Yorkshire Cosmic Mystery

The Excavation of Hob's Barrow is the perfect game for spooky season. It's a brilliantly written little story about a woman's determination to uncover the secrets of a mysterious and hostile Yorkshire village. The dialogues are all very natural despite the unusual plot and Thomasina, our protagonist, is a very likeable and relatable character. The voice acting is top tier. Directed by Dave Gilbert it presents a carefully chosen cast of very talented voices with appropriate northern accents. It's not a horror game in any traditional sense, it has more of a gothic vibe to it, but it's nevertheless masterfully made and loves to play with the uncanny. Both the extremely atmospheric soundtrack by The Machine. The Demon. and the stylised pixel art help to make you feel unsafe at all times. While the spooky part only starts in the last third, the game plants this extremely unsettling feeling in you from the very beginning. Something will go terribly wrong and you can't do anything about it. The very nature of cosmic horror, the inescapability of something bigger than life lies at the core of this story and the protagonist is just a pawn. Also, the game is set in the rainy autumnal Yorkshire moors, and that's just instant bonus points for a Wuthering Heights fan like me. Atmospheric setting doesn't get any better than this! Recommended for any point & click fan, but also for anyone who likes an atmospheric spooky story. Ta-ra!