There’s been a long-standing rumor that adventure games are dead. In the midst of so many shooters and casual games, it would be easy to agree. And while I’ll be the old fogey complaining about how "they don’t make ’em like they used to," I’d still maintain that the genre is alive and kicking if you look hard enough. Furthermore, there’s a plethora of older games out there as well. So here are 30 games that will help you scratch that itch for good, though not really old adventure gaming.

A note as far as what constitutes an adventure game: Is it puzzles? Non-linearity? Story? A rich setting that doesn’t rely completely on shooting for its core mechanics? I’d argue that any game that places more emphasis on a deep narrative and some level of puzzles is an adventure game. Some of the games have action and horror elements too, but that’s hardly the core of their experience. Or perhaps this is more a list of "game adventures" than strictly "adventure games."

Beyond Good & Evil - Beyond good, anyway. A "Zelda clone" at face value, BG&E polishes up everything that series did well and brings it home with a lovable, fleshed out cast of characters and unique setting. Jade may well be the greatest heroine the medium has yet seen. And with a sequel due next year, you’d all do best to check this out while you still can.

Braid - TGR’s Game of the Year 2008, Braid tells the story of... well, that’s a good question. Unrequited love? Nostalgia for times since past? The creation of the atomic bomb? Braid is as open to interpretation as any game I’ve ever played, and furthermore, it’s just a damn good puzzle game. Perhaps one of the most fiendishly difficult and clever in the history of the medium.

Call of Cthulhu - Something’s rotten in the state of Innsmouth. With the haunting mythology of Lovecraft as a starting point, Call of Cthulhu succeeds admirably at realizing his foggy, turn of the century, port town from hell. Somewhere I’d never want to be in real life, but never want to leave in a game. Funny thing, that.

Chibi-Robo - More Zelda than Animal Crossing, this hilarious tale of a housekeeping robot trying to keep a maniacally bizarre family happy is one of the trippiest, funniest, most charming games to come out of Nintendo. It’s also a great exploration game with lots of secrets hidden in each nook and cranny, for its more diligent players. Shame no one played it.