The Neverhood is a 1996 point-and-click adventure video game developed by The Neverhood, Inc. and published by DreamWorks Interactive for Microsoft Windows. The game follows the adventure of a claymation character named Klaymen as he discovers his origins and his purpose in a world made entirely out of clay. When the game was originally released, it was unique in that all of its animation was done entirely in claymation, including all of the sets. The gameplay consists mostly of guiding the main character Klaymen around and solving puzzles to advance. Video sequences help advance the plot. In addition to being unique, The Neverhood aimed at being quirky and humorous, as is evident by the characters, the music, and the plot sequence. It received a sequel in 1998, Skullmonkeys, which was a platform game, abandoning the adventure format of the original.
Starship Titanic is an adventure game developed by The Digital Village and published by Simon & Schuster Interactive. It was released in April 1998 for Microsoft Windows and in March 1999 for Apple Macintosh. The game takes place on the eponymous starship, which the player is tasked with repairing by locating the missing parts of its control system. The gameplay involves solving puzzles and speaking with the bots inside the ship. The game features a text parser similar to those of text adventure games with which the player can talk with characters.
Legend Entertainment Company was an American developer and publisher of computer games, best known for creating adventure titles throughout the 1990s. The company was founded by Bob Bates and Mike Verdu, both veterans of the interactive fiction studio Infocom that shut down in 1989. Legend's first two games, Spellcasting 101: Sorcerers Get All the Girls and Timequest, had strong sales that sustained the company. Legend also profited from negotiating licenses to popular book series, allowing them to create notable game adaptations such as Companions of Xanth and Gateway. Legend also earned a reputation for comedic adventures, with numerous awards for Eric the Unready in 1993. As the technology of the game industry changed, Legend continued to expand its game engine to take advantage of higher graphical fidelity, mouse support, and the increased media storage of the compact disc.
Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans is a cancelled graphic adventure game developed by Blizzard Entertainment and Animation Magic from 1996 until 1998. Set in the Warcraft universe after the events of Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal, it followed the orc character Thrall in his quest to reunite his race, then living on reservations and in slavery following its defeat by the human Alliance. Assuming the role of Thrall, the player would have used a point-and-click interface to explore the world, solve puzzles and interact with characters from the wider Warcraft series.
Titanic: Adventure Out of Time is a 1996 point-and-click adventure game developed by CyberFlix and published in the United States and United Kingdom by GTE Entertainment and Europress respectively, for Windows and Macintosh. It takes place in a virtual representation of the RMS Titanic, following a British spy who has been sent back in time to the night Titanic sank and must complete a previously failed mission to prevent World War I, the Russian Revolution, and World War II from occurring. The gameplay involves exploring the ship and solving puzzles. There are multiple outcomes and endings to the game depending on the player's interactions with characters and use of items.
Albion is a role-playing video game, developed and published by Blue Byte for MS-DOS. Originally released in German in 1995, the game was later translated to English for international release the following year. The game, which mostly involves traditional fantasy elements, such as magic, combined with a science fiction setting, sees players assume the role of a space pilot aboard a mining colony ship, who becomes stranded on a world set to be mined for its resources, despite it teeming with life and sentient races.
The Space Bar is a 1997 graphic adventure game developed by Boffo Games and published by Rocket Science Games and SegaSoft. A comic science fiction story, it follows detective Alias Node as he searches for a shapeshifting killer inside The Thirsty Tentacle, a fantastical bar on the planet Armpit VI. The player assumes the role of Alias and uses his Empathy Telepathy power to live out the memories of eight of the bar's patrons, including an immobile plant, an insect with compound eyes and a blind alien who navigates by sound. Gameplay is nonlinear and under a time limit: the player may solve puzzles and gather clues in any order, but must win before the killer escapes the bar.
The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall is an open-world, action role-playing game published by Bethesda Softworks. The second video game in the Elder Scrolls series, it was released on September 20, 1996 for MS-DOS, following the success of 1994's The Elder Scrolls: Arena. The story follows the player, sent by the Emperor, to free the ghost of King Lysandus from his earthly shackles and discover what happened to a letter sent from the Emperor to the former queen of Daggerfall.
