Uninvited

Thy Flesh Consumed

I enjoy adventures, but MacVentures are something I have yet to experience. I believe there are four and this caught my eye because of its horror theme. Seeing as I had a bucket load of fun with Ooze and Curse Of Rabenstein, I booted this up to see what it was all about. Initially, it appeared very good albeit with many agonising deaths! But, fun nonetheless.

Hold your horses, what's a MacVenture? That's the name given to the engine powering the point-and-click Mac adventure by Icom Simulations. This is just one game from a series of adventures, all of which have been ported to the Atari ST Shadowgate, Déjà Vu, and Déjà Vu II - Lost in Las Vegas. We call them AtariVentures, which is much better!

The story starts with my brother and me experiencing firsthand what a nasty car crash looks like. I wake to find he's missing and the car is about to explode! This is the first puzzle - figuring out a way to open the car's door and scarper before it's too late. Afterwards, you find yourself outside a creepy old house and there is a sinister storm approaching. Thunder is booming and we have our brother to find. Dare we risk entering the scary-looking house to search for him?

Okey-dokey, let's take a peek at the road traffic accident where nobody rushed to our assistance...

Update: I've posted a new article for Uninvited. It's (not) a walkthrough! :)

Of course, we were gonna crash because somebody put the steering wheel on the wrong side...

Oh oh, looks like the crash happened right outside an intimidating haunted house. Let's go inside!

User Interface

The Uninvited uses GEM albeit with a few minor changes to its look and feel. Windows are resizable and used to display command options, what we're carrying, descriptions, and also the current room as we view it. All commands are limited to eight options but these are direct and precise - examine, open, close, speak, operate, go, hit, and consume.

For example, to inspect an object you would click it and then choose the examine button. Dead easy. The game employs this simple method of instruction throughout, but more "complex" actions like walking through a closed door require multiple commands: ie first opening it before attempting to walk through a closed door. Duh, obvious right?

Items you find can easily be carried in your inventory by drag & drop plus their contents can be sorted in order. The other window is for Exits - all of the possible ways to leave the current location. Being GEM'ish means we easily begin playing thanks to a functional and intuitive design but that efficiency comes at a price, ie I'm glad my ST has a Blitter!

Additionally, you can double-click on most things for a default option. Like the closed doors: double-click once to open it and again to walk through. The same goes for the Exits window, double-clicking in that is nifty.

The more observant may have noticed the "Self" button? Well, that's rarely used if I'm honest, but it may involve something that you need to do - such as drink a potion. Additionally, this is also another way in which the game shows its good sense of humour, try using the axe on yourself (save first). I love this freedom and the potential to be daft!!

Wanting to escape the oncoming storm, we head into the mansion for shelter. Oh, and two more screenshots...

The first room is a little weird, especially with that giant pentagram on the floor!

This is the room just off to the right (see previous image). Not much to see... Ahem, right?

Let's play!

As with any adventure, the Uninvited is all about exploration, study, investigation, and lots of trial and error. Well, with Uninvited, the trial and error parts are paramount with the earlier stages presenting a steep learning curve. This game takes no prisoners. Yes, I'm talking about you Scarlet O'Hara, and that vicious temper of yours!

She is the lady lurking on the ground floor hallway and, no matter what you do, she will turn around and eat your face! Over and over I died. Too many times to count! The only way to safely pass her is via the stairwell to the first floor - but you need to come back downstairs at some point. Perhaps there is something up there we can use against her?

More or less everything that you see can be picked up and examined (it's now that I'm starting to realise there are a gazillion possible objects to inspect). Take a look upstairs; have a poke about and inspect each room for anything that might kill this Scarlet monster. It really is an obvious puzzle that you have probably overlooked several times.

Killing Scarlet is a big deal and opens up the game completely. I feel quite victorious and it's now the adventure really does begin as there is much work to do with many, many more rooms to plunder for anything that might help me find my brother. Oh, there are walkthroughs on the net which I won't be linking to as they'll only spoil the fun (although the maze section contradicts me entirely). Just play the game and enjoy everything that's on offer for the avid explorer.

