Shady Brook - A Dark Mystery Text Adventure

Well this one kicked up a notch both in adult themes and creepyness. It literally don't pull any punches to the player/reader (you'll see ;) and from the three interactive fiction stories released from Unimatrix Productions (Lifestream, Shady Brook, Filmmaker) it got the most disturbing concept (the game really deserve the psychological horror label as even the ending will make you shiver). Much of the Gameplay is oriented on exploration and introduced on this title are time based events (it means some events will skip time and if you didn't take care to talk to everyone and explore around before proceding with the story you lose the chance to accumulate points: more than 1400 in this title. This make hard archivements and also to unlock the bonus scene. As the Game is in my opinion longer than 10 hours it make difficult also the replay value if not the "hardcore" player). Puzzles in my opinion remain logical but easy to resolve (the only ones that made me really cringe were the puzzles to find the correct Mountain paths) oh and the "Boss battle" at the end (my complain remain that with static images results difficult the choice of where "dodge" and this sucker at the end is a unreadable powerhouse. But aside technical difficulties I enjoyed the gimmick. This time (playing in order after Lifestream) there is only one Main Character: Jake Torrent. 26, writer and single with a elderly blind father (Loved the moments of interactions between this two characters and how you as Jake try to live and integrate yourself in a little country town. Many interactions with the locals are aviables and in no time you end up to know most of them and their routine. To put it simply: I loved the immersive story. Story creators made a good job in pulling you in the mystery and make you feel like "there is something wrong here" but can't pint point "what exactly?". In the End a good "Horror" story even if at first glance you will never guess it (not from the first hours of gameplay or the Soundtrack: Western themes in this game are awesomes and pull off well the Southern little town vibe).

Fantastic interactive story adventure in a semi "shadowgate" style! Once you get down with the UI it's a breeze to move through the game world and look for items, puzzles and new encounters and interactions with people. Great mood and really suspenseful story!

some of the objectives were not at all in the general thought process of the game. outlandish ideas that if werent in a walk through would have NEVER figured out

The plot of this is a little simple, although I suppose I liked the resolution. What is interesting about it, is that it attempts to create a classic text adventure without requiring the player to do any typing. It has kind of mixed results. Perhaps one of the tantalizing things about text adventures is the player input could be ANYTHING. This is unlike more modern adventure games where you are limited to INTERACT, USE ITEM, COMBINE ITEMS, and the like. The text parser, on the other hand, can involve creativity. One of my favorite moments in such game was in the final puzzle of Yahtzee Croshaw's Chzo mythos episode that had a text parser. You had to type something you really didn't expect and when it crosses your mind--well, I got a real kick out of it. Here, you end up with more of a Lucas Arts-style experience, where you never really feel like you can get stuck, because even if you don't understand why you should do something, you could always just combine objects until something lets you move forward. (The pleasant exception to this is the couple of times where you have to solve a maze using riddles) However--it does kind of work here. It's a bit nicer to read dialogue in this way than in the Lucas Arts-style games, and it feels like it has a brisker pace to me because you don't have to watch the same walking animations all the time. I could see games in this style being really fun on the phone or tablet. It's more interactive than a lot of interactive fiction that I've tried on those platforms which seem to be more along the lines of verbose Choose Your Own Adventures--often with some romance options. So, I guess, I would like to try another game of this style, just with a more surprising plot--I mean I've certainly seen movies with this exact plot several times, all the way to the black and white era. (although again the very end of this game was nicely done). Also, on a side note, this story has really none of the feeling of Twin Peaks, I don't know why the store page name drops it. There is practically no humor, and the little humor I did smile at I'm not sure was intentional, the characters aren't quirky, and nothing surreal ever happens. So, yeah, I guess i wouldn't recommend this, but I would be willing to try another game with this game engine. It would just have to have a more creative storyline.

I'm not too far into this, but it is a good game. You play a pre-made character and try to solve the mystery of what is going on in your new "home" town.

