Best Point and Click Games: Adventure Games That Still Hold Up

Point-and-click adventure games are the genre that refuses to die. LucasArts and Sierra defined it in the 80s and 90s. The genre collapsed in the early 2000s when 3D action games dominated. Then Telltale brought it back, then collapsed spectacularly. Now the genre survives through indie developers who genuinely love it and occasional revivals from the major studios who remember when they invented it.

Here's what's worth your time in the genre — both classics that still hold up and modern indie entries that continue the tradition.

The classics still worth playing

Grim Fandango Remastered is Tim Schafer's masterpiece. Mexican afterlife noir adventure. Dark humor, gorgeous art direction, memorable cast, one of the best scripts in gaming history. The remaster modernizes controls without losing the original's charm.

Day of the Tentacle Remastered is still one of the funniest adventure games ever made. Time-travel puzzles that require you to manipulate events across three time periods simultaneously. Absolute LucasArts classic.

The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition is the game that defined pirate adventure comedy. Guybrush Threepwood remains one of gaming's greatest protagonists. Monkey Island 2 and Return to Monkey Island (2022) continue the series at its best.

Full Throttle Remastered is the biker gang LucasArts adventure. Cinematic, stylish, efficient at 4-5 hours. The remaster updates graphics and controls.

Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars and Broken Sword 2 are the Revolution Software classics. Real-world mystery adventures with hand-animated gorgeous visuals.

The modern renaissance

Thimbleweed Park is Ron Gilbert's love letter to classic LucasArts adventures. Made by the people who made Monkey Island. Modern design sensibilities with classic aesthetic. Genuinely excellent.

The Walking Dead: The Telltale Definitive Series is the franchise that brought point-and-click back to mainstream attention. The first season remains one of gaming's best narratives.

Return to Monkey Island (2022) continues the series with Ron Gilbert returning to direct. Divisive art style but genuinely strong writing and puzzles.

Life is Strange series is story-driven adventure gaming. Not strictly point-and-click but shares the genre's focus on narrative and choice. The best narrative games post covers this neighborhood.

The indie gems

Kentucky Route Zero is a surreal adventure game across a mysterious highway in Kentucky. Slow, meditative, devastating. Unique voice.

Disco Elysium is technically an RPG but it plays like an adventure game with the best writing in gaming. Detective investigation with internal psyche dialogue. The games like Disco Elysium post has more.

Machinarium from Amanita Design is a gorgeous point-and-click with no dialogue. Pure visual storytelling about a little robot trying to save his robot girlfriend.

Samorost 3 is Amanita Design's dreamlike exploration adventure. Surreal puzzles, beautiful art, minimal text.

Technobabylon is cyberpunk adventure with classic sensibilities. Multiple protagonists, deep mystery plot, great atmosphere.

The puzzle-heavy picks

The Witness isn't point-and-click in the classic sense — it's first-person — but the puzzle-focused exploration with environmental storytelling scratches the same itch.

Myst and the Myst series remain influential. The remake updates Myst for modern platforms.

Obduction is from the Myst creators. Spiritual successor with similar "explore, solve, understand" structure.

The story-driven modern picks

Firewatch isn't point-and-click but shares the genre's focus on atmosphere and story. Short, affecting, memorable. The games like Firewatch post covers this space.

What Remains of Edith Finch is a collection of short stories told through interactive vignettes. Each family member's story has a different gameplay style. Beautiful and heartbreaking.

Gone Home is first-person exploration where you piece together a family's story by investigating their empty house. Essential for narrative gaming.

Her Story is FMV mystery game where you search through police interrogation footage. Innovative and compelling.

The adventure-RPG hybrids

Sunless Sea and Sunless Skies are Victorian/gothic sea exploration with deep writing. Part survival game, part narrative adventure.

80 Days is choice-driven narrative adventure based on Jules Verne. Gorgeous, thoughtful, replayable.

Heaven's Vault is archaeological exploration with language-translation puzzles. You translate an ancient language piece by piece. Unique and beautiful.

The horror adventure picks

Fran Bow is indie horror adventure with striking art style. Dark themes wrapped in childlike aesthetics.

The Cat Lady is similarly dark adventure horror. Heavy themes but thoughtfully handled.

Yuppie Psycho is horror corporate-satire adventure. Weirdly specific and genuinely funny.

Detention is Taiwanese horror adventure with historical context. The atmosphere is unique.

What we make at Choost

Granny's Rampage is a bullet heaven, not an adventure game — different design philosophy entirely. But we appreciate point-and-click games for their focus on writing and world-building craft. For more in the narrative-gaming space, the best narrative games and best story games posts have more.

We also make Granny's Gambit, a Victorian deckbuilder where that same stubborn streak plays out in turn-based card combat.

The short answer

For pure classic LucasArts: Grim Fandango Remastered.

For the modern revival: Thimbleweed Park.

For indie craft: Kentucky Route Zero.

For puzzle-driven: The Witness.

For story-focused narrative: What Remains of Edith Finch.

For horror-adventure: The Cat Lady.

For choice-driven modern: Disco Elysium.

Point-and-click adventure games reward patience and attention. Don't rush them. The genre is built on careful observation, reading between lines, and the quiet satisfaction of solving a puzzle that seemed impossible five minutes ago. Pick one and let it breathe.