Daedalic’s 1954 Alcatraz locks up the PC

A graphic adventure where choices matter brings a little film-noire sensibility to the point and click scene.

1954: Alcatraz is the story of Joe and Christine, a husband and wife duo caught between violent gangsters and the country’s most secure prison. With mutiple endings and solutions, and a mature story that delves into topics of social and sexual identity, 1954: Alcatraz is not a typical adventure game.

Will Christine help Joe to break free and use the hidden stash of loot to run away together? Will Christine keep the money for herself and turn to the embrace of Joe’s former partner? Will Joe escape through violoence or trickery and deceit? It’s up to the player to decide.

1954 Alcatraz looks pretty interesting from the ever-expanding developer Daedalic. It feels like a cross between old school adventure point and clicks and the newer, more evolved examples of the genre where you have real control over how your characters behave and how the story plays out. I’d love it if that was the case as those games of yore were pretty special and really haven’t been seen too much since the more modern and groundbreaking adventure game-types started to make their impact on the art form. Not that I’m complaining about those either.

I like the idea of a noire-y setting though and I don’t think there’ve been any games that take advantage of that particular style of storytelling as of late. Also pretty cool, and something that ties the old into the new, is the element of choice. We’ve seen that pop up in a bunch of titles over the years and, here in 1954 Alcatraz, it looks to be used pretty heavily in the plot . That combined with the relatively classic looks of the interface and interface could mean this one’s a winner.

1954 Alcatraz can be had right now on the PC or the Mac through Steam or Steam/GOG respectively and will cost you $19.99 USD.