The Curse of Rabenstein

Only the brave may enter

Stefan Vogt, of Hibernated 1, has done it once again and released another brand new adventure game: The Curse of Rabenstein. This story has us travelling through the Black Forest on a cold night. Somehow, we managed to get ourselves lost, and the coachman looked very worried, so he stopped to rest the horses whilst trying to find his way with his map. Oh no, I'm getting Hollywood B-Movie vibes... Yep, we get out to stretch our legs and notice faint lights shining from a distant village (don't go!!) Oddly, that place isn't on our map - or any map! Hmm, very strange, but I wonder if there's somebody there who can help?

I've spent a few hours over the weekend exploring the village of Rabenstein, which has a captivating storyline and is easy to get into. Unlike Hibernated, this is a graphical text adventure with gorgeous artwork for each location. This adds another level to the creepy atmosphere, and I'm having a great weekend!

First, let's take a look at some early screenshots from my first attempts...

Has that coachman ever watched a movie? Look, I'll stay here, and YOU go to the village!

The village actually looks very nice, with a pub, a church, and stables. What more do you need?

Lovely, so let's go and explore a little more...

Erm, I don't think it's a good idea to wander around a cemetery at night - esp naked!! ;-)

Hay, Hay, we made it to the stables, which are just what we needed...

Explore the horror!

Heavily inspired by the Level 9 games, it uses a two-word parser that keeps things simple: look at, examine x, search here, etc. For example, "examine bed", "search hay", "get shovel", etc. Also, shortcuts can be used, so X will examine, and N will walk you North, and so on. Yep, all easy and obviously very intuitive.

There is something uniquely riveting about Rabenstein's spooky theme. In fact, I even had a pen and paper at the ready - but never used them, which is very odd for me!! Why? Well, the locations are few but crammed with information and details to help you out, so I feel novices will find Rabenstein a fantastic doorway into the genre. Stefan describes his game as more of a short novella, which I feel is not a bad thing.

An exciting adventure to get stuck into. Don't believe me? Then check out these screenshots...

It's great to see that humour isn't lost amongst the "horror" theme of Rabenstein!

I knew it was a terrible idea to go into a cemetery at night!! What was I thinking?

Like an old Hammer House of Horror!!

So far, my journey is going very well: I have figured out how to stable my horses, booked a room at the Inn and chatted to the villagers - they seem nice but spooked. I then heard a terrifying scream coming from the graveyard - so I ran back to my room at the Inn only to hide under the bed covers all night!

Things were very different the next morning: the village simply wasn't the same anymore - many years had passed, all the people had gone, and the forest had taken back the land. Also, a tree had crushed the church, but it wasn't long before I started digging up a grave and fondling a dead corpse - that's a new one. Hang on, I can see a Manor on the hill, so let's hope things get better after a good night's sleep.

I'm a bit scared, so should I dare give you a glimpse of the Silent Hill horror...

Hmm, that InnKeeper was too good to be true. All I wanted was a good night's sleep!

What?!! Everything changed when I woke up!

The CryptO'pinion?

I think this adventure will appeal to both noobs and hardcore adventurers alike. The atmosphere is brilliant, and I love how things change so swiftly - very Silent Hill-ish. Sure, the locations are few, but they are stuffed with clues that make you sit back and think. Sadly, I have quibbles: the interaction with the villagers felt limited, and I also wish the idea of an alternate village had been used more, because it was brilliantly done.

I'm enjoying this adventure more than I expected. It's like a Hammer House of Horror in both style and stereotypical content, plus the graphics are a bonus (I hope Stefan continues down this path in the future). A wonderful adventure, and I'm excited to see what freakish horrors await inside the Manor!!

If I don't return from the Manor, then I rate this excellent adventure a frightening 85%.

[My current progress] I finally made it into the Manor, and there's a trail of blood. Oh, great!!

The Curse of Rabenstein is free to download!
* However, there is an option to donate a few quid *

I opted to purchase the boxed version with the goodies!!
I'm just like a (big) kid at Christmas :-)

Download | Donate | Buy the boxed release

Gaming like it's 1990 with a box stuffed full of quality goodies!

STAX #90

Compact Disks

Everyone knows I love Menu Disks, and there's nothing better than going through a pile of floppy disks (inc. virtual disks). Even if it's just to listen to the tunes or read through a 30-odd-year-old scroller! It sounds rather sad to anyone under 50, ;-) but ignoring that, here is a belter by STAX. It's their 90th disk and features a nice intro followed by a couple of demos and games, which are all impressive for different reasons.

The remainder of their disks are available on Demozoo and Pouet.

- Aromatica -

This is a collection of old-school demo screens by The Swedish Meatballs and features scrollers with extra colours and chiptunes. It reminded me of the days before the Union Demo, which is no bad thing. There's nothing here to blow you away, but I enjoyed flicking through this collection. Definitely worth a look.

- Flight Over Sirius -

If you love dots, then you're gonna fall big time for this dentro by The Sirius Cybernetics Corporation. There are several cool effects here with a fantastic chiptune. Just wait until you see those end credits with that diagonal scroller!! I felt it could have sped up a little, loading each section, but I enjoyed this fantastic demo!

- Snacman -

Everyone loves running around a maze, popping pills, and the Atari ST/e already has many fantastic clones. Snacman was developed by Ralph Lovesy of Impact Software, the same team that gave us Team for the Atari STe! Multiple players are also supported using a combination of keyboard/joystick.

For one player, things are much what you'd expect with PacMan even sporting cool shades. Four ghosts haunt the maze: Eeney, Meeney, Miney, and Mo, and chomping a power star turns the tables on them. Fruits are available for extra points, and a freebie life is awarded when reaching 20,000. Also, you can grab a couple of isolated family members and huddle around the ST to play as Eenie and Meeney? This is a brilliant feature, being able to chase Snacman around the screen - watch the end of my video recording for a quick demonstration.

Visually, there's little to spruce up this oldtimer, but that's exactly what's happened using gorgeous colours. Music is by Greg Lovesy and best heard on the Atari STe with stereo tunes on the title and in-game.

Snacman is tons of fun, and implementing support for more players - as the ghosts - is fantastic. You and your kids will be playing Snacman for hours - especially those plucky Atari STe dudes who get to hear stereo music. Crank up the volume and enjoy what is nothing less than a superb PacMan. An easy 10/10.

- Masters Of Chaos -

I first thought we had another Dungeon Master clone on our hands, but it's actually a two-player shoot 'em up developed by Genuwax Games. Yes, one or two players are supported, either using the same computer or connected via MIDI. The screen is split using separate gameplay windows for each person, and it's now that your jaw drops to the floor, thanks to the use of overscan for a ginormous display!

As player one, we move and shoot with the WASD key combination and 1-4 to handle objects/buttons (a second player uses the numerical keypad). Exploring the halls feels instantly familiar with puzzles and hidden doorways. Our health, stamina, and mana are all shown as green bars. Blasting out fireballs is your best defence when coming face-to-face with any of the dungeon's nasties! The ripped graphics look superb, especially in overscan! However, there are no sound effects, which is disappointing and freaky.

This was a fascinating find, and not something I expected. As a shooter, it works well, but there are no sound effects, few monsters, and it's easy to get lost - unless you've got a pen and paper at hand. I could live with the silence, but it needed many more monsters. A uniquely presented game, and it's best in multiplayer.

Credits to Damon Chaplin for the added background music (The Last Trooper)