Ludography
80/100
Players11 ratings
Player reviews
76% positive42 reviews
Runs on
Windows

Where to get it

Ben There, Dan That cover

2008 · Size Five Games · Adventure · Indie

Ben There, Dan That

Ben There, Dan That! and Time Gentlemen, Please! are a couple of rip-roaring point-and-click adventure games . With tongue firmly in cheek, sit back, relax, and put your mind to work solving puzzles, and reading some very funny dialogue. It's like a book, only good!

Released
14 July 2008
Platforms
Windows
Genres
AdventureIndiePoint-and-click adventure
Developers
Size Five Games
Publishers
Size Five Games
Modes
Single-player
Perspective
Side view
Themes
Comedy
Engine
Adventure Game Studio
Country
United Kingdom
Languages
English
Time to beat
2hcompletionist

About

Ben There, Dan That! is a point and click adventure game developed by Zombie Cow Studios (now known as Size Five Games). It is freeware and was released on July 14, 2008 for Windows.

The game was positively received by critics, who enjoyed the game's humor but criticized its short length and lack of music.

Players say

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The game puts players in control of two characters named Ben and Dan, styled after the game's creators. They must complete inventory-based puzzles in order to unlock doors to various dimensions aboard an alien spaceship and return home. Players can swap between the characters in order to have them work together.

Story

The game begins in a London flat, where the roommates Ben and Dan are unable to get television reception to watch Magnum, P.I., having broke their antenna in a previous adventure. Their attempt to assemble a replacement results in an inadvertent alien abduction. Trapped on the alien spaceship, they realize that the only way to return home is by opening doors to various universes and finding the key to the next door from within that universe. These include Zombie London, Dinosaur London, and a London which has become the 51st State.

At the end of the game, they realize that the spaceship was actually just a fake and that it is located in a warehouse. It was a trick created by their time-traveling future selves, who had disguised themselves as aliens, to keep them from interrupting their plans for world domination.

Development

The game was designed by Dan Marshall and Ben Ward. They were roommates at the time of the game's development, with the game being designed in a pub.

Reception

Jim Squires of Gamezebo rated the game 4/5 stars, calling the dialogue "brilliantly written" and saying that it "keep[s] you laughing the whole time". He criticized the lack of puzzle difficulty, as well as its short length and lack of music. He called the writing "distinctly British" and said that despite being inspired by family-friendly games, the game was "best left to adults" due to its "racy" humor.

Luke Jensen of Adventure Gamers called the game "unique and hilarious". Stuart Houghton of Kotaku said the game was "heavily inspired by classic Lucasarts SCUMM games" and called the graphics "primitive", but recommended the game.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

Releases by platform
PlatformReleasedRegions
Windows22 June 2009Europe

Editions and related releases

Included in
Time Gentlemen, Please! and Ben There, Dan That! Special Edition Double Pack

Games like this

Collections1 collection

Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.