Sheer Slog
Sheer Agony, released in 1996 by Logitron, is a graphical adventure (without a parser). Instead, you control everything with the mouse, clicking on a wide selection of command buttons for tasks like look, examine, lift, walk, and so on. What makes it stand out is that all the images are digitised photographs of real places, which gives it a unique, distinctive style, even if the game's execution can be a little weird.
So, with a name like Sheer Agony, you know this isn’t going to be a comedy. It’s a mystery adventure where you play as a journalist who's written an article about the eccentric Kruwehl family and their mansion, "Sheer Agony Manor". The whole family has been found dead from poisoning. Regrettably, you’ve been slowly poisoned by a slow-acting toxin and must investigate the manor to uncover its secrets before your death!
The game begins in a B-movie style outside the manor, and from here it’s all about exploration and observation. Clicking on objects reveals information or adds them to your inventory, where they can later be used to solve puzzles. You must think like a detective, with logic, persistence, and a sharp eye for detail. The puzzles are often tricky and not always logical, which can be frustrating. They revolve around solving the mystery of the deaths and uncovering the secrets of the mansion and the family's grim history.
The user interface is pretty unique, and I'm being cautiously generous there. The concept of mixing a clickable environment with a row of action buttons is unusual, but in practice, it works fairly well. Also, a map tracks your position, but it often feels oddly disconnected from what the main screen is showing. Moving from room to room also forces you to wait for your footsteps to finish, which quickly becomes tiresome and unnecessarily drawn out. I must admit, it is a superb method to move, rather than only being able to click the image.
Visually, the ST/STe release is a step down from the Falcon original. The images are clearly batch-converted to 16 colours, and while some rooms look atmospheric, others end up looking like poor photocopies. The STe’s extended palette does help, and occasionally the gloomy manor shots work well enough to give a haunted-house vibe. Sadly, the sound is practically non-existent, and while constant music might have been bad, the complete lack of creaks, groans, or even cheap jump scares leaves the game oddly silent and flat.
I suppose the problem with Sheer Agony is its oddball interface; the idea of action buttons alongside a clickable environment is peculiar. Additionally, the missing sounds and poor picture quality don't help. Yet there is still something strangely compelling about the mansion, with its creepy, gloomy atmosphere. Sadly, some puzzles are too obscure, so it might feel like a bit of a slog trying to solve them.
If you are after something "new", then I say DO IT. This is a deep, challenging, and tantalising adventure that is definitely worth playing. For all its quirks, I enjoyed it a bunch and rate it a spine-chilling 75%.
We arrive at the manor, which looks suspiciously just like my house...ahem...
Let's have a dig around the place and see what's what.
Fine dining? Let's take a seat and eat like Homer Simpson!
Headed into the kitchen, and there are lots of places to search.
I think we need to check out that bedroom asap!
Now we're getting somewhere; I love a house with its own cave system!!
Hmm, what's inside those bottles, I wonder?
I'm in the depths here, and I've found blood splatters on the wall... Gulp!!
The Kruwehl family has their own graveyard. Now that's pretty darn cool!!
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