The Shadow Horror

I would Have thought that a “choose your own adventure” decision-based game would have led for a somewhat shallow experience from beginning to end. I would have been wrong. The possibilities are seemingly endless, with varied paths to go through, an inventory system (you can pick up objects and use them), health to look after - to say nothing of the superb narration. This is an author, here, and if I figure out the author’s name, I’ll be disappointed if there aren’t books written by him/her. Well done. Sequel!

I've really enjoyed other games from this developer, but this one missed the mark. The story is creative, ambitious, and intriguing in premise, but something goes wrong in the execution and it just feels messy, repetitive and nonsensical.

The game starts out fun and has good pacing and great descriptions. Unfortunately it has serious bugs that can prevent you from winning. For example, your companion tells you we must get to the basement when you're already in the basement; and he needs notes from another room but when you get there nothing happens. Soon you are running in circles with both locations telling you to go to the other location - while the clock ticks and you lose more and more health. I wish the game had been tested more as I really got into the narrative and would love to see how it ends.