Maroc - 3RD-STRIKE.COM - A La Une - 10/Nov 00:01

Riddlewood Manor – Review

Spooky, scary and… oddly cute? Riddlewood Manor, a game developed and published by Peanut Button, delivers a perfect match for the Halloween season without being too scary or gory. A perfect point-and-click game for those who want to keep it cozy but still play something fitting for October. We were lucky enough to try it out and absolutely loved it. Story  Though not explicitly told straightforwardly, Riddlewood Manor tells the tale of the player being a holy exorcist sent on a mission to check out Riddlewood Manor, a house where reputation precedes its name. Apparently, those who come near the house never return. It is up to the player to figure out why and correct whatever bad thing is going on inside. Without going into spoiler territory, it is clear that the spirit of the daughter of the family, Emily, is speaking to you from beyond the grave. To put her spirit to rest, the player has to go through every room to solve puzzles and deal with evil doll Suzie, to help cleanse the house of whatever spooky shenanigans are going on in there. Graphics  Although a point-and-click game typically features a simple 2D background, Riddlewood Manor delivers more by creating a full 360-degree view per room, some even with multiple floors to explore. Aside from that, it does its best to keep a grim and spooky, yet comical delivery of showing off the manor in all its haunted glory.   Because of the way the rooms are designed, it’s often quite easy to see what is interactable and what isn’t. This is due to a slight color change in the interactable objects, whereas static items will simply blend in with the room’s color-scheme.   Aside from the usual 2D art, there are a few occasional sprites or objects that will be presented in a 3D-like state. These simply add to the already spooky, yet oddly cute art style that Peanut Button was going for.   Sound  There isn’t much to say about the sound in this game, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Most rooms don’t have any kind of background music, save for a slight, ominous ambient tone that plays on loop. This allows the player to focus on the puzzles, as well as take in the atmosphere of a haunted and abandoned mansion. Eventually, there is one room in particular where music is triggered, but it sets the scene even further ahead and amplifies the emotion it is meant to convey. Aside from music, there is voice acting in this game, albeit quite minimal, as you tend to only interact with monsters and ghosts. The narrative is being explored by Emily, who talks to you to guide you through the house, and although it may come across as odd at first, once you figure out who Emily is, everything just fits right.   Gameplay  As mentioned before, Riddlewood Manor is a point-and-click escape-room game. The player goes from room to room and is tasked to solve puzzles in order to proceed to the next part of the manor. This leads to gathering key items which can be used from a drop-down inventory to reveal or activate certain things in the room, which then lead up to moving onward. Before starting the game, however, the developers were kind enough to let the player know there are a few jump scares. There is an option to get both a visual warning and an audio cue to prepare the player for these. After testing out this feature, it was also evident that the warning was given a few seconds beforehand so that the player has time to prepare or even shield themselves from the scares. Though we can’t judge everyone’s tolerance of spooky or scary things, of course, but because of the art style, it is safe to say that the scares in Riddlewood Manor are more meant to be laughed at than screamed at.   Further on, it is quite clear that the manor only allows you to go one way forward, and the only way to return is to die. Though it goes against a gamer’s perspective to end your character’s life, this is, in fact, part of the game mechanics, as your holy priests outside the manor are praying the entire night, so you can safely return and discover more of the big, scary mansion. In some cases, this can be handy, as certain key items from other rooms are meant to be used in a different part of the mansion to unlock little secrets. These aren’t necessary to progress the main story, but do unlock extra achievements and clear the house a bit more of the evil within it.  Conclusion  When beginning Riddlewood Manor, one may start the game with a rapid heartbeat, scared of whatever may jump out at you. However, once you make it past the initial setup, it is clear this game is rather cozy and meant to be enjoyable for everyone, regardless of scare tolerance. The atmosphere and storytelling, along with the few voicelines spoken in the game, make it a truly amazing and not too difficult experience. If one is looking for a late Halloween game, but doesn’t deliver anything graphically disturbing, Riddlewood Manor will deliver to your expectations.