Barrow Hill, The Dark Path: REVIEW

You are alone in the dark, dark woods, surrounded by witchy wooden effigies, and it's becoming quite clear that one of the local ancient pagans is far from dead.

She's definitely after three teenagers who went out into the woods on the very night they were warned not to go, and she might be after you, too.

Can you appease her before she actually kills anyone?

That's the task you face in this sudden sequel to Barrow Hill, a nifty, atmospheric adventure that charmed the socks off of me ten years ago. We didn't know we were waiting for a sequel, but that wait turned out to be worth it.

Everything Old is New Again

You don't have to be familiar with the original Barrow Hill to enjoy this one, but fans of the earlier game will delight in seeing many of the same locations and even the same items in this sequel, all rendered just exactly right. I think the nostalgia is so satisfying because the original game left us with strong memories of its unique atmosphere. When we see our old mushroom-collecting basket on the kitchen shelf in this game, and the old dining room with the same tables and objects on them, and the familiar lobby with its abandoned vacuum cleaner, we feel as though we have come home.

In the previous game we restored the disturbed mystical balance of a Stonehenge-like site in Cornwall, UK. This time you'll be saving some teens who tried to tamper with old Cornish magic, and regretted it.

But Everything New is Old

Mia is trying to get in touch with her missing and probably dead brother Ben, a character from the original game. She's recruited her friends Ollie and Gus to help her, but things go wrong. Fortunately, Gus has left some clues in the form of SIM cards that purport to show what happened in video.

The teens are trying to use the ancient magic of the place, but they don't know what they're doing, as you will learn.

The Dark Path takes place at night, just as in the original game. You'll be wandering around the deteriorating Barrow Hill Service Station and in the surrounding woods, covering limited territory with a few excursions to other areas later in the game. Navigation will seem a bit tricky at first, until you get your bearings. The game provides you with a handy map to the woods, and your phone features a compass. Once you locate the limited destinations, moving around should become much easier than it seems at the beginning of the game.

Ah, but what do we do in those destinations? There's a "quoit," an ancient rocky den where Mia and her friends have set up headquarters. Mia's computer is there, along with some magic involving runestones that will give you a clue to a crucial puzzle. Don't worry; you'll find the runestones. But can you figure out how to use them?

Ancient puzzles?

Actually, the mostly inventory-based puzzles in this game are fairly straightforward. Not simple, by any means, but solvable if you watch and think, with one exception. The solution to SIM card puzzle, once you have collected all of the cards and found where to use them, simply makes no sense and I found no clues to suggest what to do. My suggestion: once you've found all the SIM cards, try manipulating them for a set length of time. Maybe you'll get lucky. If frustration sets in don't be shy about looking up the solution because that puzzle, unlike the rest, I found to be simply unfair.

The abundant other puzzles are nicely integrated into the environment and although a bit deceptive, as they should be, are imminently solvable. The major ones will take some of out-of-the box thinking, but clues along with thoughtful trial and error will provide you with satisfying success. One important puzzle depends on sound for its solution, so deaf players may have to ask for help on that one. It's a multi-layered, nifty puzzle though!

This is an inventory game, so finding an item often will spark the sudden realization of where to use it. There are a few red herrings, some items that turn out to have no use.

The endgame puzzles will require you to have noticed certain things, to have taken a few good notes, and to have considered things that may not be obvious. They all fit together to supply you will some real satisfaction when you solve them!

Dont' Get Lost in the Woods!

The atmosphere of the game—in the dark, in the spooky woods—as in the original game, works quite well to keep you involved. You might not notice the nifty ambient music, possibly because it enhances the atmosphere beautifully without becoming intrusive. Sound effects, walking through leaves, jarring chords when you find an item, environmental sounds, all fit perfectly to keep you nicely on edge.

The original game was simple on the surface, with an elegant game-long puzzle featuring many parts that fit together at the end. This game comes across as more sophisticated, but that dark atmosphere continues. We have far more human contact in this game than in the original, and some of it might make you jump in your chair.

Smaller can be Better

The Dark Path doesn't give you million-dollar graphics, but you don't need those to make an immersive, highly enjoyable game. Million-dollar graphics usually come with watered-down, stilted committee-style game design, and you won't find that here either. Give me the independent imagination of a small developer any day!

The game comes to us from Matt Clark's Shadow Tor Studios, associated with Jonathan Boake's Darkling Room, and as always in their games, both gentlemen contribute to each other's work. You'll find references to the other games from both developers, along with some sly humor, always helpful to keep you entertained.

I found the game constantly enjoyable, even when I got stuck from missing an item or two. If you enjoy sparring with the devious imagination of one person instead of a corporation, you will find some fun in Barrow Hill: the Dark Path. It's just spooky enough and just devious enough to completely immerse you in some great entertainment!

A most worthy sequel to a well-loved classic, pure adventure game! A definite "A" grade!