We analyze The Procession To Calvary, a great graphic adventure whose audiovisual section is entirely taken from Renaissance works of art.
In February 2017, a more than original graphic adventure surprised us with its personal and attractive staging. Four Last Things, developed by a single person, Joe Richardson, took its entire visual section of Renaissance art pieces. Absolutely all the backgrounds and characters of the adventure were taken from paintings by artists of that movement. Through the screens of our computers the lines of artists like El Bosco or Goya himself paraded, with a spectacular staging like we had not seen before in any video game. The history and development of the adventure very aptly accompanied such a display. And it is that its own creator defined his work as what Monkey Island would have been had it been developed in Flanders in the 16th century by a time traveler who was a staunch fan of the Monty Python. This adventure conquered us, and the only serious downside we found was its short duration, barely two or three hours at most, something understandable considering that behind the project there was a single person and seeing the enormous quality of the final finish.
After announcing it a while ago, and having passed a successful financing campaign through Kickstarter, on April 9, Mr. Joe Richardson presented us with an excellent continuation of that proposal that we liked so much, baptized for the occasion as The Procession To Calvary, title taken from the homonymous painting painted by Pieter Bruegel in 1564. And here, again, everything is taken from Renaissance art, with identical or even better results than in its predecessor. The graphic adventure that concerns us today has a classic development in the playable and boasts a biting black humor, but where it stands out without peer is in a superb staging directly derived from Renaissance art, being, literally, a moving picture. Again, the work of Joe Richardson has seemed to us a marvel, recommended both for those who are looking for a good and entertaining graphic adventure, and for those who simply seek to delight their senses with a masterful sample of the best Renaissance art. Of course, The Procession To Calvary falters where the previous work of its creator did, since although it is somewhat longer than that, it has sadly made us short.
One last bloodshed
The story of this attractive graphic adventure takes place in the same universe as Four Last Things, and although it is not necessary to have played it to be able to enjoy it, it is something that we highly recommend if you have not already done so. The events narrated here occur after the end of the Holy War. The churches of the Old God have fallen after years of bloody battles that have cost the lives of thousands of innocents and others that are not so much. Our protagonist is a brave warrior of the crusades, whose image is directly taken from the “Bellona” painting painted by Rembrandt in 1633. This protagonist turns out to be a thirsty combatant of victims whose passion is to spill the blood of her enemies, and that is that everything one ends up taking a liking to him … The fact is that with the end of the war, and the rise to power of a new monarch with ideas of peace and common good, we see how our protagonist runs out of possibilities to continue giving free rein to his morbid passion. After much pleading with the new monarch to allow him to continue shedding blood, he finally agrees on a single, concise point: the only blood he can shed will be that of the previous ruler, the tyrant who calls himself "Heavenly Peter" and who has managed to escape after the end of the war.
Thus, we will begin our particular crusade in pursuit of ending the existence of the aforementioned tyrant. Do not expect much more depth of script in the adventure, and the fact is that the story narrated here is a mere excuse for a succession of cutting gags to parade on screen and we rally our brains with intelligent and varied puzzles. Of course, as already mentioned when we talk about its predecessor, Four Last Things, it boasts an excellent black and very cynical humor, in the best tradition of the masters of this, such as the Monty Python. The adventure is constantly seasoned with moments of anarchic and surreal humor such as that with which the aforementioned geniuses made us enjoy. Here we will not find unexpected turns of the script, nor deep characters, simply a good excuse for a hilarious parade of humor, cynicism and certain droplets of social criticism. As we have already mentioned, unfortunately the adventure does not last long, but while we play we will do it with an almost constant smile on our face, and we will really feel trapped and enjoying at all times that we spend in this crazy Renaissance universe.
