Perhaps I’m just getting old. We all know that games have been getting easier over the years, and that’s not really a bad thing. Adventure games have a reputation for being difficult due to the inane solutions to their puzzles, rather than challenging players with clever puzzles. Hector avoids this pitfall, but instead becomes a game somewhat lacking in challenge. I spent very little time confused about what I was supposed to be doing next, and it was generally clear what I had to do to achieve that goal. As such I spent most of my time clicking through to the solution.

While this would be the death of most adventure games, Hector is saved by its absurd and warped sense of humour. I’m not entirely sure which example best illustrates just how insane this game is. I think perhaps the most ludicrous part of the game (mild spoiler alert) was when you kidnapped an unconscious drug addict, stuffed him in the empty box of a life-sized sex doll, and returned him to the smut store to exchange him for a brand new life-sized sex doll. Which you then give to a blind pervert. It’s possible that I have a horribly warped mind, but in the context of the game that solution seemed quite obvious, although when written down it sounds exactly like the sort of inane solution so common in the genre. It’s a credit to the developers that the game is able to make such absurd solutions one of the first things you would try when faced with a puzzle.

The twisted sense of humour is really what sold the game for me, and kept me playing through to the end. It’s filthy and depraved like no game I’ve ever played. As is the way of these things, I kept playing to see just how much lower the game could go. It’s possible that many of the jokes will miss their mark on a non-British audience, but as a Brit it’s impossible for me to say. If you’re prudish in the slightest then the schoolboy humour will definitely not appeal to you, and if you’re looking for Broken Sword quality puzzles then you should look elsewhere. Otherwise, Hector is an absurd satirical comedy that gave me around 10 hours of entertainment.