Here are two more screenshots of the hallways that (embarrassingly) took me eons to suss out...

Scarlet seems to be guarding each of the four doors. So why don't we sneak upstairs?

It's much safer upstairs and you can freely explore each room... for an item to combat Scarlet!

I love big tips!

* Go slow and don't rush as you will only miss what is obvious.

* Learn the user interface properly, it's dead easy but can be finicky.

* Just escaped the impending death of a car wreck? Snoop before entering the house...

* Inspect absolutely everything, even the smallest thing can get you out of trouble.

* Read the object descriptions carefully, subtle hints are usually given.

* Don't be a vandal, not until the time is right later...

* 90% of the items are useless so remember their locations rather than carrying everything.

* Make a map. I know, I know, but this is the time for pen and paper!!

* Install to hard drive - the experience is miles better with audio on cue.

* This next one is obvious but never more so for a game like this - save regularly!

Every so often, a little critter whisks across the screen! He's a little cookie he is!

A spider freely walks by, and then a winged eyeball appears. What is going on?!!

Aesthetics

The artwork is really good with each room well detailed to represent each scene nicely. Okay, it's not exactly The Pawn but I admire what they were trying to do and I thought it worked very well much of the time. The horror aspect is feeble, to say the least, but Scarlet is a babe and Romero would love to cast her I'm sure of it. The guy with the severed head is brilliantly drawn but what's even better is the glimpse we're given. That timing works really well for maximum effect.

As you progress, you'll realise just how many different monsters there are. Not to mention the different ways to die! Some of these monsters are really cool, I especially liked the zombies in the maze. However, some are rather lame - like the one that looks like a giant tomato. Yeah, the results are mixed but generally favourable with a comical twist.

I know some will disagree, but GEM works well for our version of AtariVenture. I think it's made great use of the windows, especially with the ease of issuing commands and the use of Exits and Inventory. But this also means it's slower than other similar games but a Blitter helps, as did my 16Mhz Mega STe.

As for audio, there is no music which is fine as that would have ruined the atmosphere, plus the sound effects are perfectly apt. Thankfully, these are made using crunchy samples and include everything from creaking doors to horrific screams. Amazing sound effects and, if I was playing this back in 1987, it would have blown my socks off!!

Death comes thick and fast throughout your entire adventure. I hate Scarlet so much!

Stuff that, I'm heading back downstairs! (probably the scariest moment in this 'horror' game)

The CryptO'pinion?

I found the Uninvited to be a challenging and intense adventure and one that I thoroughly enjoyed, especially considering this is my first frolic into the world of MacVentures, erm I mean, AtariVentures. Like any of its ilk, you have to take your time and study all aspects of each and every location. That's the only way you're going to get anywhere.

However, it's not perfect with certain puzzles not making any sense whatsoever and therefore impossible to figure out without sneaking a glance at a walkthrough. Not only that, but I've never known any adventure with so many red herrings - either the many pointless items or dead ends (that often lead to your brutal demise!). That might sound fair in some respects but it's not when you're secretly restricted to a finite number of actions within the game at large.

Having said that, please believe me that I have thoroughly enjoyed playing Uninvited. Whilst certain parts of it made little sense, the Uninvited offers a richly rewarding experience and, if you fancy a different kind of adventure, then this is definitely it. Demanding, interesting, infuriating, and blummin' good fun for anyone looking for a challenge.

You can download the floppies but Uninvited is a dream when running off a hard drive / UltraSatan!

I love Uninvited. So I looked on eBay and there it was, going cheap as chips too. Excellent!!

The Errand Boy

YANASTG

Thanks to AtariMania, I got wind of a new game for the Atari ST, by Dwalin. It was originally released last year for something called MS-DOS, whatever that might be. It's a short conversational adventure ported to DAAD for several home computers, one of which is our lovely Atari ST. The only computer that matters.

