Overview
A 1996 French adventure game by Cryo Interactive Entertainment. In line with other Cryo adventure games, the player gets to explore a historic location while solving a conspiracy planning on destroying Louis XIV's Versailles. Talk, solve puzzles and use the items and clues you find as you make your way through a week in the court of the French emperor. Alternatively you can ditch the story altogether and just explore Versailles on your own in a free explore mode.
In association with French national institution Réunion des musées nationaux and Canal + Multimedia, Cryo Interactive recreated the Parisian palace in pre-rendered 3D panoramas. Using their Omni 3D technology they would later go on to use in their other adventure games. And populated it with about 30 characters modeled after historic figures and portraits. A lot of detail went into the recreation, with over 200 paintings to view, music true to the period, and a database of information about the art, history, and people.
Plot
A madman leaves a pamphlet discovered on the morning of June 21st, 1685 threatening to destroy Versailles. The player takes the role of Lalande, a valet of the royal bedchamber under the command of Monsieur Bontemps, the first valet to the King, to search for the culprit and foil his plot to destroy Versailles.
Gameplay
Versailles 1685 plays very much like a standard adventure game of the 90s. The player has an inventory to collect clues and items of interest, can interact with certain items in the pre-rendered background, and can talk and eavesdrop with historical figures. The game takes place over the course of a single day (June 21st, 1685) in the court of Louis XIV. The player's access to different locations in Versailles is dictated by the King's schedule and activities. Each act corresponds a different portion of Louis XIV's day and opens different portions of Versailles to the player.
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