Gretel and Hansel
_Gretel and Hansel_ is the first installment in an episodic adventure series
based on the classic fairly tale _Hansel and Gretel_ , popularized by the
Brothers Grimm. This chapter (subtitled “Stones”) tells how Gretel and
Hansel’s parents decide that in order to preserve food, they need to leave the
children behind in the forest. Gretel overhears the conversation and needs to
collect ten pebbles she can leave behind to find back the route when they are
in the forest. It ends when the two children wake up abandoned in the forest
and the second chapter will pick up from there.
This adaptation is not a linear recreation and introduces a number of twists.
Using digitized watercolor paintings for the graphics, there are many humorous
actions and ten different gruesome deaths for the children to experience.
Players only control Gretel. She can be moved around using the keyboard and
the left mouse button is used for actions. She carries a slingshot used to
interact with the environment and collected items are stored in a knapsack,
which acts as an inventory. When walking around a hint balloon often pops up
to indicate that Gretel can perform an action there. Her first task is to find
a way to leave the room and venture outside before her parents wake up. She
can explore the surroundings of the house, including a well and an area
guarded by a giant spider. When dying the game continues right away from the
last section.
There is no spoken conversation during the game. Instead the characters talk
through speech balloons with animated images of the conversation (similar to
Machinarium), complemented with some humming that reveals the tone of the
speech. The game is generally designed as a point-and-click adventure, but the
route to the forest is completely different. It is presented as a mini-game
where quick reflexes are needed to prevent Gretel from getting mauled under
the cart of her mother, while she needs to jump to avoid obstacles, leave
behind pebbles and scare off the bird that tries to drag away Hansel.
The Newgrounds version of the game has in-game medals.