The Errand Boy is a graphical-style adventure and prequel to Rudolphine Rur. It's not too dissimilar to what we've seen before with imagery and written text to describe our current location. We are Galdrin who appears to be at odds with Mr Eldrad because he thinks of us as nothing more than an errand boy. In a huff, we leave because that's no way to treat someone who's been in service for a thousand years so he's gonna pay!

(Hang on, how old am I? Erm, am I even human? What's going on?)

We begin in a grungy room located somewhere in New York, near Central Park. The graphics are retro using a digitized style that I really admire. Each room is detailed without large, overbearing paragraphs of text. Although some of its English has grammatical issues, nothing serious and it certainly isn't going to spoil the fun.

The parser interaction is excellent, allowing exploration using the usual commands to look, examine, get, drop, open, etc. Including the usual compass directions to get around. Each command can be shortened: 'L' to look, 'X' to examine. In fact, examining everything is never a bad idea nor is asking for help.

The characters you meet are few but full of... character! The butler appears to have spent his lifetime pottering about the house so quite useless. Dorwinion isn't exactly a nice guy by the looks of it but I liked Shadow's sense of humour. Oh, and there's a nasty cat. I don't like cats because they only use you for food! And then there's the gnome - what a crazy tale he represents and is nothing more than a lunatic. You'll see!

This may well be a short adventure but, it's full of curiosity, investigation and alternative humour. Yes, the story is insane, without any realism, and I loved that. Do not be too quick to dismiss this excellent adventure.

Let's take a much-needed break from the boring text for a screenshot...

In fact, I wish I would listen to my own advice! Make sure you look under every stone.

A bit of background

As I enjoyed the adventure, I messaged Dwalin about it, the story, and how it came about...

"This is really a very short adventure, and that is why I chose it to be my first experience in translation. I am fond of text adventures since the 80s, where I played most of the commercially published adventures in Spain. I also had Gilsoft's PAWS, the program (or parser) that allowed you to create adventures for Spectrum, and I published a first homebrew adventure for that in 1993.

In Spain, fans of this type of game grouped together in various clubs, the most important of which one of them was CAAD, which published a bimonthly fanzine. Over time the clubs evolved into pages and internet forums, and the adventures of text as well, adapting to more modern computers. Contests were held on https://www.caad.es and players and adventure creators shared comments.

In 2005, using another adventure creation engine, Superglús, the evolution of the old PAWS, I published my second adventure: “The Adventures of Rudophine Rur”, and in 2015 using NgPAWS, another evolution of the engine. Rudolphine Rur tells the story of a little forest gnome who must enter the human world in search of his brother kidnapped by evil elves.

With the passage of time, the love for retrocomputing and old computers grew in Spain. I discovered this hobby in 2019. In Spain, the most important company that published text adventures in the 80s and 90s was AD Adventures. This company used as an adventure creation engine a parser called DAAD, also an evolution of the PAWS, but whose main feature was that it could port the games to most of the main systems of the time: Spectrum, Amstrad, MSX, Commodore 64, Amstrad PCW, PC MSDOS, Commodore Amiga and Atari ST.

Andrés Samudio, the director of Adventures AD released in 2014 the DAAD parser for use by the community of adventure creators. Until that moment DAAD had not been available to the general public, since it had been programmed exclusively for AD Adventures (it had a price of about € 12,000 in 1989!). The Spanish community of adventure creators began using DAAD to create cross-platform adventures for retro computers. In my case, I dedicated myself to porting my old Rudolphine Rur adventure to this system, and finally (2020) it was published (https://www.rudolphinerur.com) for most of the existing computers in the late 80s. I even published a small physical print run in cassette or floppy disk for Spectrum, Amstrad, MSX2 and Atari ST.

A year later I also wanted to try another parser, from the early 90s, SINTAC, another evolution of PAWS, which generated adventures for MSDOS. With him, I created a very short adventure, which I set in the same world as Rudolphine Rur: "The errand boy" being a prequel to it. The adventure was published in May 2021 in its PC version. Later I ended up porting it to DAAD so that I could release versions for Spectrum, Amstrad and MSX2.

