Review by Katie Taylor

I refused to use a walkthrough for this game. Absolutely refused. And players, I promise you don’t need one. You just really have to put your noggins to work. Which I can understand why some people don’t like that (who loves thinking? pah! – I kid, I promise). I just really (REALLY) enjoy brain teasers and puzzles. I always have. My mother got me two huge books full of puzzles as a kid and I finished them within a month. That being said, if you like your games more straight forward, you probably won’t enjoy this game as much. But that’s ok too, there’s a hints and tips forum on HerInteractive that you can check for assistance. And I promise, this game is worth completing.

My one complaint about it would be that I would have liked to have done more with two of the characters. One mostly just ignored you when you spoke to her (and I understand, she was very, very sick, but I wish we could have had more conversations with her) and the other only appeared a few times and you were never able to seek her out. I would have loved to have been able to speak to her.

But really, they’re minor complaints. This game is rich in history, both fictional and some real, the spooky air is well maintained, and the mystery goes perfectly with the adventure. I felt a bit intrusive on the family, but that’s a good thing. It makes Nancy as a character stronger. She is nosy to a fault. And I thank the creator for that because that creates amazing games.

If you’re ready to take a challenge and be scared a bit, then you’re ready for this game. But if you’re looking for something a bit easier to complete, I suggest picking up Treasure in a Royal Tower instead. It isn’t scary by any means, but other than that it has a lot of the same things this game does. Rich history and a lot of exploring. If you’re looking for an easier scary game…well, they haven’t actually produced an easy scary game yet (and I don’t think Haunted Mansion/Ghost Dogs count as scary, Malloy is a meh game and I don’t recommend it to anyone, and Shadow at Water’s Edge, while being pretty scary, is also a bit on the hard side).