Chronomaster is an adventure game developed by DreamForge Intertainment for MS-DOS compatible operating systems and published by IntraCorp on 20 December 1995. Its main plot was written by novelist Roger Zelazny and was his last known work, as he died during the development of the game. Due to Roger's passing, Dreamforge used in-house puzzle and game designers John McGirk and Aaron Kreader to complete a majority of the game puzzles, while leaving the overall game plot and concept intact as per Roger's vision.
Crusader: No Regret is an isometric action game developed by Origin Systems and published by Electronic Arts in 1996. Nominally a sequel to 1995's Crusader: No Remorse, it is considered both by critics and by the game director more akin to a stand-alone expansion pack. Mechanically similar to No Remorse, it features new levels, enemies and weapons.
Obsidian is a 1997 graphic adventure game developed by Rocket Science Games and published by SegaSoft. It was released for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS.
Star Control 3 is a 1996 action-adventure game developed by Legend Entertainment and published by Accolade. The third installment in the Star Control trilogy, the game was released for MS-DOS in 1996 and Mac OS in 1998. The story takes place after Star Control II, beginning with a disaster that disrupts superluminal travel through hyperspace. This leads the player to investigate a new quadrant of space, joined by allied aliens from the previous games.
The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery is a point-and-click adventure game, created by Jane Jensen, developed and published by Sierra On-Line, and released for MS-DOS, Macintosh, and Microsoft Windows, in 1995. The sequel to 1993's Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers, the game's story focuses on a new investigation for Gabriel Knight, adjusting to his new life as a "shadow hunter", as he investigates a spate of killing around Munich believed to be the work of a werewolf, with assistance in his work from Grace Nakimura, who looks into a link between the killings and the final years of a Bavarian king in the 19th century.
Armed & Delirious is a 1997 adventure game for Microsoft Windows. It was written and created by Israelis Benny Davidovich and Makh-Shevet Ltd., and published by Sir-Tech. The player is a delirious grandmother who tries to save her family. Her family, who were cruel to animals, are imprisoned by the Great Rabbit. It has very surreal gameplay and nonsensical puzzles.
Mission Critical is a sci-fi adventure game, created by Legend Entertainment for MS-DOS, written by the company's CEO Mike Verdu, and released in November 1995. The game consists of 3D graphics and features live-action scenes, with the cast including Michael Dorn and Patricia Charbonneau. The games storyline focuses on the player taking on the role of a single crew member, who is left behind on their ship after their captain feigns a surrender to ensure a vital mission can continue. The player's goal focuses on repairing their ship after a recent battle, and then getting to the surface of a planet to complete a secret scientific mission that could provide the means to ending a war over technological advancements and artificial life.
Timelapse is a 1996 graphic adventure game developed and published by GTE Entertainment. Inspired by the game Myst, it tasks the player with the rescue of an archaeologist trapped in another dimension. The player navigates a series of time portals to locations such as ancient Egypt, Maya and the prehistoric Puebloan civilization, while solving puzzles and searching for clues to the archaeologist's whereabouts.
Lands of Lore: Guardians of Destiny is a 1997 action role-playing game, second installment of the Lands of Lore series, a sequel to Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos. It brought about a drastic change in gameplay style from its predecessor, opting away from the original's D&D turn-based style in favor of more action elements. A sequel, Lands of Lore III, was released in 1999.
Diablo is an action role-playing video game developed by Blizzard North and released by Blizzard Entertainment in January 1997, and is the first installment in the video game series of the same name.
Callahan's Crosstime Saloon is a 1997 graphic adventure game developed by Legend Entertainment and published by Take-Two Interactive. Based on the Callahan's Place book series by author Spider Robinson, the game follows Jake Stonebender, narrator of the books, through six discrete comic science fiction adventures. Taking the role of Jake, the player solves puzzles, converses with characters from the Callahan's Place series and visits locations such as the Amazon rainforest, Transylvania and outer space.
Smart Games Challenge is a video game series developed by American companies KnowWare and Smart Games. Three games were released between 1996 and 1998.
