Pendula Swing Episode 1 - Tired and Retired review

Pendula Swing is an episodic point & click adventure game set in a Fantasy version of the American Roaring 1920s. You play as Brialynne, an old, rich and rather introverted dwarf lady who was this world's most famous hero, but she retired a long time ago. Brialynne loves her solitude and refuses to leave her island. But one day her magical axe is stolen so she is forced to go back to the town of Duberdon to find it. She was aware that the world around her is advancing, but until going back to Duberdon, she never realised just how much! Strange music, a completely new fashion, fast moving steel horses and now goblins and orcs roaming the streets in broad daylight?! Discover the districts of Duberdon and interact with incredibly diverse characters inspired by real 1920s stories through the eyes of a grumpy hero who is already rich and famous.

• Brialynne retired to spend her days with her wife, Taheena, who has now passed. A word of warning: Pendula Swing portrays a lot of diverse characters and relationships!
  
• Since Taheena was nice enough to go to the other side, you are therefore a widow. Aka single. You don't have to be single. You can go have some dates!
  
• As Pendula's greatest hero, Brialynne is rich. Very. Rich. So your choices in Pendula Swing can, but do not have to be guided by fortunes to gain. You can choose to be (very) generous, since you have a huge treasure at home
  
• You have a very sassy cat. You can have pets in many games, but none grants you a sassier companion than Katya
  
• In fact, the critters of Pendula Swing can be... special. We assure you it's not weird at all to talk to critters. Just please make sure you stay calm and don't blame the Ale if they respond back
  
• ...which brings us to Dwarven Ale. It's illegal, strong and, of course, very tasty and fantastic for your health! But be prepared for dizziness and speech impairment if you drink it
  
• Since Pendula is inspired not only by the glamorous aesthetics, but also by the political, social and economic landscape of the Roaring 1920s, expect a lot of situations in which class disparity, prejudice and racism are obvious

Play for yourself and discover more "fun facts" in Pendula Swing! Like the philosophical orc or... You know what? Sorry For The Spoilers!

• Pendula Swing Episode 1 – Tired and Retired - The once famous dwarven hero, Brialynne Donu Tenúm, is forced to interrupt her indefinite retirement on her idyllic island when she discovers that an important artifact has been stolen.
  
• Pendula Swing Episode 2 – The Old Hero’s New Journey - Brialynne sets foot in Duberdon for the first time in 400 years and is mesmerized by how the world changed. She hopes to find someone who can help recover her axe, which appears to be harder than she had anticipated. And who is that strangely familiar elf…?
  
• Pendula Swing Episode 3 – Orcing Hard or Hardly Orcing - A lead brings Brialynne to the Harbor District, where she aims to ask the captain of a ship what she knows about the missing axe. Were the bars in Duberdon always this seedy, though?
  
• Pendula Swing Episode 4 – No Silver Spoons - When entering a familiar part of Duberdon, now called Old Town, Brialynne finds that it is in great disrepair. A great place for the thief who stole her axe to hide out.
  
• Pendula Swing Episode 5 – Glamour Spell - The fact that dwarven ale is prohibited does not mean it’s not possible to find if you know where to look. Many interesting people frequent the establishments who provide it.
  
• Coming soon! Pendula Swing Episode 6 – Public Display of Heroism - The hunt for her missing axe brings Brialynne to the seat of the academics in Duberdon. Could these scholars be the ones hiding her precious artifact?
  
• Coming soon! Pendula Swing Episode 7 – Facts and Artifacts - Brialynne is closing in on the mastermind who brought her out on the wild goose chase. Yet still, there are more surprises waiting.

...then this is probably the game for you!

Pendula Swing's main gameplay mechanic is having conversations. As one of our awesome players put it, "Heavy emphasis on dialogue and exploring the world and the main mystery through dialogue and lore. I keep finding myself so immersed even though I'm "just having conversations" with NPCs."

Our aim is to build a friendly, familiar, relaxing and meaningful world where you want to get to know the characters, their stories and the intricacies of their relationships. While we have a few other varied quests, puzzles and features (and we certainly plan to add more) we want to stay away from violence, mandatory quests and mastering numbers, and focus instead of portraying a gentle and somewhat more realistic fantasy meets 1920s experience (for example, no, you can't just throw away stuff from your backpack, which is why we are currently adding a Garbage Bin Function (tm) ). This is why you can actually finish each episode quite fast if you follow the main storyline and just go find your axe, but the flavour is in discovering the world and the purposely non mandatory side quests.

Because frankly, if you were an old, grumpy, rich and famous hero lady, would you really pay any attention for anyone making you do stuff?!

Alas, dear adventurers....