Game Info
Game Name: Loom
Developer(s): LucasFilm Games
Publisher(s): LucasFilm Games
Platform(s): PC
Genre(s): Retro/Strategy
Release Date(s): May 1990
ESRB Rating: Not Rated
Good going…tear the universe apart…great
Bobbin Threadbare is a member of the weavers guild but has learned that he could be the death of the world itself if the events shown in the Great Loom are true. With his master Hetchel punished and his people transformed, Bobbin sets out to find his people and the truth about his future. Travelling to a nearby island, Bobbin learns that Bishop Mandible has his own plans involving Bobbin’s distaff…but Chaos could reign supreme!!!
Loom is a PC point-and-click puzzle game produced by Lucasfilm Games. The game was released to positive reviews which praised the game’s innovations and became a bestseller. The game was initially sold with an audio tape which served as a thirty-minute prequel to the game to set-up events. The game was released for DOS in 1990 and remastered in 1992. The game is available on Steam for download in 2009.
My bad on getting you eaten by a dragon and all…no hard feelings right, Rusty?
I loved the LucasArts games. Secret of Monkey Island was one of the first games I purchased when we finally got a PC and Monkey Island blatantly advertised for Loom…and like any consumer, I had to get it. Replaying Loom for Steam, I can recall thinking the game was fun, but also feeling it was short and felt abrupt.
The game is classic point and click, but it also feels a bit clunkier than some of LucasArts later games. The environment of the game doesn’t have a lot to interact with and some areas are difficult to maneuver due to the mouse and the simulated 3D environment. Games like Monkey Island or the King’s Quest series did it better. The actual use of music to affect the environment is kind of interesting (and was used by multiple games following), but the game leaves you wishing you had more puzzles and more “weaves” to learn.
Through the idea of music being a unifying concept, the game also employs some interesting sounds. Now, the game feels extremely dated since video game music has come so far, but in 1990, the idea of a real soundtrack and use of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake was more groundbreaking…plus it all bowties back into the game.
So wait, you just swim around a lake for eternity?
The graphics could really do with a reworking. LucasArts remastered a lot of their games from the period, but Loom remains rather untouched. Playing on Steam, the game had a limited screensize and I sometimes found the audio lost sync with the computer. The cutscenes were big and bold when it was released in 1990, and actually better than a lot of Nintendo games from the same period.
Loom is a fun throw-back game if you like games like the original Monkey Island series or if you want to pass a couple hours with computer gaming history. The game contains some of the fun of Monkey Island (like the poor death of Rusty). The credits include a nod to Orson Scott Card (though he admits he only offered minimal advice on the game), and plans were for a sequel or sequels to “tie up the game”. The game can generally be picked up for a couple dollars or is available in bigger packs that frequently go on sale. If you are a new player, it might move at a snail’s pace for you, but veterans of PC gaming might welcome the return to a more relaxed, old style game with an actual story…too bad it never was followed up.
