Tim Schafer's 10 Greatest Games Ranked From Worst to Best

Stacking – an action/adventure puzzler about Russian dolls – was written, developer and directed by Lee Petty, with Tim Schafer serving as creative director. That said, Schafer’s influence on the project is self-evident – the humour and puzzling crafted together seamlessly. In the game, players assume the role of Charlie Blackmore, a child labourer tasked with rescuing his family from the clutches of the evil, Baron.

Spread throughout multiple environments, the player must solve puzzles by utilising the unique abilities of certain dolls in order to clear paths and surmount obstacles. As the smallest of the Russian dolls, Charlie must take control of the larger dolls around him by stacking them one inside the other, eventually allowing Charlie to control the largest dolls in each given area.

The puzzles themselves are well-crafted, challenging without ever verging on frustrating. Some dolls have specific functions, and others are entirely useless – but, that’s half the fun – figuring out which dolls can be applied to each given situation.

Brütal Legend is essentially an action/adventure game with real-time strategy and sandbox elements thrown in for good measure. In the game, players assume the role of Eddie Riggs – a roadie, transported to a heavy-metal inspired dimension by a powerful demon, Ormagöden – tasked with dominating various metal-inspired factions, and overcoming the demonic emperor, Doviculus.

Throughout the game, numerous musicians make special guest appearances, the game’s aesthetic heavily inspired by the heavy-metal genre – including Ozzy Osbourne, Rob Halford, Lemmy and Lita Ford. To such end, Brütal Legend perfectly captures the grandiosity and unapologetic ostentatiousness of its source material, mullets and guitar solos included.

Creative director, writer and designer, Schafer achieved a lot with Brütal Legend, but the game isn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination: combat is a little repetitive – and, while the environment is beautifully crafted – it’s also remarkably hollow at times, lacking those crucial details offered by similar open-world games. That said, Brütal Legend is something to see, and should be applauded for its efforts – most of which succeed wonderfully.

The Cave – developed by Double Fine, and published by SEGA – is an interesting Metroid-vania style experience in which players choose between seven playable characters and explore the cavernous reaches of a mysterious, fantastical cavern. Collecting items and solving puzzles, players must progress into the murky depths in order to uncover the mystery, the game utilising numerous point-and-click adventure game elements all the way.

Each character is unique, with their own motivations for accepting the challenge of navigating the cave. The Knight for instance, is searching for a precious gem; The Hillbilly is hoping to impress his childhood crush, the two-legged lady. Certain areas can only be explored using particular characters, meaning multiple playthroughs using various character combinations are strongly encouraged, as well as recommended.

The game’s been criticised for its simplicity, but it’s real strength lies in its storytelling. In order to uncover the mystery, players must approach the cave from different angles, gradually uncovering new secrets with each subsequent playthrough, piecing things together one clue at a time.

Massive Chalice – a turn-based strategy game – was Double Fine’s second successful crowd-funding campaign following on from Broken Age in 2014. In the game, players must organise and manage an entire kingdom, making decisions with long lasting consequences, solving problems, vanquishing evil and even regulating the population growth. Massive Chalice also features turn-based combat sequences in which players control small groups of warriors.

The player is responsible for sending these warriors into battle, forging bloodlines to ensure a healthy stock of future heroes – as well as preventing the Cadence from corrupting the land. It’s this that makes the game so compelling: the player is given multiple layers of control, making the important decisions and engaging first-hand with enemies in combat. The player is immersed into every facet of the experience – including macro and micro elements of the story. 

Originally codenamed “Double Fine Adventure”, Broken Age managed to raise over $3.5 million within its first month of its Kickstarter campaign. In fact, the game was so successful that it’s been credited with helping to establish crowd-funding as viable alternative for smaller companies, such as inXile Entertainment, Big Finish Games and Pinkerton Road Studios.

