Hermitage: Strange Case Files
Hermitage: Strange Case Files is not your average visual novel, nor is it your average cosmic horror title. With relaxing-yet-energetic jazzy tunes that’ll have you sipping coffee and pondering the depths of the darkness that resides within the human mind, the game feels oddly comfortable and confusing at the same time. It’s not that I didn’t want Hermitage: Strange Case Files to end — it got to a point where I genuinely didn’t think it would, its unexplained mysteries consuming all that’s left of me (40 hours to complete, y’all). If you’re looking for an interactive visual novel to get absolutely lost in (in every possible sense of that phrase), Hermitage: Strange Case Files has a literal bookstore to delve into.
– Real player with 40.2 hrs in game
Read More: Best Mystery Indie Games.
Playing status: 100% achievement
Grindy Achievement(s): No.
Optional Achievement(s): Yes (10 achievements).
Difficult Achievement(s): No.
Guide: Click here
Intro
Hermitage: Strange Case Files is a visual novel about mysterious beings. It tries to mix Lovecraftian lores and investigation elements with a heavy emphasis on the story. There are 6 chapters in total, each focusing on a certain case.
– Real player with 35.3 hrs in game
Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened - Remastered Edition
All of the sudden, it’s actually the quest. Compared to many other games - sorry, Red Comrades , but you too, - you really can make through the game, only using a good amount of thinking. Plus, it’s a long game, it would require 4-5 hours per run. That already makes me to appreciate this game a lot.
In this game, Sherlock Holmes and John Watson investigate the activity of some dark cult, which involved ruthless treatment with people, drug sale, slavery and turning hostages into mindless zealots, a mood provided by Lovecraftian stuff. While in original stories Arthur Conan Doyle didn’t rely on misticism, if only it’s not how frightened people see something explainable by reality, of course… those setting ties as a kind of apocryphical story indeed.
– Real player with 15.9 hrs in game
Read More: Best Mystery First-Person Games.
So once again another Sherlock Holmes themed point and click adventure. This one riffs on H. P Lovecrafts - Call of Cthulhu. Holmes and Dr John Watson are drawn into a strange affair involving the kidnapping of foreign nationals from the streets of London. Slowly but surely they realise that a dark and sinister plot involving dark rites and the darkest magic are afoot.
If you have played any of these Frogwares games before, then you know what you are in for. Classic point and click gameplay, punctuated by puzzles that will veer of simplistic versions of Hanoi Towers to quite brain shredding longitude & latitude number crushing. The graphics are poor and would have been so back in 2008 when this game was released. Voice acting is again a little patchy. But the main draw for these games is how good the story is.
– Real player with 15.6 hrs in game
The Room 4: Old Sins
You like puzzle games ? you like dark atmosphere in Lovecraft style (but you are not looking for jumpscares) ? Then this is a no brainer.
I played and loved all “The Room” series, this one is not an exception. Usually, when a movie has a number after its title, it means “crappy thing in order to milk the franchise to the end”. For The Room serie, it’s the opposite: more ideas, more eye candy, more of these puzzles we love.
By the way, puzzles are original, almost never stupid things in the rubik’s cube spirit. It almost always about observing and associating things.
– Real player with 11.5 hrs in game
Read More: Best Mystery Singleplayer Games.
I’ve been playing the Room games since they were mobile games.
I’ve bought and each and every game on android and now on steam and finished them all twice to completion on each platform.
That’s how good their games are. Room 4 is just a culmination of their experience over the years. Fireproof are at the top of their craft in the genre, Da Vinci games are close but still lack a bit of the spart.
I would recommend this to anyone remotely interested in puzzle box type of games.
Nul out of Nul
– Real player with 7.5 hrs in game
The Innsmouth Case
This game has rather much text to read. It’s OK the first time … but the second, and especially the third time you play a scene it’s annoying. Because you will probably play the scenes several times.
I find the idea of the game nice. The cartoonish style is fun. But it’s too difficult to survive, and you get stuck in loops trying the same scene several times selecting different options. Or you take a decision, and after 10 min reading text it’s obvious that you can’t survive regardless.
I have played the game about six times - four times ended up dead and two times I returned home on the edge of insanity. It’s just after 13-14 hour I managed to gain 2 achievements. The game is too slow, and how to reach progress isn’t that clear.
