Shivers

Until I found this game here on gog galaxy, it had been years since I played this. Have played through a few times since finding it here. Great puzzle game and I would say one of the best games out there from the time period.

Good soundtrack, good puzzles, good history... I would have been happy if I had played that when I was a kid. At last I'm playing now

I never played this when it came out originally so have no nostolgia to fall back on. It's atmospheric, but although some of the puzzles make sense (and some are quite easy) others don't appear to give you any hints as to what they want. (e.g the cog puzzle and the lift tile sequence.) Maybe I've missed a clue but I couldn't find anything and had to go back to the walk through which is a bit annoying. I don't mind puzzles that require you to think, but these seem to be more messing about until you get the right combination which isn't much fun. I haven't played far in, but will likely revisit it. (With a walkthrough sheet to fall back on where needed.)

Full disclosure, I owned this game back in 1995. Back then, I was still playing Super Nintendo and Genesis with my friends on the weekends, but I was obsessed by these PC adventure games. Shivers was one of my first PC game experiences. It took me months to complete it and it really stuck with me. What about playing it almost 30 years later? The game's high points are indeed it's art style and soundtrack, they come together to create a wonderfully creepy mood. There is an Are You Afraid of the Dark? overarching story which doesn't really affect the overall experience. I love that Saturday morning spooky stuff, so it's a plus! If that's not your bag, don't worry, it's really just background. You point and click through this game Myst style and solve adventure style puzzles. Shivers differs from most adventure games in that you also have to capture ghosts or Ixupi that hide in various places. It's just a blast exploring the museum. The game's low point is the backtracking, you'll find yourself clicking through the same areas again and again and again. The overall atmosphere of the game kept me coming back to it in 1995, and I felt the same way replaying in 2024.

Technically took my girlfriend 21 years to complete, since she started playing it round a friend's house when she was a teenager. Well worth the wait!!