Strawberry Magic

When I first saw the Strawberry Magic splash screen, I knew this wouldn't be your average adventure. 1995, DOS, something about magical strawberries – sounds like an educational game on a kids' CD-ROM your dad bought for the computer. And you know what? I was right.

Strawberry Magic is a graphical point-and-click adventure that throws you into a world full of magic and strange creatures. Your goal is to unravel a plot packed with riddles and logic puzzles. The game is geared more toward younger audiences, but that doesn't mean you should skip it as an adult. It's a genre classic from a time when adventures were still crafted with love for detail and without the urge to shove a romance subplot into every three-hour cinema experience.

Gameplay is straightforward. You click on objects, collect them, combine them, and use them in the right places. The controls work without unnecessary complications – side view or isometric perspective, clearly visible environments. True, some riddles are dumber than they should be, and sometimes you can't figure out why that sickle belongs in that cauldron. But visits to various locations are pleasant, and you can feel the effort in the colorful, meticulously crafted world in the graphics.

In the nineties, games like this were fashionable, especially those aimed at kids whose parents had some money for CD-ROMs. Strawberry Magic is a representative of its era – not a masterpiece, but a solid example of how crafty adventures were made at a time when 3D wasn't ruling yet. It's not a legendary game everyone knows, but it has its charm (pun intended).

Today you can play it in a browser through emulators, and if you're in the mood for a laid-back adventure without time pressure and big action sequences, it holds up. The graphics are retro, sure, and a few puzzles might irritate you, but there's something pleasant about it – the quiet, the slow pace, a world where you can leisurely look for things. If that's your jam, Strawberry Magic isn't a bad choice.