Haunted House

I'm only a few hours in, but here are some thoughts so far. As someone old enough to have played the original Haunted House (and still have the cart!), and the not-bad modern version that was released in 2010, this is a very fun game and throwback to the original, but with some caveats. It's roguelike-ish, with an art style that is colorful and cartoony yet appropriate for a haunted house game, with areas of light and shadow and a ton of nice decorative touches (flickering lights, lightning, tiki statues, display cases, gothic furniture, crates in storerooms, etc.) most of which is non interactive. I also appreciate that I think the footsteps and door-opening sounds are the same as the original game. The bat's in there too. There even seems to be a reference to Costume Quest 2, another Halloween themed game, as the notebook looks exactly the same and there's even a ghost costume that allows you to sneak past enemies. As in the original game, you are looking for three pieces of an urn, but this time using a flashlight to defeat enemies and carry out tasks. There is a store where you can buy upgrades when you get sent back to the front hall after a defeat, and a place where you can hand in game cartridges found throughout the game. You can also refurbish the front hall. Entering a room gives you a task (survive, clean out the enemies, break 'Ghost Chains, etc.) and completing the task clears out any remaining monsters and gives some rewards, as do chests in the room. Using the stealth mechanic - which is quite fun overall including covering your light and hiding in shadows - to sneak up behind enemies and blast them is very fun and satisfying, facing them head on even with a boosted flashlight is not, as monsters can clip on top of you causing damage, but your flashlight shines 'through' them so you have to move, turn around, and hit them again, and the commotion can aggro other monsters. This is especially frustrating as the 'X' that appears to indicate you can sneak-attack them will often rapidly appear and disappear while you try to position yourself, and ultimately the monster ends up noticing you as you're trying to set up your attack. Knocking over tables or running makes noise which will attract monsters as well. You can sometimes run away and hide, sometimes not. The big issue I have is the boss rooms. I have only encountered the witch so far, but it is badly implemented, at least in my experience. The witch is giant, and you must sneak past her to find three pieces of an artifact in chests that will help defeat her. The first time I encountered her, there were three chests but only one artifact piece, so I don't know what happened there. The second time, she was in a larger room sectioned off by bookcases, and she was pacing back and forth in the front section. So I waited, then snuck past her. When I did, even though she didn't see me, she instantly started following the exact path I took through the room, weaving between bookcases, not stopping, like she could smell me or I was leaving an ant trail, right to where I was way in the back, and found me. I had no chance. I'm still not sure what to do in that room if she can follow my trail like a bloodhound. Maybe I'm missing something. You will also occasionally find game cartridges hovering in the air after you clear a room. I hoped doing so (I've only found Food Fight for the 7800 so far) might let me play the original game, but alas, that did't happen. Maybe once I've found them all? I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Even with all this, I'm very much enjoying the game and recommend it. When the stealth and attack mechanics work, they work well, the art style and audio are perfect, the monster designs and exploring are fun, and it's not too punishing. With some tightening this could be a favorite roguelike of mine. But I'm also biased. I did love the original.

Great artwork and fun gameplay overall, it is not difficult gameplay and i think that makes it accessible for lots of players. Lots of variety in all aspects of the game. Even though the game recommends a controller, im finding it very good with keyboard and mouse.

it's just eh, as a fan of the original on the 2600 this game feels like they made a stealth game with a "spooky" atmosphere and needed some name to slap on it in hopes that it would sell. while the objective of the game is basically the same as the original, collect the urn pieces the game play is just not great. what made the original special was that it took the limitations of the hardware and ran with it and while it's far from actually scary you can tell they were trying for a spooky atmosphere and they actually accomplished it. this on the other hand just feels generic, it looks like a game you'd see a character in the background of something playing, and while it's far from the worst game i've played it's certainly not the best either. if you desperately need a remake of haunted house to play i'd recommend haunted houses on atari 50, it does basically what this game should have done and has jump scares too, though it does cost 40 dollars it also comes with a bunch of other atari games too. i'd say if this game went on sale for like 10 dollars 100% go for it but 20 dollars is just too steep. also there's a random atari shill in one of the first rooms you can go in that made me mad like i already bought the game stop trying selling me on more atari stuff.

Haunted House is a charming rogue-lite about kids exploring a haunted mansion. Imagine something like Hades but instead of action combat it is focused on stealth and item management. The house has three main and four sublevels. If you die on a run, you are transported back to the main hall and have to restart the section. You don't have to go all the way to the beginning, though, but instead can restart the section itself. On your adventures you collect gems that can be used for permanent character upgrades and decorations for the main hall. There are also a lot of collectibles that can be found randomly on your runs. Even though the game is a rogue-lite it is more on the easier side. The final section of the game can be tricky, though, if the randomization of the rooms is creating some messy combinations. The graphics are really nice, the gameplay can be a bit jank but is fine overall and you have some nice spooky music. The main game isn't too long but if you're actually going for all the achievements, then you can spend quite some time in the mansion. I recommend this game to people enjoying the gameplay loop of a rogue-lite that don't necessarily need a super high difficulty. Haunted House can be a nice Halloween game for people that want spooky instead of scary. With it's theme and the lower difficulty it can also be a great game for older children.

Pretty decent gameplay loop and deserves more attention. I definitely recommend it for anyone who enjoys roguelikes or stealth games

🏮 Liked it, but can't recommend. For such a small game, there are too many bugs. You can fully complete it in ~4h at most, the rest is a random grind. Bugs with hitboxes and animations (damage to you or enemies can be triggered at a distance), softlocks (stuck in walls, disappearing doors), incorrect cutscenes pauses for the environment, the interface and lighting can glitch. Moreover, if you play for more than 2h, it gradually turns into a lag fest, starting slightly and gradually turning into unplayable. They didn't test it at all! It's really sad, because despite the obvious low-budget, the gameplay potential is good and exciting, but it's overpriced, because the game is too short (for the genre) and the port is just awful.

Cute and fun. Nicely polished. Relaxing and good for kids but not too easy

You need to put in an easy mode for those that want it that allows you to pick up where you left off when you die and not go all the way back to the beginning. As it is I can't get very far nor do I recommend it to anyone else. It's too bad because the graphics are great.

Adore the thema, i really adore the style was made, i love this game, but single thing i hate is, whyyy, but why must beggin again the entire progress if you get so far only because you lose a single time until hearts is gone... i`d like more if it bring me back only to the last room... in rest i love it. Fantastic game! Edit: worth it!

love it