This is very weird as with Lifestream - clearly I played this years ago but I remember very little of it - except the plot. I wonder if the UI changed; which I really liked on this replay. Definitely creepy and worthwhile playing if you like more-text-like adventures. Glad I replayed it. [edit: It crashed once on me taking out the save game - which skipped to the end. So backup a copy of user.ini so you can easily access your save game and then periodically save the save_<number>.ini file. Location: <steam-folder>/common/ShadyBrook]

[h1]Shady Brook — 5.8h played | 33/33 achievements | Text Adventure / VN Mystery[/h1] [quote][b]TL;DR[/b] — A retro text-adventure VN with a “small town secrets” vibe (Twin Peaks-lite), branching paths and multiple endings. The mood works, but visuals are rough and the story stays pretty classic. Worth a big sale if you like old-school interactive fiction; otherwise, not a must.[/quote] Shady Brook is basically a throwback to those 90s text adventures where you feel like you’re reading a weird little paperback… except you can poke it with choices until it confesses. You play an author who arrives in a small town with his father, and very quickly the place starts giving you that “everyone is smiling… but it’s not for you” energy. You hear about past suicides, the town’s history feels off, and the deeper you dig, the more the friendly façade slips. The best part: atmosphere. It leans into that uncanny “Twin Peaks / old Sierra-era mystery” mood — not because it’s revolutionary, but because it respects the codes. It’s not trying to be flashy; it’s trying to be unsettling in that slow-burn, small-town way. And yes, there are branches and multiple endings, so at least your choices aren’t just decorative. Now the limits: it’s very “classic novel mystery.” It doesn’t reinvent the genre, and the visuals are… rough. Like, “retro 3D that can scare people away before the story even starts.” If you’re allergic to old-school presentation, you’ll bounce fast. Music is serviceable: it supports the mood, but it’s not the kind of soundtrack you’ll hum later. Mature content exists but it’s not the focus. You’ve got some violence, plus a couple of explicit nude/sex scenes (more erotic than porn: boobs/ass, nothing that turns the whole game into a hentai festival). Still: not for minors. So where do I land? It’s not unforgettable. If you’re into interactive fiction, branching stories, and creepy-town mysteries, you can have a good time — but only on a real sale. Otherwise, it’s a “nice curiosity” more than a recommendation. [h2]QUICK SNAPSHOT[/h2] [table] [tr][th]Category[/th][th]Verdict[/th][/tr] [tr][td]Genre[/td][td]Text Adventure / Visual Novel Mystery[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Vibe[/td][td]Small-town secrets, Twin Peaks-ish, 90s throwback[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Playtime (me)[/td][td]~5.8 hours[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Achievements[/td][td]Yes (33/33)[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Endings[/td][td]Multiple[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Steam Deck[/td][td]Unsupported[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Mature content[/td][td]Yes — Violence + Explicit Nudity/Sex (light/erotic)[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Buy advice[/td][td]Big sale only[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Recommendation[/td][td]Not Recommended (unless you love the genre)[/td][/tr] [/table] [h2]RATINGS[/h2] [table] [tr][th]Category[/th][th]Score[/th][/tr] [tr][td]Overall[/td][td]★★★☆☆[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Story / Emotion[/td][td]★★★☆☆[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Originality[/td][td]★★★☆☆[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Gameplay[/td][td]★★★☆☆[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Art / Presentation[/td][td]★★☆☆☆[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Audio[/td][td]★★★☆☆[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Pacing[/td][td]★★★☆☆[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Tech Polish[/td][td]★★★☆☆[/td][/tr] [/table] [b]Bottom line:[/b] A decent creepy-town text adventure with real branching and the right mood, but held back by ugly retro visuals and a very “seen-it-before” mystery. Grab it on a big discount if that 90s interactive fiction itch is real. Curator group: https://steamcommunity.com/groups/mexargaming [/bbcode]