Broken Age

Broken Age features two separate protagonists, which the player can switch back and forth between. Shay is a young man living on a spaceship with an overprotective “mother”—the ship’s computer—and no way out. Vella is a young woman who is about to be sacrificed to a monster named Mog Chothra in a celebratory feast. Both Shay and Vella struggle to break the bonds of their fates, and each embarks on their own journey. When their stories intersect, some dramatic truths are revealed about the universe in which these two live.

The major themes of Broken Age include growing up, rebelling, and finding one’s own agency. Both Shay and Vella wish to break free of the cycles they are in, and they do so by questioning the status quo and performing actions that those around them do not condone. Both characters are innately good, however. The story's many adults are (mostly) not evil, but they do have some fundamental misunderstandings about the kids and teens in their lives. Broken Age shows that it's possible to love someone even when you don't "get" them.

Broken Age is saved at the start of each screen, or can be saved manually from a pause screen menu at almost any time.

Some of the puzzles in Broken Age are quite tricky, especially in the second half. You'll probably need a pen and paper.

• Do you think it was okay for Vella to risk the lives of her town’s people in order to save her own?
• Shay clearly feels that he is being overprotected, but it’s true that he is safer within the ship’s routine—is it okay to sacrifice safety for excitement or meaning?
• Have you ever felt like Shay and Vella, trapped in a cycle? Have you ever felt like the people around you just aren’t listening or understanding what you want or need?
• What did you think of the Dead Eye Druids' ending?
• Why would the Thrush create such a complex scheme? Did it remind you of any historical events?