Hoodwink

Hoodwink is an adventure game that takes place in the fictional city Global-01. It is set in a future where the word went belly-up and humanity was threatened by floods, famine and mutation. The organization UniCorp made the people an offer: to build the new city as a safe environment if they were allowed to have full control of it. People who live there are now held back through cheap medicine called Uni-Pill that drugs them. The city is also filled with anthromorphs − crossbreeds of humans and animals − and Second-Chancers; people who return after death as a robot. Despite the grim background the story unfolds as a dystopian parody. The player controls Michael Bezzle. He calls himself an acquisition expert, but he is nothing but a rogue and a petty thief with sharp wit. The game starts when he attempts to steal a ring to propose to his fiancée who is in a wheelchair. He also has to assemble a proposal package with chocolates, flowers and perfume. From there, he gradually gets involved and untangles the conspiracy surrounding the city.

The game is played as a classic point-and-click adventure. It is presented in a cel-shaded look against drawn backgrounds. The cursor is used to interact with the environment and it changes automatically to the appropriate symbol: walk, examine, pick up, use, comment, capture, talk. It is not possible to cycle through them. In some areas there is also a cursor to change the camera angle to get another view of the surroundings. Items that are picked up are stored in an inventory where they can be examined. When an object from the inventory needs to be used in the environment, the correct one is selected automatically, so there is no need to try different combinations. General tasks are also stored in a journal. Some scenes contain mini-games and the rules can be consulted through an item in the bottom left corner. There is also a general hint system that displays messages near the top of the screen when the player is stuck for a long time. The game cannot be saved at any given moment. Instead it contains checkpoints when certain goals have been met.