Yeah, that is very true. Adventure game have evolved a lot, it’s PnC games that have not, and I’m not 100% sure why, other than they “feel” dated. It’s still a very valid genera and fun genera.
With Thimbleweed Park, I was hoping that a more modern design approch would work, but I don’t think it has. It’s too hard to get people over the stigma. I could make changes like no verb UI, different look, but I think there is something deeper that is turning people off, and it’s probably the puzzle logic, which is the foundation of what I like about PnC games.
We can all talk about ways to fix this, but I think it already has been fixed… in games like Firewatch. If I think about all the ways I’d “fix” PnC games, I always end up back at where games like Firewatch and Gone Home, or Kentucky Route Zero ended up.
All that said, I do think there is still a market for PnC games (just ask Dave Gilbert), but it’s a niche market. It can still be profitable if you keep costs down, but I don’t think a game from there is ever going to set the world on fire.