Don a Rabbi's kippah for an exciting investigation
The final game from Wadjet Eye arrives, and the point-and-click specialist proves their expertise in this area yet again. After the conspiracy scenario from Resonance and the esoteric investigations of the Blackwell series, the city of New York is again in the spotlight in this remake of The Shivah (2006). You will play Russell Stone, a somewhat depressive rabbi who becomes embroiled in a dark tale of inheritance that will put his faith to the test...
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Murder and conspiracy in Manhattan
The Shivah: Kosher Edition offers you the chance to don the Rabbi's kippah for a richly scripted and intense investigation. Eeking out a living in a dilapidated synagogue, Russell Stone sees his past resurface with a visit from a police officer, rekindling the flames of a forgotten history. It's difficult to describe the plot of The Shivah without ruining the pleasure of discovery, suffice to say you're likely to be hooked from beginning to end! An end which unfortunately comes too quickly, as the life of the game is very low (5 hours tops).
Old school gameplay
Like any self-respecting point-and-click, The Shivah relies on a mix of puzzles and dialogs. Two points which are particularly successful: the puzzles are always juicily difficult without ever becoming nonsensical; their resolution always brings great satisfaction and the natural progression of the game. The dialogs are also particularly tasty: you'll always have several choices of response at your disposal, with the possibility of using rabbinic responses (answering a question with another question), which can be hilarious when you find yourself faced with another rabbi who's using the same tricks.
The interface could be improved, however, as the proposed system (where you access the inventory by hovering the cursor at the top of the screen) appears to be quite painful nowadays, and it'd be infinitely better if developers reviewed their copy for this new version.
Great retro graphics
Since the original Shivah from 2006, the developers at Wadjet Eye have completely redone the graphics and sounds of the game - resulting in this remake of The Shivah being a real feast for the eyes, as long as you're a fan of (old school) pixels.
Our verdict: the best point-and-click
The Shivah: Kosher Edition is a must-have. If you like games that offer a gripping story and a bit of exercise for your gray matter, then you really shouldn't wait a minute longer before you get your hands on this little wonder. It's not every day that you get to become a rabbi, especially for a game of this quality. While the short life of the game and the cumbersome interface are lamentable, The Shivah is well worth a visit!
