You play Elena Elkhorn, a young girl whose groundskeeper father has gone missing. After having a prophetic dream that he is trapped in the haunted mansion where he worked, Elena sets out on a dangerous mission to find him. Her adventure takes her through the grounds and mansion of the Willows estate, where she discovers the bloody past and buried secrets of those who lived there. With only a magical amulet to help and guide her, she courageously forges her way through, channeling the amulet's magic to project herself to the other side of the veil, where she can communicate with the estate's ghostly inhabitants. She uses this ability to help many of them, solving the mysteries behind their deaths, or the deaths of their loved ones, and giving them peace - thus enabling them to move from the earthly realm to whatever comes next.
As the player, you make your way from one task to the next; one puzzle to the next. The game moves along at a steady pace, and offers you storyline as you go in the form of notes found (which provide background on the ghosts that you encounter) or Elena's own diary entries (which give you insight into what she is thinking and feeling). This game is perfect for those who like to stop and read as they play, and for those who like a healthy does of story with their creep factor - this game delivers on both.
Notes (and letters) provide history and storyline
Elena's diary entries provide insight into her thoughts
There really isn't that much more to say. The game has zero combat and no menus beyond the books seen above. You basically control Elena as she walks around talking to ghosts and looking for signs of her father. From start to end it was about 5 hours long and the game has 20 achievements that you can complete (most of them story-related and impossible to miss - a few a little trickier to find). I personally found the different puzzles interesting, though the game was pretty simple and I can't really say that anything challenged me. Still, I enjoyed the story, art, and music, and I wanted to keep playing - all good signs. For the price I paid ($2.75 CAD on sale), I'd say that it was most definitely worth it. Full price... I'd probably still go with "it's worth it" but honestly, that depends on how much weight you put on game time. It was a very short game.
All in all, I'd say that it merits a play-through - though that's all I'd give it. Much as I enjoyed the storyline, it has no replay value. Unless you missed notes (basically impossible - I found them all without trying) or missed an achievement, you have no reason to play through it again. Still, fun game. If you have some time to kill and like spooky things, give it a whirl.
And... that's the end of my review. Short, right? If you've played the game, let me know if I've missed something. If you have questions, please comment. Thanks for reading, and enjoy some screenshots below!
(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ
