Back to the Future: The Game
The 30th Anniversary Edition
Publisher: Telltale Games
Starring Christopher Lloyd, Tom Wilson, Claudia Wells, A.J. LoCasio
Platform: Playstation 4 | Xbox One
Release date: October 13, 2015

In honor of October 21, 2015, aka “Back to the Future Day,” I decided to check out Back to the Future: The Game, the 30th Anniversary Edition, from Telltale Games. If you haven’t gotten to play this edition yet, then you are in for a treat.

Back to the Future: The Game takes place six months after the events of Back to the Future Part III, where the year is 1986. The Bank in Hill Valley is holding an estate sale for the late Doctor Emmett Brown (voiced by the always talented Christopher Lloyd, reprising his franchise role). Marty McFly (voiced by A.J. LoCasio) shows up and finds out his father George is running the sale. The Delorean shows up without Doc, but with Einstein and a tape recorder. Marty finds out that the Doc (going under the name of Carl Sagan) is accused of arson of a speakeasy in 1931. From there the adventure is delivered in classic Back to the Future fashion.

The game is delivered in a series of 5 episodes, which is one of my favorite things about Telltale Games. Instead of being an action or roleplaying game, it is actually a point-and-click game with a lot of dialogue, and a lot of cut scenes. There is so much information included, and the player can be overloaded at times. While I love the cartoon feel and the story, I do have to say that one of my pet peeves with the game is that the dialogue does not match the mouth movement of the characters all the time. I will also say that the story at times fells a little too crazy where it seems that the final episode does not give the payoff it deserves.

Other than those two small issues, Back to the Future: The Game is a fun adventure through time. It explores multiple timelines and the power of love, family, and inspiration. If you haven’t played it yet, there is no time like the present (pun intended).