Haunting At Cliffhouse

Nice Little point and click. Enjoyed :)

This is a fun little old-style mystery game, basically point-and-click, with a small amount of dialogue and an assortment of puzzles. The puzzles, for the most part, are lightly challenging without being too difficult. The character art doesn't show the characters speaking, but that's not a big deal, and the voice acting itself is ok. There are a lot of rooms to look around in, and you get to explore some outdoor areas as well. Visually, the game is quite nice and captures a cozy atmosphere. The mystery involves mild supernatural elements, particularly in how the backstory unfolds. (If you've played The 7th Guest, think about how that backstory unfolds after each puzzle, and you get the idea.) I can't really say much negative about it, but be aware that the main character is grieving from the death of her husband and that gets mentioned multiple times, so if you're playing a game as a form of escapism from anything heavy, keep that in mind. I played the game all the way through in about four-and-a-half hours, looking online for a hint one time because I had clicked too fast and missed a line of dialogue. (I'm not sure if there is a way to get dialogue to replay, but if there is I couldn't find it.) Anyway, my point is that you won't need a walkthrough with this one. With so many places to explore, you'll hit everything you need in order to keep the game moving forward if you just keep looking around. And even the more difficult puzzles aren't of the type that require extra help. They just take a few moments of patience. I bought the game when it wasn't on sale, and the current price (4.99 US) is easily worth it. I hope to check out other games by this developer, because this one was a nice cozy mystery game.

This was my second game from Cindy Pondillo, so a lot will be in relation to the first game I played, Intrigue at Oakhaven. While I actually finished this one quicker, I definitely prefer the puzzles in this one compared to Oakhaven. They weren't more difficult (if anything I think I would say they were a bit easier), but it's my type of jam ie lots of jigsaw, picture assembling, very nice and cozy deduction puzzles too. Both games actually give you the creeps which I really rate highly. Not a lot of media scares me anymore since i've been a horror fan my whole life, but the two games don't rely on jumpscares and are so good at building a creepy atmosphere. Mild spoiler, but [spoiler] Marinda calling out to Sarah during the night? Yah. I may have had to grab my moral support plush. [/spoiler] About the overall plot and voice acting. Keeping it as general as I can, I do prefer the plot in the Oakhaven one but this is not to say that I was uninterested or bored with this one. I think what Cindy does very well with both games is plot and character development and not being scared of making characters with personality flaws. But also what I enjoy is the way they are portrayed as ultimately morally grey, while they are able of committing horrible actions you can see where they are coming from. I've read a previous review with the reviewer being unsatisfied with the voice acting. I think it has to be stated that the voice acting is not professional, but I personally think it gives the game a lot of charm. While hearing Professor speak the first time made me confused with the difference in audio quality, after a while I've kind of really liked that part of his character and just thought of him as some kind of a radio cryptid [spoiler] why else would he keep two of the most important items, the map in the key, otherwise? where did he get those. [/spoiler]. Also I absolutely loved Hatch's voice lines, what a weird little fish guy. The graphics are, as with previous game, immaculate. I just love the atmosphere this game builds both visually and sound wise. I'm really hoping for more future games from Cindy Pondillo. There are just so many aspects that both games got right, I cant wait for future instalments.

The story is very strange and doesn't make much sense, but overall, it was fun to play.

I really enjoyed this game! It was so reminiscent of the early Nancy Drew Games by Her Interactive, except for the ending. The ending was amazing and I honestly laughed out loud because it was so NOT something you'd see in a Nancy Drew Game. I won't spoil it here, but definitely give this game a play if you like cozy mysteries and enjoyable puzzles. The lore about the Pacific Northwest was really interesting, too. Highly recommended!

Very Good !

Mir hat das Spiel einfach Spaß gemacht. Es ist nicht zu schwer und man hat keine frustrierenden Momente, in denen man nicht weiter weiß. Es erinnert von der Story her, an einen Gothic Ghost Roman. Man bzw. Frau kommt in ein schönes Landhotel, in dem es spukt, aber mehr so das romantische Spuken. Man findet nach und nach und nach Absolvieren verschiedener Puzzle-Games wie z.B. "Fehler suchen" oder tatsächlichen Puzzeln heraus, daß eine arme Indianerfrau, die hier Selbstmord beging, an das Haus gebunden ist und gerne von uns erlöst werden möchte. Nach dem Erlösen wird der Spieler auch ordentlich belohnt. Mir haben die Geister-Szenen gut gefallen, die abgespielt werden, nachdem man einen Raum erfolgreich enträtselt hat. So erschließt sich langsam eine Geschichte von drei Brüdern und ihrer verlorenen Liebe. Das Spiel ist auf jeden Fall sein Geld wert.

I don't recommend

I generally tend to like little games like this, but in all honesty, I can't recommend this one. Voice acting is abysmal, with varying degrees of sound quality (did the developer just ask family and friends to record stuff on their own? Some were clearly recorded using a phone) and a terrible soundtrack which of course can't be turned off, you'd have to endure that piano composition for eternity. I cringed at the "scavenger hunt" part, which I can't really call a puzzle at all, you literally just have to find stuff in various places; the real cringe however came later, when I found a mask in the ballroom which started a sequence of... memory? Really? I just couldn't continue. It's too cringe even for me.

brilliant point and click adventure that hit all the right buttons for me. the single aspect that was mediocre was the voicing, but even that was decent compared to many indie games i have played. contrary some reviewers, music wasn't an issue for me, it was always fitting the setting and atmosphere. the story was pretty good, the characters you meet in the game could be more fleshed out though, but then it wasn't a long game. puzzles were mostly fun to solve (except the piano and totem-slider ones but i've persevered through them too). looking very much forward to the next game now, "intrigue at oakheaven" and whatever cindy portillo would throw at us in the future. highly recommended.