Siebenstreich’s Nerdventure Review

Game: Siebenstreich’s Nerdventure
Genre: Adventure, Puzzle, Other, Lifestyle
System: Nintendo Switch (also on Steam)
Developers | Publishers: Golden Orb
Age Rating: US E | EU 3+
Price: US $14.99 | UK £13.49 | EU $ 14,99
Release Date: May 27, 2021

Review code used, with many thanks to Golden Orb

Starting out last October as a Kickstarter campaign Siebenstreich’s Nerdventure is a 2D adventure game from developers Golden Orb, a two-woman development studio. Interested in reading more about Golden Orb? Read our interview here.

A Game of Dice & Doom

An RPG group is looking for a hero to save the Mirrormore realm from doom. Benefits of the job include reasonable work hours, your own towel and a moderate chance of resurrection in the event of your untimely demise. Siebenstreich’s Nerdventure follows the story of a D&D (Dice & Doom) group’s hero, who is a hip tailor called Taylor Vaughan, (nicknamed Siebenstreich) Taylor who is a tailor by trade, get it? That’s just one of many puns in the game!

Along with Siebenstreich in the D&D group is the Game Master, the mastermind and ingenious storyteller of “Dice & Doom”. They are creative opportunists with a passion for retro-gaming, pop culture and Blueberry Daiquiris. But that’s not all, Siebenstreich the tailor is joined on the journey by Henry, who is playing the character of Trudie, a vegan carnivorous plant. Your party of unlikely heroes sets out to rescue a realm in distress and if you’re lucky grab the fabled throne of Up’Zhykling along the way.

Bring Colour Back to the World

After reading the above paragraph you’ve probably guessed, this is a very light-hearted adventure title. That’s exactly what this point and click adventure game is. It doesn’t take itself too seriously that’s for sure. At the start of the game, every scene is in greyscale. As you play through the game, progress the story and solve its puzzles in different areas and generally ease some of the kingdom’s troubles, the colour will return to the land.

I think that’s a nice touch, to see the drab greyscale scene change into colour is a delight, especially if you have spent a while completing all the puzzles in that area. It gives you a sense of satisfaction not only in solving the puzzle but also in bringing colour back to the world.

Point and Click

Puzzles in Siebenstreich’s Nerdventure can be tricky. An observant eye is needed to spot items in your surroundings that are useful for solving puzzles. There isn’t a hint system though you do get clues from conversations with the NPC’s Siebenstreich meets. While I didn’t find any puzzles I couldn’t solve I do think a hint system might help those that are new to the genre. Otherwise, they could become frustrated at some of the puzzle solutions.

The game is full of Easter eggs to spot, and witty dialogue full of nerdy, pop culture fairytales references. While I found myself smiling at some of the conversations and jokes others I didn’t find funny at all. How much you will enjoy the humour in Siebenstreich’s Nerdventure will depend on what type of humour you like.

Visuals and Controls

The games hand-drawn cartoony style is the perfect look for this crazy weird (meant in a nice way) game. As is the music that follows you around. The characters voices are mostly grunts and groans, which some folk might like. I found they got irritating to listen to, easily remedied by turning the voices off in the settings.

Siebenstreich’s Nerdventure is controlled by the joy-cons. They work fine, though you don’t have a cursor instead you use the right stick to highlight items of interest in each area. At times that control seemed a bit hit and miss, as some items didn’t highlight when they should have.

Conclusion

Siebenstreich’s Nerdventure is a fun and enjoyable weird adventure game. The puzzles do pose a challenge but it’s the right kind of challenge, neither too difficult nor too easy.

If you’re a point and click adventure connoisseur with a broad sense of humour you’ll probably find what you’re looking for in Siebenstreich’s Nerdventure.

Final Verdict: I Like It