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Barrow Hill - Completed
May. 1st, 2012 10:06 pmFinished! Without resorting to a FAQ!
I then read the FAQs immediately to see if there was anything I had failed to spot. I discovered I hadn't missed much; the main surprise I found in the FAQs is that there is also a "bad ending" which I went back a save to see. (You have to miss two different clues and an item to find the bad ending, but that's quite possible). I've also discovered that some events are considered "random", but I'm not actually convinced by this.
Random 1: A reviewer said that interactions with Ben might involve him randomly changing what he was saying. However, I found he only did when I'd completed the last thing he'd suggested in the midst of his rambling and he was actually working as a help prompt.
Random 2: Apparently the monster doesn't always turn up in the same places. My experience was that on the occasions I saw it I was heading the wrong way (at that point). Therefore, I think it is more likely to turn up when you're in the wrong place. Plus its first appearance was an impressive piece of theatre that I suspect everyone sees unless they play through without that particular mistake.
Random 3: Emma's calls occur at random times (except the first and last). Not sure about this, but I suspect it's also not entirely random.
Overall - it's playable and atmospheric for the kind of game it is. While rated 7+ (yes, I know) I was still very creeped out by some parts of it. The puzzles are mainly plausible (although there's a lot of spot-the-item and a bit near the end was unnecessarily obscure) and the story is interesting. It's a little simple and pretty short (I now believe the "few hours"), but worth seeing if you like the genre (point-and-click horror set in England).
Note: Edited in the morning so that it makes more sense (I wrote it just before bed).
I then read the FAQs immediately to see if there was anything I had failed to spot. I discovered I hadn't missed much; the main surprise I found in the FAQs is that there is also a "bad ending" which I went back a save to see. (You have to miss two different clues and an item to find the bad ending, but that's quite possible). I've also discovered that some events are considered "random", but I'm not actually convinced by this.
Random 2: Apparently the monster doesn't always turn up in the same places. My experience was that on the occasions I saw it I was heading the wrong way (at that point). Therefore, I think it is more likely to turn up when you're in the wrong place. Plus its first appearance was an impressive piece of theatre that I suspect everyone sees unless they play through without that particular mistake.
Random 3: Emma's calls occur at random times (except the first and last). Not sure about this, but I suspect it's also not entirely random.
Overall - it's playable and atmospheric for the kind of game it is. While rated 7+ (yes, I know) I was still very creeped out by some parts of it. The puzzles are mainly plausible (although there's a lot of spot-the-item and a bit near the end was unnecessarily obscure) and the story is interesting. It's a little simple and pretty short (I now believe the "few hours"), but worth seeing if you like the genre (point-and-click horror set in England).
Note: Edited in the morning so that it makes more sense (I wrote it just before bed).
