The 13th Doll: A Fan Game of The 7th Guest

A spoopy homage to a game that revolutionized gamemaking in the early 90s, [u]The 13th Doll[/u] does a great job capturing the feel of [u]the 7th Guest[/u] without treading any of the same paths. The puzzles are all in keeping with the aesthetic and vibe of the original, while only one was a direct pull. The house was exactly like I remembered it! The music was very evocative of George Sanders' original score for [u]T7G[/u] without being overly derivative. Good show, everyone! The acting was either appropriately overdone (like the original) or... just terrible. There was no in-between. One of my favorite things about [u]the 7th Guest[/u] was how hard the actors committed to the bit. Some of the actors here in [u]the 13th Doll[/u] seemed to struggle with the balance between taking the material seriously and letting go and having fun with it. The game designers also seemed to have a bit of a struggle with when their game is taking place: cultural references (like "Sesame Street") were strange anachronisms in a game that seemed like it was set when electricity was a new, big deal. Costuming was a solid attempt from a completely amateur team. The story, which wove in a new character through [u]the 7th Guest[/u] original story, was interesting and in keeping with its source material. I loved the five different (standard) endings! It made it feel like my choices matter. The graphics seemed like they used assets from the original game, which was nostalgic and cool on the one hand, but a little offputting on the other, because some of those assets were weirdly shiny which made everything feel EXTRA fake. In one area, the walking animation down a corridor was VERY FAST so I felt like I was on a train, but only moved like five in-game feet? Very weird. The hidden objects were mostly in reasonable places, but a few took advantage of the shiny edges of the rendering to hide. Gave me angry-eyebrows cuz it felt like a trick, but it wasn't most of them so I'll allow it. In general, [u]The 13th Doll[/u] was a solid romp through my memory and a beautiful homage to an industry-changing game. If you have the experience of [u]the 7th Guest[/u] as part of your video-gaming history, you will probably really enjoy [u]the 13th Doll[/u]. If you haven't, then you'll probably find it hoky and uninteresting with a lot of gaps in storytelling. For me? It was really great. My favorite part was how all the backers were embedded in the game. Well done.

[h1] An amateur fan game that fails to live up to the 30-year-old original. [/h1] [h3] 3 out of 10 [/h3] The 13th Doll is a sequel to 1993's The 7th Guest. It's a puzzle adventure game made in the same style as the original, full of creepy imagery, spooky music, and a story that is haunting...or at least, that's what they were shooting for. Unfortunately, they missed it on almost every single level. The graphics are extremely basic. Scenes that are meant to be scary are dull. The music is either generic or downright wrong. I mean, I was walking down a long and dark hallway with happy, bouncing music playing. It completely spoiled the mood. And the puzzles, the main draw of the game, are boring. The challenge is there, but it lacks all the charm of the first game. I remember being creeped out with the 7th Guest. The story was creepy, and the movie scenes were horrifying, at least by 90's standards. The original soundtrack by The Fat Man was gleefully macabre. It's still one of my favorites. This game has none of that. I normally wouldn't be so hard on them, they aren't a professional game studio after all. But if you are paying money then you should get the value of what you pay for. The one saving grace that this has is the original actor that played Henry Stauff reprises his role. It is honestly fun to see him having a blast with this game. Unfortunately, you won't.

I (along with the fantastic team) made the game. Of course I'm going to recommend it! XD But in terms of what about it I would recommend and to whom, The 13th Doll is, at it's core, a love letter to The 7th Guest and the campy "spookiness" the original game brought to the table. Melodramatic acting, ghosts and power plays from the afterlife surrounding a grand set of puzzles to solve from the demonic toymaker himself as you unravel his greatest work. The players are all here. Let the game begin. Robert Hirschboeck returns as Henry Stauf alongside his latest "guests". The soup's on as always :D

Lovingly made by fans for fans. I've played both 7th guest and 11th hour, and the 13th doll really captures the tone and puzzle design of the original. Honestly, this game made by fans is better than the original sequel, the 11th hour, which was a confusing, frustrating mess that failed to capture the vibe of the original. The puzzles can be a little too easy or a little too challenging in its strange logic at times (mostly because you are not told what you need to do and it's not obvious), but I enjoyed this a lot. I love that they got the original Stauf actor, and the narrative has a lot of heart. Great FMV, great story. For a fan-game made on kickstarter, this game is just as good as the original 7th guest. Well done.

für ein fan game echt klasse gemacht ein paar stellen sind noch unrund aber als freund von 7 guest hat mich das spiel gefesselt

ITS AS SCARY AS 7TH GUEST AND THE PUZZLES ARE GREAT.

