Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events

Beware: This game includes one evil uncle, three clever orphans and contains unfortunate events.

NA release: 9th November 2004
EU release: 26th November 2004
JP release: N/A
Developer: Adrenium Games
Publisher: Activision
NGC Magazine Score: 55%
Mods Used: Widescreen Code

When it comes to adaptations of A Series of Unfortunate Events, the Netflix series has pretty much made people forget about the 2004 film, which starred Jim Carrey as Count Olaf. This game is based on the film, but instead of using clips of the film, it tells its own version. So while it still uses the cast of the film, it feels more like its own adaptation instead.

And it’s surprisingly charming. The game is narrated by Tim Curry as Lemony Snicket and goes through the first three books. It takes the form of a 3D platformer, with Violet making new inventions to give three kids new abilities. I was expecting these to just be one-off minigames and the like, but they’re actually permanent upgrades to either your weapons and movement, giving you more options as you progress through the game.

The puzzles are quite simple, but involve using the abilities of Violet and Klaus and switching between them, either on unique paths or to clear the way for each other. You’ll also encounter 2D platforming sections where you play as Sunny, the baby. While these aren’t anything special, it’s always entertaining.

Without the charm of the books, this would just be a rather generic platformer, but the whole style elevates it into something that you want to keep playing until the end. There’s always something new up ahead and the new powers are quite imaginative ways – even if they amount to simple things like a double jump, there’s just something nice about having found the parts and assembled it yourself.

Fun

Mercifully, it’s brief. It’ll be over in about an afternoon, making it little more than a mild diversion for fans of the books and film.
Martin Kitts, NGC Magazine #103

Remake or remaster?

A re-release would be nice.

Official Ways to get the game

There’s no official way to get Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events