GameClub launched late last year, bringing a slew of mobile classics back into the game for just $4.99 per month. Now the service is looking to expand its options even more by offering subscribers access to PC ports of certain indie hits. Chook and Sosig: Walk the Plank is the first to hit the GameClub library. “There [have] been existing point and click adventure games that were released on the app store and they work pretty decent with fairly minor modifications.” GameClub’s Eli Hodapp said in a Zoom interview. “It’s just a matter of converting stuff over so, you know, it looks right, works right and plays how you expect it to be.”
The Cute
Chook and Sosig: Walk the Plank came out originally in 2019 on Steam and other PC storefronts The point and click adventure follows a group of friends as they embark on an adventure via a tabletop game. There are plenty of cute pirate references and a whole lot of riddles and puzzles for players to solve along the way. Right from the start, Chook and Sosig: Walk the Plank feels right at home on my iPhone 11. As just one of GameClub’s many mobile offerings, it’s very clear that the developers have a good idea of what mobile gamers are looking for when it comes to UI reactiveness. The game feels good to move around in, something Hodapp, Vice President of Business at GameClub, attributed to the game’s original point and click controls when we spoke with him via a Zoom call. It’s the point and click nature that really helps Chook and Sosig work well. Being able to simply press somewhere on the phone screen to walk over and interact with objects is easy and helps keep the game moving forward. The simple but delightful hand drawn graphics are a nice touch as well, giving the game a stylish old-school look that made older point and click games like The Secret of Monkey Island so fantastic. The dialogue feels good overall, if a bit too cutesy at times. There are plenty of puzzles on display here, but I never found myself struggling to find the solutions as there are plenty of hints sprinkled in both the world and dialogue. Throughout the game you’ll run into multiple characters within the boardgame. Despite being played by the same set of characters outside the boardgame, each one feels unique and the conversations always have the same air of two longtime friends conversing together.
The Not So Cute
I didn’t go into Chook and Sosig expecting super difficult puzzles, but I was let down by just how easy the solutions can be at times. While many of them try to seem more complicated than they are, most just come down to moving from one place to another, talking to someone, and then getting the item you need. It’s a very basic loop that the game follows consistently throughout. If you’re using a slower device, you might find yourself bogged down by the many loading screens you’ll encounter throughout the game. Chook and Sosig is broken up into multiple islands, each of which you need to navigate to. Each one triggers a different loading screen and while I didn’t really mind it too much on my iPhone 11, those with older devices might notice some slower loading spots along the way. Despite the negatives, though, Chook and Sosig gets a lot right. The dialogue is witty and humorous. It captures the essence of friends gathered around a tabletop game very well, and it always feels like the characters are actually talking to each other, rather than just dialogue put in place to help pad the playtime.
Fitting Right In
While the twee dialogue can be a bit overwhelming at times, it’s that underlying charm that makes Chook and Sosig work so well. The characters, the setting, and the controls all fit perfectly within the confines of your mobile device, making it easy to jump into the adventure whenever you have a free moment. The addition of achievements is also enticing, giving those who enjoy an extra goal more than enough trophies to pursue. Chook and Sosig: Walk the Plank is a perfect example of how to port a good PC game over the mobile while still preserving the original experience’s greatness.
