The Séance of Blake Manor

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

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.

E' uno dei giochi più belli a cui abbia giocato ultimamente: bella trama, bella dinamica di gioco, grafica originale, ambientazione strepitosa e accuratamente inserita nel periodo storico...che dire? L'ho giocato tutto d'un fiato e anche avendolo dovuto ricominciare daccapo a un certo punto non mi sono annoiata. Fantastico!

This game could have easily been a frustrating mess. I find many games these days are mundane, as if you are working, working towards completing nothing in a loop.

Perfect spooky mystery wrapped in rich narrative

This game is so much larger and richer than I would have expected from a point-and-click. The puzzles aren't annoying and the amount of choice you have in what to investigate truly feels immersive. Really cool!

Misturou mistério com terror e suspense, não é um puzzle exatamente, pois é muito intuitivo e algumas respostas são dadas para ti, mas mesmo assim consegue surpreender e te puxar para dentro da história de forma emocionante, deixa aquela vontade de descobrir mais sobre tudo que está na sua frente.

Really fun, well put-together mystery game! I had no expectations going in and so was very pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this game. The characters are all really interesting and the story keeps you guessing all the way to the end. I really loved the incorporation of mythology and folklore, especially from so many different cultures! It's just such a unique idea executed really well. The art style initially threw me off a little, but I came to find it very charming as I saw more and more of the map. My only real critiques are that, firstly, the culprit is pretty ridiculously easy to figure out-- while the idea of figuring out different facts about the culprit and comparing them with what you know of the suspects is a super fun idea, you only need maybe three or four facts to have a pretty sure idea who the culprit is, so you're spending the later half of the game just ticking off boxes instead. I think there's enough intrigue with the rest of the mystery to make up for it, but it still felt a little cheap to solve the central mystery so easily. Secondly, with regards to the endings, I really wish [spoiler]the "release" and "close" endings were actually different. I feel like "release" was really set up to be the "true" ending, especially since it requires more work to get, so I was a bit disappointed to discover that your choice between the two at the end changes absolutely nothing.[/spoiler] Overall, though, a really unique and fun mystery game!