The Excavation of Hob's Barrow

Firstly, I want to say that this overall was enjoyable and great. It reminded me quite a lot of The Seance of Blake Manor, just a little less developed, but that's exactly what I was looking for. There was so much love clearly poured into the art of this game, especially the STUNNING backgrounds. As an artist who isn't really that familiar with pixel art, it always astounds me that others are able to achieve such detail and charm with the medium. The vibes from the art just oozed and gripped me in the most delightful way. And wow, those expressions! Even in such a small character model, Thomasina's body language was so sharp and expressive. It was amazing. And, oh my goodness, a moment for the voice acting. It was so, SO amazing. That was one thing I immediately noticed, and I was like, wow. This is amongst the best voice acting I've ever heard, especially from a small game like this one. Narrative-wise, I was a little conflicted. Maybe a few mild spoilers beyond this point: At first I really loved the mysterious storyline - I thought it was going somewhere really interesting. But tbh, I thought it shifted way too quickly [spoiler]from a kind of folklore-infused storyline to full blown supernatural magic (if that makes sense). That's a bit of the problem I had with Seance, as well.[/spoiler] But I'm not really complaining about that, it's just a choice I didn't really expect. At times I felt it crawled, then it kind of rushed through the climax. The ending was a little disappointing, not only because [spoiler]it wasn't a happy ending. It's a lovecraft-inspired story, and it was definitely reminiscent of his work, but the way it was handled really didn't sit right with me. Without giving anything away, something is revealed to the player that creates quite a bit of dissonance between you and Thomasina, and I felt a bit forced. I honestly thought there might be multiple endings because of the grimness of that ending, and a lot of it felt avoidable. But the whole inevitability of the conclusion to the story also helped establish some of the vibes.[/spoiler] My main complaint would probably be the plotholes, and the vagueness about the fate that befalls Bewley and certain characters. [spoiler]What's up with that goat? the cat? our assistant? the priest? the kids of the village? what about the rest of the world, the future?[/spoiler] It just was very unsatisfying, which could be what they were going for, but somehow I doubt that these *specific* issues I had were the desired effect. The game is great if you've got a few hours to kill.

Nice and simple, if you like point and click you will likely like this. good spooky vibes

It's overrated. It has a decent if somewhat unfulfilling story. The games commits some of the genres worst offenses: - Interacting with the same npc several times in a row to move the plot on. - Using the same item again and again to do things. The game also have a lot of locations and it's very difficult to an overview over where you have been. A proper map would really help. This would also fix the problem of the game using cardinal directions (eg. east and west) to point you towards objectives.

Solid game, no Hogwash! The presentation of the Rural British community is crazy good, from cozy places too the cold marsh it give a earie vibe from start to finish. The voice acting especially is flawless and the voices fit the characters perfectly. Especially the main Character Thomasina gives an exceptional performance. The writing includes lots of period correct words that i would have never heard elsewhere, great! The puzzles are plenty but all fair and theres is always some form of guidance provided in the game. Some puzzles in the middle section of the game seem a bit like chores, which they literally are :), but dont overstay their welcome. [spoiler]I like the ending and its perfectly fine, the chance was missed to give some options to at least acknowledge the risks and willingly go forward with a plan for it, even if that fails for example. [/spoiler] Loooking forward to the next game from Cloak and Dagger Games!

It is almost exactly what it looks like on the store page. If you're looking at those screens and thinking "oh I might be interested in this" then you are undoubtedly right. Basically, a spooky story taking place out on the moors of Victorian England in the style of a Sierra game from several decades ago. (I really liked the voice casting too)

(⋟﹏⋞)

This game is not one that I would typically play, just due to the fact that it is 2d and pixel style, but it is amazing. There is something that keeps me coming back to this game. There is a creepy Pagan aspect to it and keep in mind I still have not completed this game as I am writing this review. The suspicious vibe that the town presents, the eerie atmosphere, and even just stuff that you wouldn't think would be creepy that is. One thing that I will note about this game is that there will be moments of absolute "....what?...." which sometimes could be funny, and other times could be quite creepy.