If you need something a little more slow-paced than the latest big action game, how about a point and click adventure? We’ve rounded up the best point and click games on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S right here, so look no further.
Admittedly, the point and click adventure genre isn’t quite what it once was, especially on console. Very rarely do titles on console actually require you to move a pointer around the screen, searching for items to inspect and interact with – that’s where the name “point and click” comes from, after all. Instead, you often have direct control of a character, enabling you to wander around lavishly created environments at your leisure, while others simply allow you to make dialogue choices.
Still, many modern point and click games carry the same qualities that made the genre so popular in the first place. Expect great storytelling, rich environments to explore, likeable characters and excellent puzzles to sink your teeth into. So: read on to see the best of the point and click genre available on Xbox consoles.
1. Return to Monkey Island
The Monkey Island series is perhaps one of the most-loved point and click franchises of all time. Its latest release, Return to Monkey Island, puts players back in charge of hapless pirate Guybrush Threepwood in a brand new adventure. It sports an all-new art style, but it has everything that made us fall in love with the series to begin with. Visit familiar locations, reacquaint yourself with familiar characters, and once again come up against the Mighty Pirate LeChuck. We’d be foolish not to include this on our list of best point and click games on Xbox.
Read our review of Return to Monkey Island
2. Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened
Okay, so Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened isn’t exactly a point and click game. But this story-driven adventure game has many of the qualities that we love about the genre: great characters, plenty of exploration and most importantly, engaging puzzles. And so we feel it earns a place on our list of best point and click games on Xbox. One of a number of Sherlock Holmes games by developer Frogwares, this one sees the famous fictional detective come up against Lovecraftian legends. It’s a literary blend that absolutely works, and we loved every moment of it.
Read our review of Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened
3. The Little Acre
The Little Acre may be a fairly short game, but it’s one well worth experiencing. Following Aidan and his young daughter Lily, it’s an adventure that’ll have you interacting with strange contraptions and travelling from rural Ireland to mysterious new locations in order to find Aidan’s father, Arthur. It’s a true homage to point and click games of the 90s, with plenty of puzzles to solve, items to collect and an engaging story to boot. The story alone makes it one of the best point and click games on Xbox consoles, but add in its wonderful Disney-like art style, and you’ve got something really quite special.
Read our review of The Little Acre
4. Darkestville Castle
Casting you as Cid, a lovable (yet terrifying) demon, Darkestville Castle has you exploring his home and his bizarre home town in an adventure filled with magic and evil. Cid may like to torture his townsfolk in his spare time, but he’s a lot of fun to control; his dialogue will keep you chuckling from start to finish, as will every one of the game’s excellently-voiced characters.
You’ll be solving a lot of puzzles in Darkestville Castle, ranging from the straightforward to the obscure. But even when you’re scratching your head you’ll be having a good time doing so: it’s hard not to fall in love with the game’s beautiful visuals and well-realised world.
Read our review of Darkestville Castle
5. Broken Sword 5: The Serpent’s Curse
If you’re already a fan of point and click games, then you’ll have undoubtedly heard of the Broken Sword series: it’s one of the most-loved adventure games of our time. The first game, The Shadow of the Templars, released way back in 1996, and cast you as George Stobbart and Nico Collard as they delved into an ancient mystery.
Broken Sword 6 is finally on the way, but until then, the most recent entry into the series is Broken Sword 5: The Serpent’s Curse – and it’s as captivating and engaging as ever. It’s George and Nico themselves that make this game, with a rapport almost unlike any other pair of videogame protagonists. George’s innate Americanisms contrast beautifully against Nico’s sarcastic French demeanour, and it’s impossible not to get completely engulfed into their relationship and the story that plays out on screen. The Serpent’s Curse might not be quite as memorable as the classics from the 90s, but it’s still without a doubt one of the best point and click games on Xbox.
Read our review of Broken Sword 5: The Serpent’s Curse
6. The Book of Unwritten Tales 2
Beautiful, captivating, and hilarious: those are just a few words which can be used to describe The Book of Unwritten Tales 2. Don’t let the “2” put you off, though: its predecessor never made it to consoles, but this a perfectly standalone point and click adventure. With around 20 hours of solid gameplay spanning across several locations, The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 is a tale of magic and mystery. It perfectly captures the spirit of classic 90s adventure games, channelling the likes of Discworld and classic LucasArt titles. King Art Games has done a stand-up job of bringing a magical world to life; wizards, princes and elf princesses are as believable as any human being.
Read our review of The Book of Unwritten Tales 2
7. The Inner World
Telling the story of clueless Robert who somehow ends up on a mission to save the world, The Inner World is a wonderful example of one of the best point and click games on Xbox consoles. Set in a strange land called Asposia, an unknown evil has started turning people to stone left, right and centre. It’s up to Robert, and his more knowledgeable companion Laura, to figure out what’s causing it and bring normality back to Asposia. To do so, Robert needs to fix the Wind fountains that supply air to the world. And as you can imagine, it’s no easy task.
The Inner World isn’t the longest point and click game – you’ll likely complete it in around six hours. But every one of those hours will have you glued to your screen, thanks to the game’s charming visuals, wonderful soundtrack and captivating story.
Read our review of The Inner World
8. Thimbleweed Park
Written and designed by Ron Gilbert and Gary Winnick, Thimbleweed Park was always destined to be a winner. After all, the pair pretty much created the point and click genre with their 1987 game Maniac Mansion. And, it was Ron Gilbert who delivered us the classic The Secret of Monkey Island. Unsurprisingly, Thimbleweed Park doesn’t try to do anything to break the classic point and click mould. This is a game made to please fans of the genre, and please it does. It has puzzles – bucketloads of them in fact – as well as an entertaining story, and it’s absolutely packed full of jokes. What more could you ask for, really?
Read our review of Thimbleweed Park
9. Broken Age
DoubleFine is the master of classic point and click games, and Broken Age is no exception. Telling two initially separate stories – of Vella, a beautiful tropical island dweller, and Shay, a young boy who’s lived his life on a spaceship – Broken Age puts you in the shoes of both of them, as they each have their own struggles to work through.
Broken Age’s art style is gorgeous, but it’s the characters and locations that bring the game to life. You may find yourself scratching your head with some of the puzzles from time to time, but it won’t put you off the captivating adventure. It’s impossible not to fall in love with Vella and Shay – you’ll be rooting for them from start to finish. If you’re looking for the best point and click games on Xbox One or Xbox Series X/S, do not pass this one over.
10. Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth
The Pillars of the Earth might not be as jam-packed full of mind-bending puzzles as some of the more traditional point and click games on this list. But it’s still a worthy contender that deserves its place among the best. Telling several concurrent stories that centre around the building of a monastery in medieval England, The Pillars of the Earth focuses on three main characters and allows us to see events from their unique perspectives. Philip the Monk is concerned with shady goings-on between leaders in his monastery; Tom Builder has just lost his wife and his home, and is trying to survive a harsh winter with his children; and Jack, growing up in the forest with his mother, has a lot of questions about the rest of the world.
The characters are incredibly well-written and while the subject matter may not seem as interesting or as fantastical as other games in the genre, it’ll grip you from start to finish thanks to its brilliantly crafted world. If you enjoy rich narratives and beautiful art, this is one of the best point and click games on Xbox by far.