Until now all my adventures were only available in Spanish. I considered that "The errand boy", being a short adventure, could be a good candidate to be translated into English. My level of English is not very good, and I have mainly used the google translator. So I hope native English people can forgive if they see something "weird". Finally, shortly after finishing the translation, I ended up porting the adventure also to Atari ST and well, that's the one you're playing :-) "

A fascinating read which I hope you all enjoyed? I'm always impressed when a game like this appears on so many different platforms. My thanks to Dwalin for taking time out of his day to talk with me.

Okay, let's take another break from the reading for yet another screenshot...

I think Dorwinion deserves a slap for how he treats poor Galdrin!

The CryptO'pinion

It's always great to see new Atari ST games released. (Yet Another New Atari ST Game, just in case you wondered about the header above). This was a lot of fun to play; I loved its storytelling and really enjoyed playing through to the end. Okay, I wish it was a much bigger adventure, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the Atari ST version of Rudolphone Rur will get translated into English, someday very soon.

You can download the ST disk image from Dwalin's website, AtariMania, or by clicking this link.

Make sure you examine everything and leave no stone unturned. Or book.

The descriptions aren't longwinded yet provide all the details you require.

I guess that's one way to get his attention!

My gosh, there is so much information within this one screenshot! No spoilers!!

The style and unique storytelling is quite extraordinary.

Roll through this adventure as you would in real life.

I thought the later stages were a little too ambiguous at times. Maybe it's just me?

A small adventure that's big on content. I loved playing this!!

This last image is Rudolphine Rur running on the Atari ST (Spanish).

I'm hoping for the English version soon!

Tristam Island

Another Brand New Game?

Yep, that's right and Tristam Island is a text adventure for lots of computers including our Atari ST. It's been developed by Hugo Labrande and costs only a few quid (download link is below). That payment grants access to each and every download available, plus some hints & tips. Heck, there's even a free demo for those eager to evaluate it first.

The adventure begins having crash-landed, only to find ourselves stranded on the beach of a tropical island somewhere in the South Atlantic. Okay, my mind is picturing golden sands, blue skies, juicy coconuts, sexy female natives, and freshly running mineral water that's been magically enhanced with more than a dash of whiskey...

But enough of my silly dreaming! We actually begin hungry, tired and rather soggy. Later on, we realise that the island was once inhabited, which is unexpected, and now I can see an abandoned house up on the hill. Let's go!

I found ST High delivered the usual brilliantly crisp display and was my personal preference.

An ASCII Expedition!

General exploration is very easy using compass directions, of course. All locations offer a detailed description without being overbearing with tons of pointless text. Clues are subtle, as are solutions, so I often found myself backtracking when I realised I had foolishly bypassed something. Those muddy steps were a killer... try fishing without a flower!! O_o

This is a text adventure like the old Infocom adventures and is using the Z-code Interpreter Program which is launched as a TTP program. Don't be scared, it can easily be installed as an application for z3 files. Actually, I'm grateful GEM wasn't used as that might have been sluggish wheras this feels fast and fresh in all three resolutions. The ST's Low Resolution felt too cramped but High is pure perfection, of course, you knew that!

The parser is excellent without any of the irritations I had with Ooze not too long ago. It's straightforward using commands like "n" to walk north, x to examine, l to look, I for inventory and so on. This is true for items & objects: pull rope, open compartment, get a fishing rod, smell flowers, etc/etc. The inventory functions are rather restrained with having only one pair of hands so carrying multiple items, or using large objects, will require thought (very important).

Medium resolution works very well but you might wanna change the colours first?

The CryptO'pinion?

Exploring remote islands is a pleasant surprise but there are a few irritating niggles that hampered my progress. I found some of the puzzles quite bewildering and was baffled by oddities that made no logical sense: like struggling to make a hammock and the fishing task is weird. Plus the inventory is (initially) a pain in the bum (ouch!).

However, the story is interesting and I was soon questioning everything like an insufferable Sherlock Holmes wannabe. Tristam Island will appeal to oldskool adventurers rather than the younger players and is nothing less than a charming and challenging adventure. So, if you haven't downloaded this new adventure, then I hope I've helped persuade you to give it a go? Personally, I hope and expect to lose many hours on this island over the coming Christmas holidays.

