Not Perfect - But Very Good
I played all of Act 1 of Broken Age in two sittings. There are two reasons for this, the first being that I didn't want to stop, and the second being that it's only roughly 4 hours long. When playing the game, it quickly became apparent to me that Double Fine had gone for quality over quantity, which is fine by me. It did, however, mean I wasn't really satisfied when the game ended. That may not be an issue in the long run, as this is, after all, act 1 of 2.
The game looks absolutely amazing. As a backer, I had seen quite a bit of it before hand, but nothing I had seen had indicated just how great it looks. Everything is hand drawn and sharp and the detailing in some cases is fantastic. Location after location is filled with new characters waiting to be discovered. The different settings are varied and equally well executed.
The writing is probably the game's biggest strength. The dialog is fun and creative, and there are a number of unexpected responses and interactions spread through out. Some twists are not hard to see coming, but for the most part I didn't know what to expect. This is a great quality in an adventure game, and something Broken Age Act 1 truly delivered on.
The voice acting is, in general, as great as the look of the game. There were a few instances though were I felt the delivery wasn't as good as the rest. The character that let me down the most was Vella, which might be a result of all other characters being so well delivered that even the slightest shortcoming in delivery was very noticeable.
For the adventure aficionado Broken Age Act 1 is highly recommended. The same goes for anyone just looking for a fun and interesting story told expertly. If you're still on the fence, I'd might recommend waiting for act 2 before making a purchase decision. Personally, I feel that act 2 can't come soon enough, and my expectations have been set very high for the conclusion to the story of Broken Age.
