A Cthulhusent for Lovecraft fans!
wow, what can I say about this game... I found this while perusing random GOG adventure games, having no idea what it is and I must admit I was initially put off by the ridiculous choice of 8-bit graphics. I mean, I'm ok with 16-bit pixel art like Gemini Rue, Blackwell, etc... but this was just stretching it... Nevertheless, having read the glowing reviews, I wishlisted it waiting to get it at discount. And that I did.
Having played all 4 chapters in 2 days (takes about 1 hour each), I can safely say that I'd gladly pay full price for it, had I known beforehands. This was without a doubt one the most impressive gaming experiences I've ever had. The blend of heavy relentless atmosphere, masterful story crafting and a brilliant score takes the experience to another level, almost forgetting the low-res visuals, making them just an afterthought.
I have played TONS of adventure games and rarely does one strike me so heavily that I keep thinking it for days and wanting to revisit. To be honest, I think The Last Door succeeds at that by doing away of most of the adventure gaming pitfalls, which certainly reduces gameplay length but significantly enhances the movie-like experience. There is very little backtracking, there are no insane logic-defying puzzles, there is no comic relief, it all flows non-stop like a gripping sinister horror novel. In fact, I'd say The Last Door borrows adventure games' best qualities and blends them with a new genre that recently appeared, the interactive novel. Games like To The Moon, Dear Esther, etc, have done away with the puzzle solving and inventory, replacing them with the search for items that forward th storytelling. This can become boring, taking out the gaming out of the game, as much as illogical cumbersome puzzles take the fun out of gaming. Well here there's none these drawbacks. There's a great balance between good ol' adventure puzzles and storyline advancing elements. The player never feels he is moving too fast or pacing too slowly having forgetten what it was all about.
Now, let's talk about the two greatest merits of the game. Firstly, the story. This pure adulterated horror. The way H.P. Lovecraft and E.A.Poe have taught the world. In fact the setting, mood and plot are a great mix of these two writers' trademark elements. Victorian buildings, theatricality, ravens, arcane horror, despair, madness, altered consciousness, etc... I'm a big fan of H.P. Lovecraft's works and the story here was right up my alley. From the first second till the last, it never lets go. The chills keep pouring, there is never a calm moment as the tension keeps building minute after minute. There's a few jump scares as well. What makes all this work, except the great pacing and excellent writing, is the absolutely brilliant music. It's worth by itself the price of the game, and GOG offers it in mp3 and FLAC formats too! The player will feel every emotion of the main character and his surroundings through the versatile score, other times ambient, other times intense, scary, somber, the orchestral music accompanying the game is an entity by itself and lifting the whole experience by many levels. There is no speech, other than some well placed and accurate sound effects, so the music pretty much fills th space, except the moments where absolute silence is required and the stone cold horror hits you.
All of what I said almost makes you forget you're actually not watching some intricate 3D rendered world but a bunch of bulky pixels. As I said, I'd prefer it were 16-bits, but I'm fine with 8-bits as long as I can have a story this good, served with such great gameplay and music. Only if we had games this good on my 8-bit Amstrad CPC6128 haha!
I think I haven't enjoyed an adventure game this much since the Gabriel Knight series. If you're adventure fans, if you're horror fans, then do yourselves a favor and get this game asap! Can't wait for the second season.
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