The Séance of Blake Manor

You are invited to investigate the disappearance of a lady named Evelyn Deane. The disappearance of the young woman is intertwined with an event that will take place at Blake Manor in three days: a séance of an unprecedented nature, in which it is expected that a ghost will manifest and speak to those present without the intervention of mediums. The game features just over 25 characters, each with unique stories and motivations. [b] Positive:[/b] [list] [*]Variety of characters and of the subjects they talk about. The historical, mythological, and religious aspects, as well as the different nationalities, were brilliantly integrated into a very cohesive narrative. [/list] [b] Neutral:[/b] [list] [*]Easy puzzles, and the mysteries menu ends up providing, through its descriptions, some guidance on how to solve them. [*]The absence of fast travel and the fact that the map is a mansion make getting around tedious. However, I understand that this design choice is related to events taking place on the map and to being able to hear the characters whispering to one another. The game is not particularly long either, so this does not become a major inconvenience. [*]Some clues lead one to believe that a certain character will have a connection to a mythological being ([spoiler]Walter, a vampire[/spoiler]). There is also no clue (at least as far as I observed) that this character [spoiler]does not actually exist[/spoiler]. As investigative games generally provide players with satisfaction by supplying clues and allowing them to reach conclusions through logical reasoning (as is also the case with mystery novels), the final resolution was surprising to me and made it even more memorable. However, it was not as satisfying. [*]Time restriction: each action consumes 1 minute (with a few rare ones taking longer), creating a concern about being able to solve all the necessary mysteries before the séance at the end of the third day. I personally dealt with this by saving the game, investigating locations or people, and then reloading and performing only the necessary actions. I like exploring dialogue and environments, so, to me, this design choice was controversial. I see that many other players had the same impression. Moreover, I believe it devalues the writers' work, since many pieces of text will consequently go unexplored. Overall, I see it as a negative point, although some people liked it, as the restriction gave the investigation a greater sense of urgency. [/list] [b] Negative:[/b] [list] [*]The obviousness of the culprit for several reasons ([spoiler]it was not possible to solve his mystery, his room would only become available on the third day, he said contradictory things, etc.[/spoiler]). This particular character would have benefited from better writing, or [spoiler]from a “false” mystery that we could solve in order to throw us off the scent[/spoiler], among other things. [*]From the moment you gain access to the characters' rooms, solving the mysteries becomes easy. Many times, you will figure out the solution in your head before you have the clues necessary to actually confront the character. In fact, you cannot even solve some mysteries without access to the room, which I found ignoble. In my opinion, it should be possible to solve the mysteries like a detective, using only relevant questioning and investigation, rather than rummaging through personal belongings as if you had a search warrant. [*]The difficulty of finding characters and the impossibility of visiting them in their rooms. It would be interesting to be able to knock on the door and be invited in, and it would make much more sense than simply invading everyone's rooms or searching the mansion at random for someone in particular. [/list] It is more of a visual novel than an actual investigative game, given that the mysteries are generally obvious. The story itself is not particularly complex or innovative, but I believe it is worth it because the characters are compelling, even those of dubious morality. So, despite having listed only one positive point, that one, in my view, weighed heavily in my recommendation, provided that the negative or neutral points do not bother you too much.

This is my new favorite game. It's similar to Return of the Obra Dinn in that you solve a larger mystery by locking in the mysteries of each character one by one. The art style is very nice to look at and the supernatural aspects add a lot of atmosphere without being outright scary. The way the game presents the history of Irish folklore and religion is very well done. The time mechanic in this game was a little stressful when first starting, because I wasn't sure how much I would be able to explore within the time limit, but once I got used to it I realized there was plenty of time for everything I wanted to do. A lot of story-rich or mystery games have a lot of buildup and then disappointing endings, but the ending of this game was exciting and wrapped up everything perfectly. I played with my girlfriend and she loved it too, and it takes a lot for her to like a game. The only downside to this game is that I can't play it again unless I manage to forget everything about it, which seems unlikely. 10/10, try it out if you like games like Obra Dinn, The Roottrees are Dead, Case of the Golden Idol, or Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, which this is visually very similar to.

An immersive, intriguing experience, loved it from start to finish!

Disappointing. Very linear, way too many characters, no sense of scale or what is important. Opening 10 minutes are the most engaging of th whole game.

This game was so good! Stressful at times because of bad time management on my end. But games like this are exactly what I want in a game

I love this game. Not too scary, more of a slow-burn detective story.

good game, with interesting plot. a bit need time to understand how game system works...not really comfortable one. but its still good. encountered zero - bugs and issues. thank god, game got almost no abstract stuff. quite logical. better to die at least once, to see message of what need to be done, after all. main mission is not just what said in begining... its more deeeeep

excellent jeu d'enquête et d'investigation