Shivers

This is a great game. I have been looking for it for a long, long, time. The only thing is this one is Shivers 2. The first Shivers game actually took place in an outdoor setting. Would like to get both games. Both are spooky.

Shivers was the first adventure game I ever played, exactly 20 years ago. It was only a demo and it was quite short, but for a 12-year-old kid who was assaulted by a plethora of platformers, first-person shooters and RTS games of the late 90s, this was something truly different. In spite of its dark atmosphere, there is an undeniable sense of wonder in walking around the dark rooms of this vast museum and getting to understand its mystery. There is really a lot to see, lots of secrets to uncover, hidden rooms, hidden drawers, the whole thing. A Disneyland for puzzle solving really, I guarantee you will be entertained. There are a couple of excruciatingly annoying puzzles, that is true, but most of what you'll be doing is fun-fun-fun. I won't spoil anything related to the storyline, it's nothing too complicated really, but it's worth just diving into the game and see for yourself. From a technical standpoint, the game mechanics do show their age, Shivers is literally a slideshow, there is no fancy 360 movement and interacting with the enviroment is again from another gaming era. BUT the graphics still hold up pretty well (an advantage of pre-rendered graphics) and the game is definitely graphically enjoyable, even after more than 20 years. The music was quite memorable and contributed a lot to the atmosphere, even though it was a bit repetitive and especially today it might not be to everyone's liking, as it screams "oldschool". Rally, I cannot recommend Shivers enough, especially to players who want something different. It is unlike any other game (even among adventure games) and it truly has a place of its own in the adventure game pantheon. It's true what they say: "they don't make them like they used to" and Shivers is a prime example of that.

While it obviously looks very dated, some elements of this game keep it atmospheric and engrossing even today. The game can seem eerily beautiful, and I think its due to aspects of its design like sometimes being able to see and hear what's in the next room when you approach a doorway, and the game using a variety of angles when viewing rooms instead of always being parallel with a wall. There's a good amount of FMV to see and documents to read. One bit of advice for new players - use some patience/care when clicking around the screen. It can be very easy to overlook when there's an option to click near the edge of the screen; and also the FMV cutscenes will be instantly dismissed by a single click - if you see the screen flash for a split second while you were clicking, you just missed some story! If the "museum at night" theme sounds in any way interesting to you, definitely pick this one up!

I cannot believe this is on GOG! I love this game and still play it every now and again. A great point and click that still remains fairly creepy.

Seeing this is now available on GOG is amazing. While my old system cannot handle GOG's version, since my system runs Windows Vista, I am proud to say the original CD still works on my computer. This game is a classic, and if you love Sierra's library of games, you will enjoy this. This game was visually amazing, and once you get to playing it, you'll find it has a good backstory as well. This game is a MUST for your Sierra library.