Unlock: The House on the Hill
Unlock is a series of card games from Space Cowboys. In them, 1-6 players work together to solve a mystery or go on an adventure. Here, I’m focusing specifically on the House on the Hill scenario.
Components
The game comes with a short rulebook, 10 tutorial cards, and 60 cards for the main game.
A big drawback is that you can’t play the game on its own. Aside from the items in the box, you also need the companion app. The app contains the answers to all the puzzles as well as a timer.
This particular box is nice. There is some excess space but the box is small enough that I can forgive it. However, I’ve had my copy for a while. Nowadays, all the Unlock games come in a bigger box as a set of three, which have a lot more unnecessary extra space. Also, since they come in sets, usually all with a different theme, the odds that there will be a scenario in the pack that you just aren’t interested in at all is much higher.
Gameplay
You start with the intro card that sets the scene. You can find numbers and letters by looking closely at the cards. If you find something, go find the card with the matching number in the deck. You can combine red items with blue items by adding the numbers together and searching the deck for a card with that number. Yellow cards are puzzles. When you’ve figured out the solution you go into the app and put your answer in. If you’re wrong you’ll take a time penalty, but if you’re right the app will tell you what to do next. You have one hour to solve the mystery.
Thoughts
This game feels so much like a point-and-click adventure game. I’ve played a couple of mystery games like this (such as the recently-reviewed Crime Zoom), but this one does the best job of capturing that video game vibe. I think it’s specifically the way the combining items mechanic works that gives it the edge. Being able to try and slam any and every item together to try and find a solution, even if the result is nothing or a penalty, is peak adventure game and I love it.
The numbers and letters to find some items can be really hard to see. There’s one particular number in this scenario that many of my players could not see at all. I understand part of the appeal is finding hidden things, but there’s a line between what’s well-hidden and what’s unreasonably hard to see.
I hate that you have to use an app with this. I’m of the opinion that if you buy a game, it should come with everything you need to actually play. You don’t need to be connected to the internet to use the app, but you do need the internet to get the app. What if you live in an area where maintaining a reliable internet connection to download something is difficult? What if your phone is dead, or you don’t have space for the app?. What happens if or when the company decides to stop supporting the app?
Verdict
This game gets 3.5 out of 5 cthulhus. It’s very fun and I love the concept, but the visibility issues and the fact you need an app to play kinda take away from the experience. You can check it out at the Amazon link below, but remember that we are an Amazon affiliate and if you buy anything from the links provided we will get some $ back.
(3.5 / 5)
Gaming
I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream (1995), a Game Review
I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream (1995) is a point-and-click horror game based on Harlan Ellison’s award-winning short story.
I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream (1995) is a point-and-click horror game based on Harlan Ellison’s award-winning short story of the same name. Developed by Cyberdreams and The Dreamers Guild, this adaptation brings a new perspective to a familiar story. I heard of free purchasing opportunities for this game but cannot verify the quality. For this review, I played the 5.99 Steam release.
Play as one of the remaining humans on earth: Gorrister, Benny, Ellen, Nimdok, and Ted. Each faces a unique challenge from their common torturer, the AI supercomputer known as AM. Chosen by AM to endure torment, these challenges require the participants to face their greatest failures and tragedies.
What I like about I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream
Having experienced this story a few times, Harlan Ellison provides the most substantive execution of his vision and moral questions in this game. While all have individual merits, I assume the added content and context better dive into the relevant points he hoped to explore. He also played the voice of AM, giving us the emotional complexity of the machine as he saw it.
As the above comment indicates, I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream remains a faithful adaptation with only one notable change. While that one change does reflect in that character’s journey, it uses that opportunity to the fullest. Where the short story left room for potentially inaccurate interpretations of the characters, this added context makes us better understand them.
The game’s writing remains a selling point for this story-driven experience. It dives further into the lore of the human characters and even allows further development of AM in the process. There are many ways to progress, and the multiple characters allow gamers to adventure further if stuck. That said, progressing individual characters to complete their journey remains essential for the true ending and experience.
