Shadows on the Vatican - Act I: Greed

Shadows of the Vatican – Act I: Greed is a pretty enjoyable point-and-click adventure with an interesting story and atmosphere. The character animations look poor, even for the game’s age, but the Vatican setting still gives it a unique feel. The puzzles were generally okay and not too difficult. Only a few required a bit of extra thought, but nothing particularly special. They were still enjoyable to solve. I also found the achievement farming easy, which is a nice bonus for completionists. Not a perfect game, but definitely worth playing if you enjoy classic adventure games and mystery stories.

Along the years, I've played many questionable point & click adventure games, simply because it's one of my favourite genres. So, I decided to also give this one a go. Sadly, it disappointed me more than I had expected. I still enjoyed it just enough to want to play the next act, but the bad really outweighs the good here. The good bits are some of the music, a few of the static backgrounds from the streets of Rome, as well as pieces of the story. Despite the very uneven pacing and filler content, there's a genuine mystery and intrigue here, about a larger Catholic Church conspiracy, some assassins and shady financial dealings. I didn't really like James, the American ex-priest and now Chicago doctor who comes back to Italy, because he has very little personality to begin with, save for the ex-priest persona. I didn't really like any of the characters for that matter, excepting Anna Marcano and maybe Mario, but the story remains passable despite this. The first act ends on a cliffhanger just when a new character is introduced and things are starting to get interesting. That's all the good things I can say about Act 1, so I dearly hope that Act 2 improves on at least some of these …

Shadows on the Vatican: Act I – Greed is a narrative-focused point-and-click adventure that embraces mystery, conspiracy, and psychological drama instead of relying on fast-paced action. Developed by 10th Art Studio and Daring Touch, and published by Adventure Productions and Daring Touch, the game serves as the opening chapter of an episodic series inspired by real historical controversies surrounding the Vatican. From the very beginning, it establishes an atmosphere of secrecy and tension, encouraging players to uncover hidden truths through investigation, dialogue, and observation rather than combat. Its strongest appeal lies in its willingness to tell a mature story that explores corruption, faith, and personal redemption through the lens of a classic adventure game. Players assume the role of James Murphy, a former priest turned physician who is drawn back to Rome after receiving an urgent request from an old friend. What begins as a seemingly straightforward task involving a missing briefcase gradually transforms into a much larger conspiracy tied to powerful figures within the Vatican and painful events from James' own past. The narrative steadily expands with each discover…

An intriguing and atmospheric adventure with a captivating storyline set in Vatican. The art style is stunning, and the puzzles are well-designed, providing a satisfying challenge. Highly recommended for fans of mysterious and immersive games!

6/10

First, yes I know I'm not recommending this game. And that's really because this game is incomplete. This is only Act I of what is suppsed to be a IV part game and as of posting this review only 2 of those parts are out (part II came out in 2015... so who knows if we'll be getting more). Episodic games can be fun but only when you know you'll eventually get the full thing and charing $7.79 (CAD) for what's at most 3 hours of game play when the game isn't finished is kinda lame. The story itself seems fine... but it's so early it's hard to tell if it's worth it. The graphics are a bit janky and my game lagged quite a bit. The voice acting is very hit or miss. There really wasn't anything that kept me invested (and tbh I'll probably only replay so I can get 100% completion on this). If you really like point and click games and need to play every single one you might enjoy this. Otherwise, maybe wait till it's on sale or until the other episodes are out. Also James' design annoyed me so much. Why did he have a HUNK of hair in his face sometimes and then just a little bit other times? It was kind of distracting. I did think some of the acheivement names were funny so yay for that.