Classic graphic adventure or resolution by las bravas
At playable level, we are a priori before a traditional sample of what the genre has been offering. Control is carried out using a pointer. By clicking with the left mouse button we move our protagonist through her scenes. When we pass the pointer over an element with which we can interact, its name will be highlighted. By right-clicking on it, three icons will be displayed to perform the appropriate actions: an eye to have a description of the element or a closer view, a mouth to speak or a hand to perform some type of action. To get older, and to make things easier, if we press the central wheel of the mouse, all the interacting elements will be highlighted on the screen, to avoid the so feared and hated "pixel hunting" that in certain titles of the genre has us crazy looking for some almost invaluable element naked eye. Moving the pointer to the top of the screen we display the inventory where the objects that we are collecting are shown. Precisely, the puzzles of inventory are the predominant ones throughout the adventure, having to find objects to use them where necessary or to deliver them to the right person. We also find puzzles of different nature, which makes the development more varied, although a little more variety or some original or personal mechanics would have been appreciated, beyond what we will discuss below.
As already mentioned, our protagonist has a peculiar inclination for bloodshed. Well, pressing the right mouse button will unsheathe our sword, and this will serve us both to perform certain actions and as an alternative to certain tasks. In the graphic adventure genre we are used to having certain characters carry out a series of commissions to be collaborative and help us move forward. Well, in The Procession To Calvary we can choose to resolve these brave moments, and if a character asks us for something to give us an object or let us pass, we can choose to yield to his claims or to yield to the homicidal cravings of our crusade . This option will, of course, have consequences, and depending on whether we give in to our bloody instincts or we will not see one of the 3 endings that the game has.
In general, the adventure is not excessively complicated, and in most of the puzzles the logic prevails and they are very satisfactory to solve, although there are also a couple of moments of somewhat more obtuse resolution… Unfortunately, Mr. Richardson's new proposal was It has made us too short again and has left us wanting more. In three or four hours at most we will complete the adventure, and the truth is that it is enjoyed so much that we would have liked it to last much longer. It is also a shame that the title does not have a translation of its texts into Spanish, something that will be an obstacle for it to be enjoyed by those not versed in the language of Shakespeare, since the level of their texts is also quite demanding for to be able to enjoy its explosion of Pythonian humor.
A Renaissance painting in motion
Where this cool graphic adventure really stands out with its stunning staging. Absolutely everything we see on screen is taken from works by artists such as Rembradt, Botticelli or Michelangelo among many others. The result is a kind of magnificent Renaissance collage, uniting characters and settings from various works of the time with great success and skill. The visual section thus achieved is majestic and unique, as we have only been able to enjoy in the previous work of Joe Richardson. The curious animations and expressions with which the characters have been endowed reinforce the humor inherent in the title. Just for the mere fact of contemplating and immersing yourself in such an artistic display it is a real pleasure to enjoy this adventure.
To complete the sovereign feast for the senses that The Procession To Calvary represents, the soundtrack is also entirely taken from works by artists of the time, with names of the weight of Vivaldi, Bach and Handel, leaving us with an audio-visually wonderful title, which presents the only small mole of not having any kind of voices for its characters, which is missed to highlight their personalities. In short, we are facing a truly unique and personal graphic adventure (along with its predecessor) that is enjoyed both for its spectacular audiovisual display directly derived from the best Renaissance art, and for its crazy, black, cynical and surreal humor in the best tradition of the Monthy Python.
CONCLUSION
The Procession To Calvary is an excellent graphic adventure that stands out for its majestic audiovisual section directly taken from the works of several of the most outstanding Renaissance artists such as Rembrandt, Botticelli, Vivaldi or Bach. All the elements of the graphic section of the game are taken from various pictures, forming a spectacular Renaissance collage. To finish off this spectacular staging, the graphic adventure boasts a crazy, cynical and surreal black humor in the best tradition of the Monty Python classics. Its very tight price of 8.99 euros ends up making a unique, fresh and personal proposal irresistible, which is totally recommended and to which we add its predecessor Four Last Things. Ideal both for veterans of the genre and for those who want to try a graphic adventure casually, and even for those who simply want to immerse themselves in this spectacular sample of the best Renaissance art.
THE BEST
- Its majestic visual section taken directly from several paintings by great Renaissance painters.
- Masterful soundtrack with works by Bach, vivaldi or Hendel.
- It boasts the best black and surreal humor in the best tradition of the Monty Python.
WORST
- It becomes excessively short, in three or four hours we finish it and leaves us wanting much more.
- On-screen texts in English only.
Good
It meets the expectations of what is a good game, it has quality and does not have serious flaws, although it lacks elements that could have taken it to higher levels.