As a point-and-click game made in 1995, I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream holds up well. In many ways, it pushed the genre in its time with dynamic storytelling and game features. Harlan Ellison was someone who pushed boundaries to challenge himself and others. He saw the gaming industry as another opportunity to evoke story-driven art, a focus reflected here.
Thoughts, Triggers, and Considerations
I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream adapts a dark and bleak story from an author notorious for his dark material. This game is no exception to that standard. Mental illness, sexual assault, genocide, and torture envelop the game. These elements are handled with attention but remain triggering to those sensitive to such dark material.
If these are deal breakers, I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream will likely earn a skip.
What I Dislike, or Considerations, for I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream
While the short story remains a haunting example of fiction in every sentence, I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream doesn’t evoke the same tension. It allows room to breathe or refocus on another character, which reduces the horror such a story evokes. While the characters participate in their torment, the loss of agency and hopelessness doesn’t translate in the execution.
Some mechanical and gameplay issues are noteworthy. For example, the saving mechanic remains dated, piling up if you save often or for specific reasons. Most of the mechanical issues stem from outdated UI from a gamer of a more modern era. Play it long enough, and elements start to click, but it needs that user investment.
Point-and-click caters to a niche audience, so modern gaming audiences aren’t inherently the demographic. The puzzle-solving and gameplay won’t win you over if the genre isn’t to your taste. Even within the genre, many of the puzzles remain challenging. For fans of the genre, this likely earns a positive merit. For those looking to continue the short story, this challenge will prove an obstacle.
Final Thoughts
I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream provides a new opportunity for the award-winning story to reach new audiences and continue to grow. Not satisfied with repeating his story in a new medium, Harlan Ellison expands this bleak world through the point-and-click game. While not as haunting as the short story, this game provides the most context and development of any adaptation before it.
(4 / 5)
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Continuing with video games I got to try out at PAX East, I was delighted to demo Let’s! Revolution! the debut game by developer and publisher BUCK. BUCK has historically been an animation and design studio, notably having worked on Into the Spiderverse and Love, Death, & Robots. Let’s! Revolution! marks their first foray into the world of video game development. I found this so interesting, I spoke to the Creative Director for Let’s! Revolution! on his career and how BUCK navigated that transition (find it here).
Let’s! Revolution! is a roguelike puzzle game inspired by the classic game Minesweeper. In it, you play as one of six heroes fighting their way along the dangerous roads to the capital city. Once there, you can defeat the tyrannical king and save the kingdom from his reign. Released in July of 2023, the game has been met with high praise. Unsurprisingly, this includes the game’s artistic and musical direction (by the team at Antfood), which is both stylistic and beautiful.
Watch the console reveal trailer here for a taste of the delightful animation and music:
I had the opportunity to play a 20 minute demo of Let’s! Revolution! on the PAX East show floor. I played alongside the Creative Director and other people who worked on the game. It’s important to note that this wasn’t long enough to get a feel for all the characters or the replayability of the game. But, it was definitely long enough to be enchanted by the game and the passion of the people who made it.
The core mechanics are inspired by Minesweeper. The player must use the power of deduction to uncover procedurally generated maze pathways to the exit. However, enemies are hidden along the way and can defeat the player before they reach their goal. Each character has their own special abilities that can help. Items and general abilities can also be bought or discovered to make your hero more powerful. All of these are limited in some way either by energy (your action currency) or limited uses per run.
From what I played, the gameplay is relatively simple with a mix of chance and strategy. I liked the cozy atmosphere, especially when combined with the ‘high stakes’ mechanics associated with Minesweeper. The UI was easy to understand and interact with while still being cohesive with the storytelling. And of course, the character design is exquisite and narratively driven, with many of the characters presenting as queer.
Having released on consoles earlier this month (April 2024), Let’s! Revolution! is even easier to access than ever. Let’s! Revolution! is a perfect game for those who love cozy roguelites and beautiful (queer) aesthetics. I definitely recommend it for fans of roguelites looking to try something fresh. Look for it anywhere you game!
(4.5 / 5)
Check out my other PAX posts here!
