Grim Fandango

Grim Fandango was a bold attempt by LucasArts to rejuvenate the graphical adventure genre, which by 1998 was in a terminal decline, compounded by the rise in fashionability of the first-person shooter and real-time strategy genres. It was the first LucasArts adventure not to use the SCUMM engine. The new 3D characters and control system that the GrimE engine used gave the game a completely different feel and appearance to the SCUMM games, even though it preserved many LucasArts conventions in terms of puzzle and dialogue style (and the trademark inability to be killed or become entirely stuck). The story involves Manny Calavera, an inhabitant of the world of the dead whose job it is to act as a travel agent to the newly deceased. Manny notices that all the good clients are being diverted to other agents, and decides to find out what is going on. He quickly discovers all is not as it should be, and his investigations lead him to the rotten core of the supposedly fair system.

Grim Fandango did not sell as well as many earlier adventures, but among those who did play it, it was generally considered one of the best LucasArts adventures in terms of plot and characterisation, if not in terms of control system. The plot is often cited as the most successful attempt in the LucasArts canon to combine humour with emotional involvement.

The game was released on CD-ROM, with a full voiceover soundtrack. The project leader was Tim Schafer.