Whatever computer you use - this is a belting adventure and worth every penny - just make sure it's an Atari ST though or don't talk to me again! Downloads are available from the Tristam Island web page. A fantastic game!!

Yep, changing the default colours almost makes ST Low worth using so I went a bit silly...

Ooze

Get ready to be scared stiff!!

I'm often a little sceptical of so-called horror games because they're never really gonna be that scary. In fact, the only game that has ever made me jump was the Jaguar's Alien vs Predator - it was late at night and I jumped out of my skin when an alien shrieked. Terrifying at 3am!! Anyhow, enough of my scooby-doo adventures.

I actually bought this game years ago so figured it was about time I dusted it off and booted it up. This is an adventure developed by H. J. Braendle and Guido Henkel of Dragonware Games back in 1988. My box is quite battered with floppy disks that no longer work! But at least I have the manual which is, for a number of reasons, most helpful.

Helpful because I'm not a massive fan of text adventures if I'm brutally honest. Though I have enjoyed a few over the years on both my ZX Spectrum and Atari ST. And, more recently, I bought a couple of crackers - Hibernated 1 and The Curse of Rabenstein so I felt confident with Ooze to see what kind of horrific journey might be on offer.

Okay, let's begin with a screenshot from the beginning of our adventure, at Carfax Abbey...

We begin standing outside and looking at our inheritance. Oh, how I wish this was real life!!

I love cheeseburgers!

We play a character called Ham Burger and have inherited Carfax Abbey from our late uncle, Cheez Burger (these names are killing me). Yep, this sounds like a horrifying comedy? Anyhow, it appears he died under mysterious circumstances. So, rather than enjoying our wealthy new lifestyle we instead, investigate what's happened. Typical...!

From the start, the game dictates the expected creepy atmosphere. Upon arriving, we cautiously check out our new home. Thunder is rumbling and an old signpost details the address, 666 Rue Morgue. Nervously walking up, we see the porch and an old rocking chair but this ain't an ordinary chair because it's haunted. That's right! In fact, almost every room is haunted by something, so it's a good idea to take it slow and ponder the environment carefully. Very carefully.

Ooze has a good sense of humour. Wait too long and a panicky message appears asking if you're still there. Don't leave me here alone, it whimpers lol. Just try sitting on the porch chair for an eye-opening experience that I did not expect. The characters are excellent and I laughed when rescuing Marie: "Marie EnToilet"!! However, Murx is an oddity which made me chuckle and scratch my head. Oh, and when you die, the game pranks you - by banning you from the RAM!!

Oh yes, there are lots of silly pranks and fun places to explore so let's see some more screenshots...

I cannot spoil what happened but you can still get a glimpse of the humour!

You might not see it but the text can be very vivid to portray the scene nicely.

More humour after a wrong decision. But look at those weird trophies. Nice graphics!

I'm rich and also haunted!

The world of Carfax Abbey is small but feels bigger because of the time spent at each location. It's tempting to rush off and explore but that means you will miss everything important (as expected) and probably die. So be warned! Getting around is done using the expected compass directions (N/S/E/W) plus U/D for up/down. It's possible to 'sit down' or 'run south' to hastily exit. A handy command called 'exits' will inform you of all possible routes from your location.

Each area has a vivid description that is extremely longwinded so it's possible to overlook something blatant, like the lance - which was totally infuriating. I know, I know, all adventures require that you read the room's description but it's apparent that Ooze takes this to the extreme thanks to the amount of detail mixed with subtle hints. Thankfully, that feature can be changed by using the 'brief' command, which I did from the moment I entered the Abbey!

The parser is good but I fear something was lost in translation (German roots). Simple commands are often confused by a pedantic requirement for correct input. Try unlocking a door, searching a trunk or switching on the lights. Well, light... Irritating!! Level 9 quality this is not. Whatever you read in the description, examine that said object fully because nothing is obvious. Find the chalk if you can (agony that). Or suss out what you're supposed to do with the Parlor rope.

