The Adventures of Tintin: The Game is a game based on The Adventures of Tintin , a series of classic comic books created by Belgian artist Hergé between 1929 and 1983. It is released as a tie-in for the 2011 animated movie The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn and follows the story. The plot is based on events from different comics, including The Crab with the Golden Claws , Red Rackham’s Treasure , and The Secret of the Unicorn .
The game is a side-scrolling 2D platformer with minor puzzle elements to take out enemies and finding a way to proceed to a next area. Tintin is able to sneak around, steal keys, hide inside barrels, throw objects, roll, grab ledges, and jump to reach platforms. Fights are based on stealthy takedowns, but there is also regular melee combat. In later levels guards are well armed and the player needs to use objects in the environment such as banana peels or wet paint to take them out. Occasionally there is a level boss. Tintin can also send Snowy to sneak through gaps or command Haddock to stand on a pressure plate.
The game starts with Solo mode, where young reporter Tintin buys a model ship at a flea market in Belgium. A collector appears and tries to buy it from him for ten times the amount, leading Tintin on a quest to unravel the secret of The Unicorn . Along the way, he meets Captain Haddock and travels to various locations, including Morocco and his hometown of Marlinspike.
The game features 3D segments that move away from 2D platforming. These include fighting on motorbikes during a chase, plane flights, scent-tracking with Snowy, diving, and on-rails sword fighting sections. The game can also be played in Cooperative mode with Tintin, Haddock, and opera singer Bianca Castafiore, or in Challenge mode where players compete against each other.