Great game that really captures the original 7th Guest.

The 13th Doll feels like stepping back into the strange, creaky magic of early-90s FMV adventure games—and I loved every minute of it. As a fan-made love letter to The 7th Guest, it absolutely nails the atmosphere: eerie rooms, moody pacing, and puzzles that feel thoughtfully designed rather than frustrating. Solving them gave me that same slow-burn satisfaction I remember from sitting in front of a CRT monitor, notebook in hand, feeling clever when things finally clicked. The FMV-inspired style fits the era beautifully, and the game clearly understands why those old adventures worked: mystery first, spectacle second. That said, I couldn’t help wishing there were more nods to The 11th Hour, which I personally consider the stronger sequel—those extra references would have pushed the nostalgia even further. A few areas also show unpolished or mismatched textures, which slightly breaks visual consistency, but never enough to ruin immersion. Despite those rough edges, The 13th Doll succeeds where it matters most: it captures the feeling of classic FMV horror-puzzle games with genuine care and respect. It’s made by fans who clearly understand the soul of the series. If The 7th Guest ever haunted your hard drive, this is a wonderfully strange and satisfying return to that mansion.

First off, thank you Attic Door Productions for sending me the boxed Collector's / Backers Edition! I was really eager to find out what became of this game, of which I first heard back in 2004. It then vanished in 2008 to re-emerge many years later. Now, after having completed both the game's narratives I can safely say The 13th Doll, a Fan game of The 7th Guest is a success. It achieved what it set out to do and even excelled in some aspects over the original. The sheer determination of the team is commendable and the love for this project can be seen in every scene. I would however only recommend it if you played the (original) The 7th Guest and (somewhat) enjoyed it. There are also a lot of hits and misses that even for a die hard 7th Guest fan, I'm still not sure what to think of it. Let's take a look at a few: [u]Visuals[/u] + The FMV looks crisp - 3D models look outdated + excellent animation (skeleton in bath, classic cursors) + paintings/photos/documents and drawings are astounding - low res textures + fun animations (the 'pool' table being my favourite) [u]Setting[/u] + new (story relevant) locations to visit - some are 'underdressed' (too empty, too sparse (graveyard, final attic)) + creepy vibe /eerie atmosphere (Dining Hall, 2nd floor) - some too clean and shiny (some lights bounces off everything including carpets) + some genuinely scary (FMV) scenes [u]Characters[/u] + Stauf is back! - Stauf doesn't sound at all like he did in the 1st game and at first I thought they had replaced him - a second taunting character (female this time) who steals Stauf's lines - some genuinely bad acting (not hammy like the original) [u]Sound & Music[/u] + some amazing tracks! - some harrowing tracks that I had to mute - during some important scenes , like the Stauf Family Album, the music was so loud that I couldnt hear the voice over. No option to turn this down in the menu. - total silence in the end attic room, not even a creak of the floorboards - can't remember any sound effect (apart from some puzzles) - the music played in Dutton's room really suits Temple's room much better [u]movement[/u] + roam free across the mansion! + teleport to any room (you have visited or need to be) - still wandering around aimlessly [u]Inventory[/u] - In contrast to the original, you now have an inventory, but it is poorly managed; there is no item description or image in the inventory 'menu' and the purpose of where to use it only becomes apparent in the end. A simple to do list would have saved me a lot of time looking for scattered parts. [u]Puzzles[/u] + some puzzles were better than the original (with the heart puzzle being my favourite) + some puzzles were just as cool as in the original (maze solution in picture frame) - some puzzles were just as frustrating, slow or tedious as in the original! (piano puzzle and a few others) -/+ some puzzles were over before they started - some puzzles left me utterly clueless, even with the hints provided - some puzzles were just there to torment me (3 in a row) and defy logical thinking [u]Story[/u] + play two separate individuals with their own paths, story, puzzles and locations - I personally couldnt get into the story the first two playthroughs but eventually worked it out afterwards I'm actually shocked to learn how similar it was to my experience playing the original. :)

its a classic...