– Real player with 14.8 hrs in game
The Innsmouth Case
The Innsmouth case is a brilliant new visual novel with a strong taste of Lovecraftian mixed into it. Built as a simple visual novel with multiple endings and a ton of options, the game did it’s part just right.
Right from the get-go, it’s pretty obvious what to expect from a game like this. A strong well-scripted storyline with fantastic visuals and artistry. But the choices you have to make throughout the game and how that impacts your overall outcomes of the game threw me off guard, which I absolutely loved as it gives the game a stronger sense of mystery and unpredictability.
*– [Real player with 9.8 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198329404521)*
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## Arkhangel: The House of the Seven Stars
So far I have read the equivalent of a 300 page book and I'm only an hour in. I don't mind that there aren't any voice actors. What bothers me is that every place our hero goes, he "finds" a stack of books and instead of going about his business, decides to pick each one up and read from it. I understand there's a theme to the books, but why would you kick off a game with this much reading? Our hero goes into the library where there are about 20 shelves filled with books. I'm not exaggerating when I say that he picks a book from each one of the shelves and reads about 3-5 paragraphs from each book. Then he goes around and reads books on stands too. I love to read but today I decided to play a game instead of reading a book. Unfortunately, the game disagreed with me and made me read a book anyway.
*– [Real player with 15.0 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198106507444)*
Arkhangel: The House of the Seven Stars is a beautifully great haunting Lovecraftian game; okay let’s talk about the story.
It’s a cold wintery day as Michael Kearney is on a train with his wife Lily and their daughter Gabrielle as they head to their new life in the little town of Haven, where they can put all their troubles behind them and start anew.
But Michael has been having strange dreams about dark waters and an unknown ancient evil resting beneath the cold waves, what could it mean? Is it just anxiety or is it something else. Whatever it is if Michael is not careful it could destroy his whole world.
*– [Real player with 11.5 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198129936651)*
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## Lammana: The Looe Island Mystery
About This Game:
Journey to Lammana, through the historic 'found footage' of William H Boston. Explore the cursed island off Cornwall's coast. The Looe Island Mystery awaits as you retrace the steps of Boston, a young man who disappeared on a unexplained quest, in 1924\. Lammana is a period 'Found Footage' themed mystery, presented in a classic 'point and click' adventure game style.
Interact with 'found footage', the old film reels, to discover a dark mystery involving treasure, exploration and sea monsters. 'Play through' the last surviving footage of William's cursed adventure, scene by scene, to a shocking end.
William H Boston vanished in 1924, never to be seen again, some say 'foul play', others claim madness and isolation. What brought Boston to Cornwall? Why did he meticulously record his every activity?
Your Task:
Help us work out what happened to William, witness the strange and disturbing footage, and solve the mystery that surrounds Lammana, the ancient name for the island.
History:
In 1924 a man arrived on Looe Island, an uninhabited wooded rock, off the coast of Cornwall, in England. He took with him some bare essentials, a few supplies, and a customised film camera, to capture 'moving pictures'. He documented his stay, each passing chore and action, for reasons unknown. The films form a perfect, captured moment in history, as film was new and 'experimental'. Why film the Island so meticulously? For what purpose? Looking for something?
There has always been talk of treasure on the Island, from local gossip to blockbuster movies. The Island does boast a strong history of pirates, smugglers and skulduggery, but any treasure hunt, or archaeological search has proved fruitless, though few have tried. For it is said the Island is CURSED. That's right, shiver me timbers and all that pirate fun, but Looe Island is a very real place, with ghosts, legend and a history from before written word. There are skeletons beneath the soil, and lost buildings, created by monks, long long ago. Now the place is quiet, as it was in the 1920's, when the 'found footage' was shot and captured, before being sent overseas.
Features:
* Explore the 'footage' of Lammana Island, surrounding Seas and nearby coast.
* A period 'Found Footage' mystery in a classic style 'point and click' adventure game style.
* Solve a myriad of puzzles and enigmas.
* Discover an island of dark mystery and dangerous curses.
* Repeat the actions of Boston as he films the investigation.
* Learn what happened to William H Boston.
* Reveal the dark mystery involving treasure, exploration and sea monsters.
* Single Player.
