 2015–2019 wave different from the point-and-click adventure boom of the late 1990s and early 2000s?
Where the earlier era leaned on puzzle-solving and visual gags, the 2010s wave centers on emotional storytelling, player agency through dialogue choices, and a smaller, more intimate cast of characters. The technical bar shifted from elaborate sprite animation to expressive environments and voice acting as the primary narrative tools.
What are the scenes or moments fans most frequently cite as 'notable'?
The lighthouse sequence in Firewatch, where the player must choose between two characters, is consistently called the decade's most emotionally charged decision. The final chapter of Life is Strange, in which the player's earlier choices converge into a world-altering outcome, is the other scene that dominates fan-essay and forum threads.
Which platforms shaped how these games were experienced?
PC and the PlayStation 4 generation defined the era, with most titles launching simultaneously or in close succession across both. A significant number also appeared on Nintendo Switch within a year or two of release, and the episodic model that dominated earlier in the decade gave way to full-disc releases by 2017.
What thematic concerns recur across the titles catalogued in this volume?
Grief, memory, and the act of piecing together a lost or fractured past are the three themes that surface most often, whether in a family home (What Remains of Edith Finch), a shipwreck (Return of the Obra Dinn), or a small-town mystery (Life is Strange). A secondary thread is the tension between personal desire and the expectations of community or family.
What is the single biggest debate or controversy among fans of this era?
The most persistent argument centers on whether choice-based adventure games genuinely offer meaningful agency or merely create an illusion of it through scripted consequences. The Telltale studio's 2018 bankruptcy is frequently invoked in this debate as evidence that the episodic, choice-heavy model was commercially fragile.
How did the episodic release model of the early 2010s affect the genre by the time part 2's window begins?
By 2015 the weekly-episode format was largely abandoned in favor of complete releases, partly because audiences grew fatigued by cliffhangers and partly because the Telltale model's reliance on a single writer's voice limited creative scope. Studios in this volume typically shipped their games as a finished product, which allowed for tighter narrative arcs and more experimentation with structure.
What lasting impact did this wave have on the broader gaming industry?
It proved that small, narrative-first teams could compete with AAA titles for critical attention and niche commercial success, directly paving the way for the indie narrative boom of the early 2020s. It also normalized voice-acted, character-driven design in genres that previously relied on text boxes, a shift that is now standard across the medium.