| Amerzone | |
|---|---|
 European Windows cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Microïds Anuman Interactive (iOS, OS X) |
| Publisher(s) | Casterman Ubisoft |
| Director(s) | Benoît Sokal |
| Producer(s) | Olivier Fontenay Jean-François Coremans |
| Designer(s) | Benoît Sokal Emmanuel Dexet Eric Brouillat |
| Programmer(s) | Emmanuel Dexet Sébastien Guillaume |
| Artist(s) | Benoît Sokal |
| Writer(s) | Benoît Sokal |
| Composer(s) | Knockin' Boots Productions |
| Series | Syberia |
| Engine | Phoenix VR[3] |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, Classic Mac OS, PlayStation, iOS,[1] OS X,[2] PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S |
| Release | Microsoft Windows Classic Mac OS
OS X Remake Windows, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
|
| Genre(s) | Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Amerzone (also known as Amerzone: The Explorer's Legacy, French: L'Amerzone: Le Testament de l'explorateur) is a first-person fantasy graphic adventure game published by Microïds and designed by Benoît Sokal, who based it on his 1986 Inspector Canardo comic strip L'Amerzone. Amerzone was originally released for Microsoft Windows, the classic Mac OS and PlayStation in 1999, and re-released for iOS and Android in 2014 by Anuman Interactive, whom had bought out Microïds in 2009. An upcoming remake is scheduled for release in 2025.
Like the comic, the game tells the story of a French explorer, Alexandre Valembois, who goes on an expedition to the mysterious South American country of Amerzone. There, he discovers many fantastical animals including a species of magical White Birds, who require human intervention for their survival. These become threatened when a friend of Valembois turns Amerzone into a brutal dictatorship, and Valembois endeavors to rescue the endangered species. The game adds a journalist as the player character, who continues Valembois's quest as the man nears death.
Amerzone received generally positive reception. It was praised for its atmosphere and visuals, with critics claiming that it lent it a poetic and dreamlike quality;[4][5] while criticism targeted the sound, controls, and difficulty. It was a great commercial success, with over 1 million copies sold in its original release.[6] The game's setting became the foundation of Sokal's Syberia series, and is the namesake for the video game development company he co-founded White Birds Productions.
- ^ a b Amerzone at the iTunes Store Archived 2016-03-15 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Amerzone at the Mac App Store Archived 2016-03-21 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Titles using Phoenix 3D our 3D engine". 4xtechnologies.com. Archived from the original on 2000-12-10. Retrieved 2009-05-16.
- ^ Makidoo (2009). "Test de L'Amerzone: Le Testament de l'explorateur" [Review of Amerzone: The Explorer's Legacy] (in French). Planète Aventure. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
- ^ "L'avis des joueurs sur L'Amerzone" [Players' opinion of Amerzone] (in French). Tom's Games. Archived from the original on 2013-06-22. Retrieved 2015-09-27.
- ^ LFP (2011-02-09). "En conversation avec Benoît Sokal" [A conversation with Benoît Sokal] (in French). Planète Aventure. Archived from the original on 2015-05-18.