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## Old Gods Rising
I really enjoyed playing Old Gods Rising. It is a first person exploratory adventure seen through the eyes of Professor Winston. At the request of a movie director, he visits Ashcraft University to research it for a movie location. The university is empty (film crew nowhere to be found) and the story is told through phone calls made by Tom and his radio conversations with the director.
The sound track and voice overs are well done. You will need to listen to them, as you can't click through dialog or leave a scene during many of the conversations or narrations. The university is vast and has been created with great details. It was very authentic, with many buildings, corridors, rooms, gardens, artwork, etc.
*– [Real player with 11.6 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198200161774)*
'Old Gods Rising' is a cheeky and mysterious adventure game set in an English university. The main story line for our character, Professor Thomas Winston, is to investigate Ashgate University’s ancient artifacts for movie director, Maz Kayfer. Although reluctant at first, our character heads off to explore the university upon encouragement from his partner, Lex.
Throughout the game, the player is pushed in various directions leading to the player suspecting a few contrasting conclusions (I don’t wish to spoil things). This is realized through great voice acting (especially by the voice acting behind Lex, Tom’s partner) and a ton of satirical and amusing artwork.
*– [Real player with 8.5 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198028276121)*
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## Penny Arcade's On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3
This quickly became one of my favorite RPG's as well as my personal favorite game in the PAA series, and with good reason. There's quite a lot I'd like to say, so let's get to it.
The game takes place 2 weeks after the events of Episode 2, but what's neat is that you don't need to have played it to understand the story going into Episode 3, as they immediately give you a summary of prior events upon talking to one of the statues in the Detective Agency. That alone makes Episode 3 easy to pick up and play, and the gameplay will keep you around for the long haul.
*– [Real player with 105.9 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198063473642)*
This game was an enjoyable throwback to 16bit turn based RPGs, but with a twist. They improved the combat system by adding some complexity without making it overly complicated. Since the core of all these turned based RPGs is mostly how well and fulfilling the combat is, the majority of this review will go over that section in detail to give you a greater understanding of how the game plays. I broke down the review in bold sections so you can read what is most important or what is most interesting to you in order of importance.
*– [Real player with 16.2 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198032109396)*
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## The Manse on Soracca
Super cool game! I am literally going to spoil a mechanic here so stop reading if you wanna go in cold, which you should. The solution to some of the puzzles in the game are found outside of the game, and they're done very well. There's a few things you gotta do that just starts you out completely confused, but it feels pretty darn keen to get a solution to click and you start browsin a internet for clues.
Short (if you're smart) and sweet, and lots of low % cheevos to get to grow your epeen
*– [Real player with 14.8 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197982445800)*
A very unique game, looks and feels retro but with a more nuanced plot and game progression. Paying close attention to the environment is critical but the game is forgiving enough that the player isn't discouraged if they miss a detail or get killed. If you're a fan of retro-stylized games or Lovecraftian storytelling, the game is definitely worth checking out. There's a clear attention to detail if you're the type of player who likes to interact with everything.
My only concern with the game stemmed from my poor sense of direction- I got lost quite often. However, a recent update addressed this problem and made the game much easier for me to play through.
*– [Real player with 14.0 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198029260076)*
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## Westmark Manor
Just completed the game and I loved it! There are some issues with bugs, which caused me to have to restart the game a few times. I suspect that the issues will be dealt with because the developers seem to be paying attention.
What I enjoyed about the game:
1\. There's an immensely creepy house to explore, with lots of nooks and crannies! There are plenty of fun surprises behind locked/ barricaded/ boarded shut doors. Keys, axes, and puzzles help to get you into them.
2\. The sound effects, music, and somewhat flat tone of the main character suits the genre and adds well to the atmosphere. The giant-headed-guardian-of-stuff has the most entertaining voice. I'll be thinking "Damn. Daft. House" randomly for days, I just know it.
*– [Real player with 78.8 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198014641114)*
A fun, horror-adventure title.
While still rough around the edges, and greatly needing more optimization, Westmark Manor still manages to be a lot of fun once you get a handle of its core gameplay. While the mansion's layout is largely fixed, many items are randomized, prompting exploration of the dark abode as you look for clues to solve the puzzles, which manage to be strange and as bizarre as their Lovecraftian inspirations, yet still manage to remain in the realm of sensible compared to other adventure titles and their extreme sense of logic.
*– [Real player with 21.2 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197972468601)*
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