Video Game Blog 008: Point and Click Armageddon

Okay, I have a really short one for you today as my week of video wrap up posts continues. This time I want to talk about another game that I was looking forward to: Cyanide & Happiness: Freakpocalypse (Episode 1)!

Zaaaap. (Credit: Explosm, Serenity Forge)

This game was released for Switch and PC in 2021, and later for XBox One and PS4. It began life as a Kickstarter, which I of course donated to. I’ve been a Cyanide & Happiness fan for years.

One of my favorite strips. (Credit: Explosm, Rob Denbleyker)

Cyanide & Happiness is a webcomic that was started in 2005 by four friends. Over the decades it has blossomed into a multimedia sensation. They’ve got a booming YouTube channel, a four season television show, lots of merch, two tabletop games (which I also Kickstarted) and now a trilogy of video games. (Two still in development.) Their games, Joking Hazard and Trial By Trolley are favorites at our periodic game nights.

Poor Coop. (Credit: Explosm, Serenity Forge)

Freakpocalypse is a comedic point and click adventure game that seems like a cross between South Park: Stick of Truth and the old Sierra games of the 80s and 90s such as King’s Quest. You point at various things in the environment and can choose to look at, touch, or talk to those things. You gather items in your backpack to solve puzzles in order to proceed, run errands for characters, talk with them, collect costumes, and gain achievements.

Since it’s Cyanide & Happiness, the game is hilarious, and filled with references to the comic. It’s also on the dark side, which is a signature of the franchise. The main character is a social misfit named Coop who lives with his grandmother and desperately wants a date to the prom. He’s also tormented by bullies and barely tolerated by those in his town. The game follows Coop as he asks everyone to prom, avoids his bullies, and discovers that something strange is going on at his school.

It’s a very short game, but a lot of fun. I plan to play through again to get the rest of the achievements, since the ending sort of snuck up on me. (I was shocked to see the “To Be Continued” card come up.)

What is this doing in a high school? (Credit: Explosm, Serenity Forge)

So that’s all there is for now for Freakpocalypse. I’m sure I’ll do a follow up when Episodes 2 and 3 come out. Thank you for reading. I’ll be back tomorrow with a slightly longer post!

Not the end! (Credit: Explosm, Serenity Forge)So that’s all there is for right