Surely you're interested to see more? I thought so, so let's view some more screenshots...

We're starting to get somewhere now but then this happened... but then a "plopp". Hmm...

Some areas really do offer nothing valuable other than a lovely walk to the next room.

Oh my, things are hotting up in the bedroom!

An adventure with an atmosphere?

Visually, I loved how Ooze combined the two resolutions for great effect. Low is obviously used to display a range of gorgeous images whilst the clarity of Medium is put to great use to read the text. This is superb and works well. Weirdly, not every room you visit appears to have its own separate image which I found a little confusing at first.

Those with a crisp monochrome monitor will be happy to know Ooze works in high resolution. The text looks wonderful but the images... hmm... not so much. It's as if the low-res images have simply been converted on the fly, rather than drawn specifically for this particular display mode. Which is a shame.

The audio is superb with lots of samples for eerie creaks, footsteps, ghoulish screams and so on. However, the atmosphere is spoilt by the ST's keyboard clicks, which I didn't see any way to disable. It's no big deal but I'd have preferred to disable them because they are a lot louder than the sampled sound effects. (and no, xcontrol did not work)

Looks great, sounds great. That can only mean one thing, more screenshots...

Sometimes the player can be too daft for his own good...

Think before you act but, whilst you're here, check out this artwork!

Sometimes the descriptions don't match the visuals which is a tad annoying.

The CryptO'pinion?

Ooze is a great adventure and will undoubtedly appeal to those looking for something of a horror nature rather than a predictable fantasy theme. Sadly, I found the room descriptions overly longwinded and, at times, poorly translated into English. Also, basic exploration can sometimes be finicky - right from the moment you enter the Abbey (walking upstairs is quite the event). If ever there was an adventure that demanded you make a map, this is definitely it.

I found it impossible to explore upstairs otherwise. There ends my one and only hint!

This isn't something you can easily pick up, not without spending a lot of time. But, if you fancy a break from those fancy Magnetic Scrolls, then I am sure you will love this game which is worth the effort. Ooze offers a sarcastic twist on the horror genre with neat puzzles. Plus it has a fantastic sense of humour: give Marie a juicy kiss! Go on, do it... Brilliant!!

- Download the floppy disks -

A preview image from another game that was never released. What happened I wonder?

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 and eerie night! Somehow we managed to get ourselves lost and the coachman looks very worried so stops to rest the horses whilst trying to figure out his map. We get out to stretch our legs and notice faint lights shining from a distant village. Oddly, that place isn't on our map - or any map! Hmm, very strange, but I wonder if there's somebody there who might be willing to 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 retro artwork to help represent the current 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 appears very nice with a pub, 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, playing is familiar using a two-worded parser that keeps things simple to look, examine, search, use, and so on. For example, "examine bed", "search hay", "get shovel", etc/etc. Also, shortcuts can be used, so X will examine something, 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 which captivates the imagination. 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 (like me) 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 whatsoever.

This is an exciting adventure to get stuck in to. 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 currently going very well: I have figured out how to stable my horses (yeah, I know), booked a room at the Inn and chatted to the local villagers - they seem nice but spooked! Later, I 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! Yep, that's me!

However, 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 was taking back the land. A tree had crushed the church but it wasn't long before I started digging up a grave and fondling a dead corpse - not something I had ever thought about doing before. Hang on, I can see a Manor on the hill so let's hope things get better after a good night's sleep? Hmm, I bet!

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 adventures alike. The atmosphere is brilliant and I love how things can 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. However, nothing is perfect and I have quibbles: interaction with the villagers felt limited and I also wish the idea of an alternate village would have been used a lot more because it was brilliantly done.

I am really enjoying this adventure far more than I would have ever excepted. It's like a Hammer House Of Horror in both style and stereotypical content plus the graphics are a massive bonus (I hope Stefan continues down this path in the future). A wonderful adventure and now I am excited to see what freakish horrors await me in the Manor!!

[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 the option to donate a few quid *

I opted to purchase the boxed version with tons of goodies!!
Yep, 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!