Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy! HD Reviews

Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy is a point and click adventure game by comedian Alasdair Beckett-King. You play as Nelly Cootalot, a pirate on a mission to find the spoonbeaks, birds who have gone missing from their island home. I thought the puzzles were a little challenging but generally fair. The inventory object puzzles were tricky in a couple of places but pretty logical. I struggled a little bit with the cryptogram, but I was able to solve it. The interface lets you switch the letters on the screen, without having to write anything down, which made the puzzle less frustrating. I struggled the most with the final puzzle. The in-game hint system just highlights hotspots, so if you need additional hints you need to look up a guide. The story isn't very complex, but the witty writing and charming characters more than make up for it. The game is very funny, and I kept wanting to replay the conversations to see all the different dialogue options. Nelly is a great protagonist: funny, clever, and kind despite being a pirate at heart. I enjoyed the music, hand-drawn art style, and voice acting. There are only two voice actors, and Alasdair Beckett-King is playing almost all of the characters, but the performances were great and all of the characters felt really distinct. If you tab out while playing the game, the background music starts playing the same note over and over again. It fixes itself once you get back to the game. The Steam overlay also doesn't work, as the mouse stays on the game screen and won't interact with the overlay window. Those were pretty minor issues; otherwise, the game worked fine. Overall, the first Nelly Cootalot game is a lot of fun. It was really funny and I enjoyed the puzzles, even when they were difficult. The game is short but pretty cheap and the proceeds go to RSPB, a bird charity. 9/10