Nelly Cootalot’s adventures are cartoon video games, in the style of classic point-and-click adventures from days of yore. Nelly Cootalot: The Fowl Fleet was created by award-winning British comedian and filmmaker Alasdair Beckett-King and it's out NOW for Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android. A Cootalot to like (that’s the last pun, I swear). If you have an affinity for point-and-click adventure titles that have a lot of humor and a lot of heart, all wrapped up in a beautifully presented, hand drawn shell, do yourself a favor and pick up Nelly Cootalot: The Fowl Fleet, available now on Nintendo Switch or Steam for $19.99. About the game:Nelly Cootalot is the stupidly named pirate adventurer with a heart of gold. Uncover corruption and wanton punning in this HD revival of a cla.
| Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy! | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Alasdair Beckett-King |
| Composer(s) | Mark Lovegrove |
| Series | Nelly Cootalot |
| Engine | Adventure Game Studio |
| Platform(s) | Windows |
| Release | March 6, 2007 |
| Genre(s) | Point-and-click adventure |
| Mode(s) | single-player |
Nelly Cootalot Switch
Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy! is a point-and-click adventure game by British developer Alasdair Beckett. It was created as an indie game using the Adventure Game Studiogame engine and released for free on the Internet on March 6, 2007.[1] The game has been translated into Spanish, French, German and Polish.
Overview[edit]
Spoonbeaks Ahoy! was created by Beckett as a gift for his girlfriend, and the pirate protagonist Nelly Cootalot is modelled after her.[2] In the fictional, insular Barony of Meeth, the player investigates the disappearance of a fleet of spoonbeaks (the game's term for spoonbills).[3] A few minigames must be completed to reach the ending, including deciphering a coded message and winning a 'hook a duck' carnival game.[4]
Nelly Cootalot
The game's ending scene alludes to a potential sequel,[4] which development was officially announced by Beckett in September 2008.[5] The second game is called Nelly Cootalot II: The Fowl Fleet. It was crowdfunded via Kickstarter and released in March 2016 commercially.[6][7]
Reception[edit]
The game was praised for its story, music and humorous setting, though a few puzzles were considered difficult.[2][4][8] While reviewers felt the game was inspired by Monkey Island series for its setting and dialogues, they acknowledge the originality of its art style and play experience.[4][9] It was rated 80 out of 100 by the magazine PC Format.[10]
The game won five AGS Awards in 2007, namely 'Best Game Created with AGS', 'Best Gameplay', 'Best Dialogue Writing', 'Best Player Character', and 'Best Character Art'.[11] It was also named one of the 20 'Best Freeware Adventure Games' of 2007 by Think Services' IndieGames.com.[12]
References[edit]
Nelly Cootalot Steam
- ^'Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy! for PC'. GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
- ^ ab'Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy!'. PC Gamer. Future Publishing. April 2008. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
- ^Luke Plunkett (2007-09-14). 'Nelly Cootaloot Is A Hoot'. Kotaku. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
- ^ abcdLuke Jensen (2008-07-19). 'Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy'. Adventure Gamers. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
- ^Alasdair Beckett (2008-09-21). 'Nelly Cootalot II - Tech Demo'. Chris Jones. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
- ^'Nelly Cootalot: The Fowl Fleet! (Retro Pirate Adventure)'. Retrieved 2013-06-09.
- ^'Nelly Cootalot: The Fowl Fleet wird ausgeliefert'. 2016-03-22. Retrieved 2016-03-25.
- ^Ernie P. Barin. 'Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy'. Abandonia Reloaded. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
- ^spoonbeaks-ahoy on Rock, Paper, Shotgun (2007)
- ^'Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy! Reviews'. GameRankings. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
- ^Andrew MacCormack (2008-02-18). 'Woah, Nelly! AGS Awards results announced'. Adventure Gamers. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
- ^'Best freeware adventure games 2007'. IndieGames.com. 2008-01-19. p. 11. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
External links[edit]
Nelly Cootalot The Fowl Fleet
- Game entry on the Adventure Game Studio database
Release Date: July 11, 2019
Publisher/Developer: ASHGAMES/Alasdair Beckett-King
Platform: Nintendo Switch (reviewed), Steam
Price: $19.99
The point-and-click genre is a niche lovingly filled with oddball storylines in an attempt to pull us back to the days of Monkey Island. Comedy is hard in a video game. The interactions between characters and quirky puzzle solutions have to be perfectly balanced to be ludicrous enough to evoke laughter but not obtuse to the point that gamers will get frustrated. Nelly Cootalot is a two-part series that originated in 2007 as a cute little birthday present from developer to spouse that “got out of hand” and became a full PC release. The Fowl Fleet was released in 2016 and hit PC. The series has migrated to mobile devices, but now the second in the series finds itself on Nintendo Switch.
Nelly is a beautiful little game, with hand-drawn environments and polygonal characters with some of the best cel-shading I’ve ever seen to evoke a real cartoon feel. Many have tried, but I really felt Nelly and company to appear like cartoon drawings. Nelly is a pirate, adventurer, and bird lover. This combination lends handily to the storyline, wherein the evil Captain Widebeard looks to control birds to do his bidding. It’s up to Nelly and her gumption to track down Widebeard and stop his nefarious scheme.
Nelly Cootalot Spoonbeaks Ahoy Walkthrough
The Switch provides one of the best places to get Nelly’s story thanks to the full use of the Switch’s special features. You can dynamically swap between touchscreen and button controls. While I find the touchscreen more natural, it is nice to have options so you can play the game on the big screen. Nelly has a simple inventory that you can mix and experiment with to your heart’s content.
Puzzles are cute and fun. I wouldn’t call them terribly obvious, but at least most of the puzzle pieces are within one or two scenes from each other for the most part, and Nelly has a quip to make an item stand out if you may need to come back later. The game is voiced in English and German, with a few celebrities mixed in like Dr. Who’s Tom Baker. With great dialogue, beautiful art, and wonderful music, Nelly Cootalot is a joy to play.
My confusion comes in the release itself. A lot of older games are coming to Switch, and that’s not a bad thing. Yet, while I’ve never played the port I can say that this game is available on mobile devices for $2.99, while Steam and Switch offer it for $19.99. If you want the straight story, there is a far cheaper way to play. An HD-ified version of the first game is also on Steam for a whopping $2, and there’s even a bundle to buy. The first game may not be completely integral to play the second, but given that there is an active way to play the entire series for $5 I find it odd that they didn’t just port the two-pack over.
As an individual release on the Switch with no history, Nelly is worth the price of admission. The game is reasonably lengthy, well-designed, and fully takes advantage of it’s platform. Had I not researched the history and ways to access the game, I’d likely not have any complaints. You won’t be disappointed if you are a point-and-click fan with Steam or Switch as your sole way to access these games. Even those with access to a mobile version may find the control option choices and chance for big-screen worth the extra cost.
Nelly Cootalot Hints
Pros:
-Hilarious tale, well written and wonderfully voiced
-Puzzles that are just right to evoke humor and “aha” moments without frustration
-Nelly is a wonderful combination of dimwitted and snark, and an excellent protagonist
-Some of the best cel-shading I’ve seen to really evoke a 2D style in a 3D environment
Nelly Cootalot Switch
Cons:
-Why the large price jump from mobile? I can’t find any reasoning why this is $20 here now other than basic control options and some graphical clean up for big screens (note, fun and worth price of entry)
-As a story based sequel to a game with a fairly recent HD remaster, why isn’t Switch getting the first game?
Special thanks to ASHGAMES and Mr. Alasdair Beckett-King for providing a download of this excellent adventure for review!