June saw the release of some unique RPGs like the crossover strategy-RPG Pokémon Conquest and Gungnir by the always quirky Sting. While these RPGs have some traits that qualify them for Game of the Month status, they've garnered mixed feelings. This is why instead of an RPG people hemmed and hawed about, we chose to honor an excellent graphic adventure with Game of the Month status.

The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav is a classic style point-and-click adventure based on The Dark Eye – the most popular tabletop RPG series in Germany. The Dark Eye is to Germany what Dungeons & Dragons is to the United States. As such, the game boasts stellar production values including 100% hand drawn and hand animated artwork. Minor details such as trees swaying in the background are rendered with a painstaking level of care and finesse.

The game is more than just a pretty face, though. It also follows the compelling story of Geron – an unfortunately doomed boy with the latent power to destroy things who is hated by everyone in his village. This festering cynic's journey crosses paths with a childlike fairy named Nuri who possesses the ability to restore things. It seems the two could learn quite a bit from each other on their joint quest to bring Nuri back to her people before greedy clutches grab a hold of her.

The yin-yang powers of Geron and Nuri are important when solving the various puzzles in the game, allowing the story and gameplay to logically coalesce. The puzzles themselves are challenging without being obtuse and will satisfy any adventurer who craves lateral thinking.

The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav is an excellent graphic adventure with a compelling story, solid gameplay, a uniquely atmospheric world, astonishing graphics, and a good soundtrack. There is no reason why such a stellar example of the genre should not be our Game of the Month.