Shivers 1a: So a Miracle Happened

Yes, I had intended to start a different game, but a miracle happened. For years I've been hoping that GOG would revive the best old puzzle game ever made: Sierra's 1995 Shivers. I was looking for another Sierra game and found that two months ago, they finally did! I immediately grabbed a copy!

You can read about my initial experience with this game here, where I had started to blog about it and eventually abandoned the project. I was playing on an old Thinkpad running Win 97SE, but could not get the game to play in full screen. Then I started over on my old blueberry iMac, but still, no full screen and I couldn't take screenshots on either machine, of course.

But now I have the GOG copy, which runs on Win 10 under the ScummV system instead of DOSBox. And it runs full screen! And I can take screenshots! So of course, I couldn't resist starting a playthrough.

Professor Windelnot was mocked, sadly.

I have probably played this game at least three times, and I remember quite a lot of it, but that doesn't mean that I remember the puzzle solutions. Yeah, you have to solve the puzzles from scratch. I do know how to avoid getting eaten by the ixupis. They make a sound before they strike, and you do have time to turn away from them, so there's no reason to get bitten except for the first bite in the underground lake, which is unavoidable.

Warning: the first video cutscene is really terrible (as is the final one). Don't let it put you off the game. The narrator voiceover is absolutely splendid: full of menace and quite a lot of intentional fun.

The ghosts aren't bad either.

OK, he's a bit over the top, but it works for this character!

I was able to get through the get-into-the-museum puzzles fairly quickly. The gears puzzle in the gazebo was tough for me years ago, but I'm pretty good at it now and it didn't give me much trouble.

Switch the black and white gears in seven moves. Yes, it's possible!

Getting underground also is fairly easy if you've looked around sufficiently outside the museum. Not at all difficult to find the underground lake. Just be sure you look around, because there are two major clues down here.

Our transportation

Looking back at the lake

The "maze" here is a cinch. Notice light sources and you can't go wrong. But then you encounter the first elevator puzzle. These are all over the museum. Usually there are alternative ways to get upstairs and down, but I kinda like these. Also, you get points for solving them. This one's the easiest. They get to be pretty challenging sometimes.

Move the lion heads into a diagonal

The elevator will let us out into Windelnot's office, where we will find some backstory and clues, as well as our first talisman.

Look through the desk!

Read the story so you know what's going on

Our first talisman

So now we're in! We can wander around. I remember where lots of things are, so I just headed on out after solving the puzzle in the workroom (an easy one, but I forgot the secret to it).

Major hint: you can only carry one inventory object at a time. Therefore, you must take notes about where you have left the jars an talismans that you find. I've found the "ashes" jar, and I know that's the first ixupi that we catch (it's in the fireplace). So I'll carry that around until I find it's talisman, which will instantly join it and create the full "ashes" jar. Then I'll be able to go to the fireplace and catch the "ashes" ixupi!

The index screen and the flashback screen are extremely useful. You have to take notes in this game, mainly about where you've left jars and talismans, but the game handily saves the books and cutscenes that let you identify stuff, and give you major clues!

Your handy index screen

The extremely useful flashback screen

So! Here's the museum lobby area, which I think still looks pretty good, no matter how old the game is! These were fantastic graphics in 1995!

Nicely done stuff here!

So far I've found an item in the plants room, and have solved two puzzles in the Mysteries of the Deep room (the siren song and the map puzzle). The map puzzle gave me blueprints of the museum, which are now in the flashback screen, and the siren puzzle opened a door which will lead to a seriously awful maze, but I'll have to get through this door puzzle first. I know where the clue is, so that will be my next location!

You need the clue for this!

I just couldn't stop myself from getting back into this game! The Uninvited, and Gabriel Knight II, and this game are what got me hooked on adventure gaming.

Lots of fun to come!

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