Wow, what a journey! I finished An English Haunting in six hours. I was very much surprised when, after last time, I travelled to a totally different location, and even got to control another character. Immediately it made the game a bit more exotic.
Where's Keyser Söze?
After a kind of Stranger Things event at the end of my first session, I also witnessed a sort of Paranormal Activity event in this last one. What I love is, even though there's this tense feeling that something will happen, the game still surprised me with its sudden violence. And it isn't over the top; it's short and fast, it's contained, it's over before you know it and you get this "did that just really happen?" vibe from it you also get from good horror movies. Ones that don't rely on sensory-overload jump scares with sudden flashes and loud music or sound effects.
Ominous...
But then the ACTUAL jump scares came, lol! And yes, I screamed. There are a couple right after each other. But it was all done so elegantly. It's masterful storytelling, and I totally get why this game won two Agoty Awards. Could have easily been more in my book!
I'd be as frozen as that statue...
I wish I could talk more about this game, but that would spoil so much. There were truly some WTF moments at the end. It's a game you really have to experience for yourself. It's not THAT long, I went through it quite easily though one or two puzzles might have you scratch your head. This defnitely is one of the best games of 2024, and I wish I had played it sooner because it would certainly have made my top ten!
I've started playing An English Haunting by Postmodern Adventures and I'm one hour into it!
I'm professor Patrick Moore, of the London University's Metapsychic
Investigations Department. Next to lecturing, I research the possible
existence of the Great Beyond; ghosts, in other words. One day, I'm
interrupted during a class and given the news my partner, Nelson Ward,
ran off with a pretty extensive research grant. Not convinced of his
guilt, I take it upon myself to search for the truth. The University's
Board, however, is planning to shut down the Metapsychic Investigations
Department and has given me a deadline: 72 hours to proof the existence
of ghosts.
Some "Last Crusade" vibes here...
During the first hour I played, things kind of rolled off on their own. I picked up a couple of items as the story unfolded, and was already able to use some of them. I gained access to several locations on the travel map, and I've visited them one by one. The one-click user interface is very handy. There isn't any voice acting but I don't really miss that. There's a pop-up inventory at the top of the screen.
Some "Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes" vibes here...
I'm quite enjoying the pace of this pixel art game. So far it's not really difficult, but that doesn't mean it isn't interesting. I found a book explaining several supernatural terms, with real photos and everything. To be honest, personally I haven't discovered anything new in there, having a longtime affinity with all things supernatural for decades myself. Patrick Moore's story is certainly engaging, the dialogues are well-written, that deadline gives it some Around the World in 80 Days urgency.
Some other vibes here...
While the trail to find professor Ward has run cold somewhat, I decided
to visit the haunted house I discovered he has a special interest in. A
shoeshine boy is about to help me get inside. I'm very curious what
secrets I'll uncover...
Last time, I ended my playing session as I was about to enter the basement of the haunted house my partner was interested in. When I got there, though, the place was so dark I couldn't see a thing. I had to leave again and figure out how to shine a light on this puzzle. Turned out I had to solve a different puzzle at another location first I didn't even realize was a puzzle! I was actually unaware I could do something there...
How revelatory...
After the events in the basement, I finally succeeded in getting in touch with a friend of my partner, who could help me in this investigation. She told me about his workshop I knew nothing about, where we found plans to build a machine. It just needed three more pieces.
These gents appear right peaky...
It took some travelling back and forth, but thankfully once I was done in a particular location, it disappeared off the travel map. I was able to free a man from the local Irish mafia so he could give me one of the pieces. And I was able to collect the second item by reuniting a man and woman, though that didn't exactly end as I had expected...
That ain't Nur-ab-Sal...
With one more item to go, I hope I can now return to a place I already visited but where the man I needed was temporarily unavailable. The game's difficulty level has risen slightly, but it's all still very doable without needing much effort. Everything makes sense, and the story keeps being engaging. I'm especially amazed by all the little details; the extra sound effects when you're out on the streets, all little animations like fog passing by windows when you're inside. All locations are also splendidly decorated. It's actually a bit of a shame I'm moving on at such a fast pace, and I do try to enjoy the setting as well.
So, last year I wrote an anticipation post of all the adventure games I was looking forward to in 2025. But aw shucks, that didn't quite turn out so well, with several of the titles I mentioned back then still being in production as I write this. Of course, that's game development for you!
I'm still looking forward to their eventual releases, though I'm not quite sure when those will be. So I've taken a long, hard look at the 2026 release calendar and made a list of entirely new games that we should be able to play some time in the next twelve months.
TR-49 is the new game by Jon Ingold's production company inkle. Not much is known about this title; it's all cloaked in secrecy, since the game itself is about secrecy, hidden codes, spies, etc. (well, most likely, I presume...) But after my two hour "fiasco" overplaying Overboard! I considered it time to finally play and complete an inkle game! I'm not sure I'm quite up to the task, but sometimes you just have to dive in headfirst!
Theropods by Lost Token intrigued me from the start. I mean, DINOSAURS! Gotta play that! Now, I must admit, my enthusiasm has been lowered somewhat after I found out it's a dialogue-free game. Not a requisite to have a good story, but I do enjoy talking to characters when I'm playing a game, discovering information I need to progress, learning about them and the world I'm in. I'm a book reader, what do you expect! But if Dionous Games believes in this game enough to publish it, there must be something good there. So I'll just let myself be surprised!
I got the chance to play The Tragedy at Deer Creek at AdventureX last November and I'm really looking forward to dive in the full game. So naturally, this is one of the games I'm looking forward to the most. The developers of Sparrowland Studios were also very appreciative of my feedback. You travel to an abandoned Alaskan settlement as a photographer, slowly uncovering the secrets of its former residents.
(Of course I played more games at AdventureX that I'm looking forward to; you can read about them on my blogpost about the event!)
I'm not sure what the current status is of The Mystery of Doomsday Valley by True Ascension or if it even will be released this year (it's planned for Q4), but it looks like the kind of traditional point 'n click adventure I truly still enjoy and adore. A remote town, a local mystery, lots of characters, a whimsical style, and a quirky female lead; just let me at it already! I just hope it'll be more of a challenge than their previous title, Champy the Useless Vampire...
After An English Haunting by Postmodern Adventures, I've been looking forward to their next title, The Dark Rites of Arkham. This time I'm going to make sure to play it in the year it's actually released, so it can count for my next top ten! I have high hopes for this one, a detective story about a ritual murder linked to the Salem witch trials, so I expect to get creeped out again!
Finally this list wouldn't be complete without mentioning Shadows of the Afterland by Aruma Studios. Their second game after Intruder in Antiquonia, I hope they've learned from that previous title and have made something more substantial, a story with appealing graphics you can really dig into. And a ghost set to investigate its own death, possessing humans to get the necessary information? That sounds like a blast!
I'm also still looking forward to The Adventures of Bryan Scott by Radio Silence Studios, Legends of Castile by Torrezno Entertainment and Whirlight: No Time To Trip by imaginarylab. I also hope that Ghost Haunting by Three Headed Monkey Studios will be released; I didn't play the demo at AdventureX because I was already convinced to play the full game, so fingers crossed for that one, too!
