J.U.L.I.A.: Among the Stars

This is a wonderful point-and-click adventure with a uniquely calm pace and strong sense of immersion.

Though it contains a variety of puzzles and fun mini-games, most of the game plays like a visual novel with long conversations and observations. All these gameplay elements feel very well integrated around the story and the world. The graphics are very good, and though the music won't awe you it works well enough. The voice acting is excellent.

But what makes J.U.L.I.A. especially alluring is how relaxing it is to play it. Despite a complex base narrative and sequence of tasks you need to perform, there is still enough breathing room to explore and learn about the environment. There is never a sense of urgency, as all tasks will be resolved at their own time (except for a handful of action sequences). Even the actors speak in calm and soothing tones.

And though the story is quite good, it does get convoluted. This becomes a problem for a few optional puzzles that are basically quizzes about the story. Completing them requires keeping an overly meticulous diary of the order of events, specifically who did what to who and when. Even when I got the order of events correctly, piecing together ambiguous English sentences proved frustrating. These puzzles practically require a walkthrough. (Again: they are optional.)

Finally, thank you, developers, for supporting Linux!