"Truberbrook" Switch Review

A sci-fi tinged, point-and-click adventure mystery with more than a little "Twin Peaks" and "Deadly Premonition," "Truberbook" is a psychologically challenging and thought-provoking journey into darkness.

The dev team at Merge Games took an offbeat, unorthodox approach to storytelling, setting you into its awkward, eclectic story without context or explanation. You're left to your own devices, blindly stumbling about scene after scene, tinkering with environmental objects until you're able to trigger progress.

Owing much to the links of "Maniac Mansion" and "Tales of Monkey Island," the 1960s-set saga places you in the shoes of an American scientist who sets off to a quaint German town, with the objective to use his nerdy skills to save the world.

Got all that?

Much of what you're tangling with in "Truberbrook" comes in the obtuse format of the game. An ornery menu system, complex navigation and a mocking sense of humor pervades the game. Every joke seems to be at least partially on you, and every step is a nerve-fraying elongation of suspense in waiting for the proverbial other shoe to drop.

While the mounting frustration may discourage many gamers from pressing on, those who are hooked by the off-kilter premise will find themselves enduring the myriad obstacles just to see where the crazy train takes them. With the aid of online walkthroughs, the path forwards is navigable, though unnecessarily difficult.

"Tuberbrook" makes you pay the price for its residency, but for those looking for something that will throw them off their beaten path, it's a trip well worth taking.

Publisher provided review code.