In the game, players assume the role of two separate characters – Vella and Shay – two loners from vastly different worlds, seemingly disconnected from one another. The gameplay involves switching between them and solving environmental puzzles. That said, the story is the real highlight, comprised of countless endearing characters and memorable scenarios – and, while the puzzles were criticised for their obtuseness – everything else was impeccably designed.

Spearheaded by Schafer himself, the game was a spiritual successor to the creator’s original point-and-click adventure classics, and has won over an entirely new generation of players.

Released in 1990, Secret of Monkey Island was the first instalment in the legendary point-and-click series, and was easily one of the most influential entries in the genre. In the game, players assume the role of Guybrush Threepwood, a young wannabe-pirate who must rescue the governor from the notorious, Captain LeChuck.

The game was spearheaded by Ron Gilbert – who was frustrated by the conventions of the genre – and was assisted by Tim Schafer and Dave Grossman, who each served as co-writers and designers on the project. At the time, it was fresh and exciting, a genuinely engaging experience which avoided the mistakes of its predecessors, relying on atmosphere and exploration over Sierra’s pointless, instant-death puzzles and gimmicks.

Released a year later, Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge evolved the formula further, adapting the basic premise into something even more expansive and exciting. As such, there are some who actually prefer the sequel to the original, but it wasn’t nearly as groundbreaking.

Day of the Tentacle – a graphic-adventure game, released in 1993 – is probably the most enduring example of this particular genre. The game revolves around three separate characters – Bernard Bernoulli, Hoagie and Laverne – tasked with solving puzzles and exploring various time-periods in order to prevent a disembodied tentacle from taking over the world.

Naturally, it’s hilarious – LucasArts at its finest – but the programming was equally innovative, as well as the sound, graphics and interface, all of which was way ahead of its time. Its predecessor – Maniac Mansion – was relatively successful, boasting a number of innovations in its own right. By comparison, Day of the Tentacle is a wonderfully light-hearted adventure, lovingly brought to life by its impeccable voice-acting, visuals and animations.

The game was spearheaded by several creators – including Tim Schafer who assisted in the writing, production and design of the overall project. It was also the first time Schafer assumed directorial responsibilities, the whole thing holding up tremendously well.

Grim Fandango – one of the best examples of the point-and-click genre ever made – was released over two decades ago, and was considered an immense success, since garnering countless awards and recognitions. In the game, players assume the role of Manny Calavera – an otherworldly travel-agent responsible for securing passages to the Ninth Underworld.

To date, the game is considered a crowning achievement in interactive storytelling, positively packed with complex, relatable characters, amusing scenarios and immersive environments.

Released in 1998, the game completely withstands the test of time, especially the second section in Rubucava – which is one of the more comprehensible sections of the game, every item reasonably placed, every puzzle providing adequate challenging without infuriating the player with nonsensical solutions – essentially, everything most point-and-click games completely fail at.

Besides – even if you find the outdated elements disconcerting – the remastered version is easily accessible, and readily available. It really is the full package.

Psychonauts is perhaps one of the most imaginative action/adventure platformers ever conceived, buzzing with memorable characters and laugh-out-loud dialogue. Released in 2005, the game has slowly developed a cult following over the years, gradually becoming one of the most cherished video games ever. In the game, players control Raz – a runaway who escapes from the circus to a summer camp for psychologically gifted individuals.

Psychonauts is set over numerous stages, all themed around various supporting characters in the game, each one placing the player in a new character’s mind. The player can enter each of these minds though a literal door, granting the player access to climb inside and start solving their problems for them, cleaning out mental cobwebs and organising emotional baggage.

There’s so much humour and personality, each stage designed around the characteristics of its host: the mind of the grizzled war-veteran – Coach Oleander – themed around a warzone, and the mind of conspiracy theorist – Boyd – represented as an eerie neighbourhood made up of men in trench-coats, poorly concealing themselves as housewives and grieving windows.

Psychonauts is a lovingly told coming-of-age story about an endearing psychic, hoping to prove himself by earning merit badges and proving himself capable of becoming a psychic warrior, a Psychonauts.