Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror (1997)

Captivating visuals for its time

The Broken Sword series has a special kind of adventure magic, and The Smoking Mirror got me hooked with its art style. In this game of the series, George and Nico were caught up in a Mayan mystery, and I loved the mix of real-world history and classic adventure game fun. The puzzles were solid, the dialogue was witty, and the hand-drawn visuals still look fantastic. I remember feeling totally immersed in the story, even when I got stuck on some ridiculously obscure puzzle. A classic through and through.