The Abbey seems inspired by The Name of the Rose
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Nov 1st 2007 at 8:10PM }
The upcoming point and click adventure game The Abbey most certainly derives its inspiration from literary and film classic Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose. There really ain't nothing wrong with that and we're not complaining. The Abbey is a Spanish developed and German published adventure game that "takes adventure fans to the gloomy world of the Middle Ages. An old abbey is the scene of a series of mysterious murders, and only one man can put a stop to the slaughter. In the role of the Grand Inquisitor Leonardo and his assistant Bruno, the player's task is to shed light on the mystery." Sure sounds like The Name of the Rose to us.
If you know next to nothing about The Name of the Rose, please feel free to check out the horrible '80s trailer we found of the movie after the break. The real movie is actually fantastic with Sean Connery, Ron Perlman (Hellboy) and an incredibly young Christian Slater -- if you're looking for a challenge, read the book. If The Abbey is even half as complex as its inspiration, this may be an adventure game to watch out for.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Wolfrider @ Nov 1st 2007 9:02PM
So er... what system is this on? (IE: Any chance of it coming to the Wii as well as PC?)
MD @ Nov 1st 2007 9:21PM
If they do a followup involving a bunch of bored editors and a false conspiracy that blows the snot out of The DaVinci Code, these guys will rocket to the top of my favorite game-dudes.
Meanwhile, I hope this gets a Wii or DS port. Totally up my alley, but my PC blows.
SeriousKriss @ Nov 2nd 2007 5:35AM
Your PC can't blow that much. If you can run the Sam'n Max episodes then I'm pretty sure you can also run this game. The visuals are very nice, but it doesn't look technically demanding at all, like most adventure games.
Durinthal @ Nov 1st 2007 9:19PM
The book's actually really good (or at least better than anything else I read in the class I had it for). I didn't know there was a movie, though the game sounds like it could be fun.
Harrison Barnes @ Nov 1st 2007 9:35PM
Umberto Eco is my favorite author. Foucalt's Pendulum is great as well.
Geist @ Nov 1st 2007 10:25PM
Sooooo we're talking Cadfael: The Game here?
If anyone even knows what I'm talking about, then I am impressed.
t_m @ Nov 2nd 2007 10:13AM
You mean excluding english people?
PyrosNine @ Nov 1st 2007 11:04PM
From my research, this game is technically the sequel/remake of another one created in 1988, and it was called The Abbey of Crime, so this game has a shortened name.
Calling a place the abbey of crime is a bit less foreboding, than just plain "The Abbey."
Hollywood Ron @ Nov 1st 2007 11:13PM
The Name of the Rose is an excellent movie.
DammitBran @ Nov 1st 2007 11:26PM
The artwork style for this game reminds me of a cross between Disney's Sleeping Beauty and the Dragon's Lair games. They did a nice job on the visuals.
I guessing this title is going to be a PC game, considering most of the other games by that publisher are PC games.
t_m @ Nov 2nd 2007 10:16AM
I was gonna say that i thought the art-style was a rather odd choice. It seems much too cartoony/dragons lair for a supposedly gothic murder mystery, with so much rain and lightning.
I'd have thought a more Batman:The animated series look, or even a Thief: The Awesome Cutscenes look would have worked better.
Still, the oldschool look reminds me of my childhood.
shMerker @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:03AM
Can't find any info linking it, but this game looks suspiciously like a spin-off of Mystery of The Abbey, a board game with a similar premise and art style.
nmezib @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:23AM
Here's to hoping for a really hot and prolonged sex scene like in the movie
nierro @ Nov 2nd 2007 5:52AM
just testing...
Jerk Face @ Nov 2nd 2007 7:33AM
That looks cool. I like the visuals. I'm down. I always enjoy a little murder mystery action.
eM @ Nov 3rd 2007 2:23PM
This appears to be inspired by Bruno Faidutti's board game Mystery of the Abbey (which itself was inspired by The Name of the Rose).
Todd @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:42PM
"The Name of the Rose" was a good movie for the time.
Herr Zrbo @ Nov 2nd 2007 1:54PM
Looking for a challenge by reading the book?? It's a fantastic book, it would be harder for me to play this game than re-read the book! Just read the opening chapter and you'll be hooked by the time William gives his Sherlock Homes-y explanation of the escaped horse.
Thomas @ Nov 2nd 2007 2:21PM
Cool. I love the book and the movie. All of Umberto Eco's novels have a weird blend of fantasy/pseudoscience and reality. For mood and tone in a murder mystery you can't go wrong drawing inspiration from "The Name of the Rose." I can't help wondering if Silicon Knights did the same for the medieval chapel segment of "Eternal Darkness."
Now how about a historical thriller inspired by "Foucault's Pendulum!" ;)