Haunting at Cliffhouse 1: A Pleasant Time

Having finished my entire stack of Kirkus books, and having done some good de-dusting (my house was the empire of dust during the worst part of the rennovation), I earned the pleasure of playing a simple but fun new adventure game. This one is made by the same lady who did Intrigue at Oakhaven Plantation, which I reviewed for Four Fat Chicks years ago. It's essentially the same style of game, although more complex.

You can get Haunting at Cliffhouse as a digital download, available here. You can get it on CD from the same site, if you like. It's a very nice little game done by one independent lover of adventure games, and so far I think it's well worth the price.

I am having fun! There are puzzles to solve, and while they're certainly not devious in the slightest, they still require some concentration. The easiest so far was in fact a game of concentration. There was a nice jigsaw puzzle that I really enjoyed. It had enough pieces to make it a real jigsaw puzzle, and not one that you could just slap together in two minutes. There was, alas, a piano puzzle, but the clues were simple and non-audible, and you can go back to the piano and have it play some nice music for you anytime you want. There's an ongoing scavenger hunt for which I've found everything except one item that needs to be combined with another item. I just haven't seen that ellusive item yet.

The basic premise is that after your husband suddenly died, you decide to take a vacation at this lovely old place on the Oregon coast. There you explore the place, pick up inventory items and start seeing ghosts almost immediately. As a reward for completing puzzles, you get another ghost scene. These scenes reveal the history of the family that built the house. There is conflict and scandal.

Cliffhouse

Isn't it pretty?

The screens are all static, as with Oakhaven, and the folks you talk to are immobile. Some of the shots are really lovely, as above. Some real work went into the art. 

This time, unlike Oakhaven, there is voice acting. The lead character (you) is quite good. Others range from excellent to pretty bad, down to just reading out the script. But who cares--this isn't a high budget game. As with the Carol Reed games, I think the use of some obvious amateurs contributes to its charm.

Once we get into a scene, it's fairly easy to find hot spots. The large blue cursor changes to red, so you have no excuse for missing anything. 

Entry Hall

Plenty of exits here!

So far I think I'm pretty far into the game. I've found lots of items, used a few, and done lots of stuff over the course of two or three hours (ha, I lost track of time!). I've played a couple of games of ESP. I've even broken into a couple of rooms and stolen stuff. I was pretty sure I would not get caught.

However, obviously I still have plenty more to do! There are a couple of puzzles I haven't been able to access in the "Japanese" garden (which looks entirely Chinese and is run by a Chinese guy, Lu Ling, who's family has been in the country for more than 100 years but who, oddly, still dresses and sounds like a refugee from the China of the 1850s--no, I don't think he's a ghost). I also can't get into the chapel, and I have a mission to go "in the morning" up the coast to a rain forest, for which I have acquired a map.

The Chinese Gardener in the Japanese Garden

However, somehow I'm going to have to find the trigger that lets me end this day so I can get to the morning mission. I'm in a bit of a stuckness until I find that trigger. Ergo, there is more fun ahead! Ah, how nice it is to just immerse myself in a fun little game made with love.

Tomorrow! Literally!

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