[h2] Find a Vanished Hitchhiker in an Eerie Town [/h2]
It’s October, my favorite month, so that means it's time to play spookier and scarier games. In the season of that, I have a good number of games that fall into those categories, so it can be hard to choose. Thankfully, I was able to pick a game, and it's the start of a series.
In [i]Shiver: Vanishing Hitchhiker[/i], our unnamed protagonist is driving on a long road when he notices a woman standing on the side, hitchhiking. You decide to pick her up and take her to where she needs to go; an eerie town named Gordon Creek. However, when you leave from dropping her off, you notice she left a stuffed teddy bear toy behind. So, you drive back to return it to her, but she’s nowhere to be seen. Where has she gone? Can we find her and return her bear? What will we learn along our journey through this mysterious town surrounded by fog?
From what I can tell, the [i]Shiver[/i] game series revolves around spooky situations, which is the perfect type of series to play at this time of year. As a long-time fan of hidden object adventure games, I found this one fun. Visually, the game was creepy yet beautiful, and the graphics worked really well with the story; the cool grays of Autumn mixed with decaying and abandoned buildings. Honestly, I was mesmerized the entire time playing through this, almost as if the spooky atmosphere and environments had their gnarly hands wrapped around me. The HO scenes weren’t too tricky; each item felt like it made sense in the scene, whereas sometimes, with other games, they feel like they don’t always. One aspect I really liked about this game was the inclusion of a flashlight that needs to be used in dark areas and a camera that allows us to take photos of anomalies or scenes.
The game’s storyline kept me engaged and felt like something out of an urban legend. The town also reminded me in many ways of [i]Silent Hill[/i], with all the fog around and nobody around. There is a bonus chapter, which made me happy because the main story ends in a way that I didn’t feel was satisfying. However, after playing the bonus section, I was pleased. Along with the story, another aspect that’s really well done is the game’s sound design and music. It fits perfectly with the mood and vibe that the developers were going for.
Overall, the game may be relatively easy in places. Still, it is a fun and spooky atmospheric trip. There were even times when this game made me jump, which is a bonus to me!
[h1] 4 out of 5 ★★★★☆! [/h1]
