The Spectre Files: Deathstalker

Now THIS is one hell of a backstory with this game. I won't bother regurgitating what the steam description says, but regardless I LOVE the idea of taking a once lost game and bringing it back and to the public one way or another. This went from a Galloping Ghost staple to still being a staple, but one that is brought to the house, just like my ass is in the 90s/early 2000s. One thing I will reiterate is that this game is made by the creator of Rampage, Brian Colin, (Who I've been fortunate enough to meet and discuss game design with, he was impressed, but I digress) and that DEFINATELY shows. The tongue in cheek, blunt, and subtle yet visual/cheesy humor shows. And much like how Rampage was/is a parody of Kaiju/monster movies, this game feels like a parody/homage to 80s/indie esque/B-Horror films. All the tropes are there, and they are explained and exploited in a very humorous, in your face, and makes you smile kind of way. Gameplay wise this feels like a 80s horror take on the Dragon's Lair formula, but it's just a PINCH less hectic and TAD more forgiving, but DON'T let that fool you, every choice matters and affects you, your outcome, and ultimately whether or not you'll solve the case you're given as Detective Ed Specter. While I wouldn't call this game an award winner. It's charm and personality and all the funny visuals/gags and encounters are what not only make it fun,. it's also what makes it stick out as one hell of a unique ride. While the concept of a choose your own adventure has been done before, one things for sure, they don't make games in this style anymore. Hopefully some more dumb fun laser disc esque games come into the indie scene after this game Also, bonus point for this being a lost game that has been fittingly "brought back from the grave" Last bonus point being that a younger Brian is the narrator in the game (:

This game is amazingly fun! A different path each time keeps things interesting. The humor is corny, but top-notch! I practically did a happy dance when this was released, because I always make this a must play when I hit Galloping Ghost Arcade. It's like bringing the GGA home! 10/10, would GLADLY recommend!

I loved this game when I played it at Galloping Ghost Arcade. Having first heard of the footage in 2007, I never thought I'd ever get to play it. I was familiar with several scenes from the arcade version, and never honestly thought I would play it on Steam. It feels just like the arcade version with one major advantage: the ability to skip through scenes you've already been through. However, two, and only two things are missing: a pause feature, and captions. I'm sure other people will say a save feature, but I don't think that's needed as it's a short game. For those fans of retro and Laserdisc games, and the state of the game industry in 1983-4, this is a must-play. And with art by Brian Colin himself, I can't recommend it more highly. Get it now!!

Funny point and click game with great story and funny ending. Really important that you click the correct answers or you dead... Reccommend this 10/10 if you like games like this : )

tl;dr This is a phenomenal game with a lazy, low-effort port. If you look past the lack of options, a pause button, and other conveniences often given to other FMV ported games, you'll find that the actual game itself is a very memorable experience. While it shows on here that I don't have much playtime, I actually played the original cabinet at Galloping Ghost Arcade (GGA) many times. I genuinely think it's a one of a kind experience, and I'm very grateful for all the work people put into resurrecting this game and giving it new life. Most of my bitterness regarding this port comes from just an overall lack of effort. After playing the cabinet at GGA, it's abundantly clear that the devs put as little effort as possible to simply get this on the store. There are no options to change volume levels, resolution, or include subtitles. Furthermore, there is NO pause button whatsoever in the game. If something comes up and you gotta pause, your run is as good as dead. GGA had a great opportunity here to take the original material and really spruce it up with some quality of life features, but rather, the port just seems like a cash grab used to exploit the previous arcade exclusive nature of the game. Given the nature of choose your own adventure-esque games like this, it SORELY needed a restart feature or some form of save states. You have to go through the drawn out ending sequence every time, making it take upwards of a minute simply to just restart the game. All these complaints aside, credit REALLY needs to be given to Brian Colin for creating this one of a kind experience. The whole thing reeks of B-movie vibes, and it's certainly a good thing. The writing and loads of possibilities will keep you coming back for more, and each encounter you make in the mansion REALLY stands out from each other. If you get past the lazy port efforts made by GGA, I'm sure you'll find this to be quite the gem of a game.

This is so bloody good, I love it!!!

WOW WOW WOW I am a Lifelong FMV nerd an FMV GAME DEVELOPER and a FORMER AWARD WINNING LOW BUDGET HORROR FILM MAKER Ive recently started releasing FMV GAME versions of my own films which Emulate the 70s and 80s style. But this is the REAL DEAL and OMG this in the space of a couple of HOURS has become my new Fave FMV GAME. It makes me Proud to be involved in the FMV world. Thankful to the makers of this game and the crew who restored it this is a MASTERPIECE I AM SAT HERE SHAKING i am so HAPPY THIS EXISTS . If you like Horror, FMV , 80s stuff Wierd Stuff this is the Ultimate game for you BUY IT BUY IT NOW!!!!

HELLO i fist seen this game while i was at galloping ghost arcade in chicago, now being a big fan of dragons lair and space ace and any of those types of games i had heard that they found this game and brought it back to life, so me and my brother sat down to try this game and let me tell you if you like the old horror games this is down right fun, its like choose your own adventure , you make mistakes and see the outcome, give it a shot at 10 bux you cant go wrong its really fun and thank you doc mack and the galloping ghost productions for bringing this back from the dead, play today become a fan i know i did

Awesome game. Tons of replay value. Creative content! Perfect for Halloween! Nothing else quite like it.

Great piece of arcade history and fun "adventure" style game full of humor. Sort of lacking in quality of life stuff; could use a in-game save or something because it's a bit of a slog going through tons and tons of attempts to figure out the right path. Also seems like there's a problem with some of the video files not playing if you don't have the game on a fast enough hard drive.