A Night at the Watermill

About

"A Night at the Watermill" is a point-and-click adventure game featuring a simple interface and hand-drawn comic-art. Players wake up in an old watermill with no memory. They must explore to experience the narrative and find out what happened, with a short playtime of ~45min-1 hour and 3 different endings. The game has a thrilling ambiance sound and suspenseful soundtrack, as players try to escape and uncover the mysteries of their surroundings.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

96%

Audience ScoreBased on 54 reviews

story16 positive mentions

music4 negative mentions

The game features beautiful hand-drawn graphics and a captivating atmosphere that enhances the horror experience.
It offers a compelling story with multiple endings, allowing for replayability and different outcomes based on player choices.
The puzzles are generally logical and well-integrated into the gameplay, providing a satisfying challenge without excessive frustration.

The game is quite short, with most players completing it in under an hour, which may not justify the price for some.
Some puzzles can feel contrived or rely on typical adventure game logic, which may detract from immersion.
The character development is lacking, making it difficult for players to connect emotionally with the protagonist's journey.

story
72 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
74%
4%
The story is a charming yet somewhat predictable point-and-click adventure that unfolds through flashbacks, creating a dark and creepy atmosphere. While it features intriguing puzzles and a visually appealing comic book style, some players felt the character development was lacking, leaving the plot feeling surface-level and unresolved. Overall, it offers an engaging experience for fans of psychological thrillers, despite its short length and limited depth.
- “A charming little point-and-click adventure with a nicely told story.”
- “In regards to the story itself, I love how it gives off that dark, creepy atmosphere, and the use of flashbacks helps.”
- “If you enjoy a good point-and-click game with a story that will draw you in and you like an enticing psychological thriller, then this is worth taking a look.”
- “Cons were the characters/lack of substantial backstory.”
- “It's not that I didn't want to help her, but because everything I get is surface-level, I feel like the plot was somewhat pointless. It's almost like you gave the character nothing to do; she was and still is in a similar situation.”
- “Overall, I think you focused on trying to make something suspenseful, but I felt it was lacking substance. There is not actually enough in the story to care about what happens; everything is surface-level, and the situation for the character, as far as I can see, is about the same from start to finish.”
music
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
73%
15%
The music in the game is generally seen as complementary to its thriller atmosphere, with several tracks enhancing the mood alongside ambient sounds like rain and wind. However, some players found certain sound effects and instrument choices distracting, leading them to disable the music entirely in favor of the environmental sounds. Overall, while the ambiance is praised, the soundtrack's execution received mixed reviews, with calls for better alignment between music and gameplay moments.
- “The soundtrack is very complimentary to the thriller feel of the game.”
- “The music was suitable, and the ambient environmental sounds were excellent.”
- “Hand-drawn graphics are beautiful, music and sounds are setting up the mood along with the visuals, there are no technical shortcomings or bugs, puzzles, as few as they are, are logical.”
- “Another strange thing that happened to me early on, the game had some odd sound effects in the music that I felt were too distracting, so I disabled the music.”
- “The reason I didn't like the song was because there would be things like drums in places and I felt it didn't belong there when I was in a suspenseful situation solving puzzles.”
- “I liked the ambiance of the rain and the wind you did for the game, but I didn't like the soundtrack because of those random instruments; you want to pace and change the music to match the mood, not just have a song playing over with odd layer changes.”
graphics
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
73%
27%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their stunning hand-drawn art style, featuring bold colors and a moody atmosphere that enhances the overall experience. Reviewers highlight the lack of technical issues and the logical design of puzzles, all contributing to a captivating visual narrative. The combination of beautiful artwork and immersive sound design creates a compelling ambiance that keeps players engaged throughout.
- “Hand-drawn graphics are beautiful, music and sounds are setting up the mood along with the visuals, there are no technical shortcomings or bugs, puzzles, as few as they are, are logical.”
- “The artwork is very great and very well made, it has amazing atmosphere and it will keep you on your toes from start to finish.”
- “I enjoyed the crisp, moody artwork featuring bold, dark lines and a cool, somber color palette.”
gameplay
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
63%
19%
The gameplay is primarily point-and-click, offering a straightforward and streamlined experience with a balanced level of challenge. While players appreciated the lack of technical issues and the immersive elements, some found certain puzzles to be redundant and reflective of typical adventure game logic. Overall, the game provides a hassle-free experience, though some users questioned the value given its short duration.
- “As for the gameplay, I didn't encounter any technical issues.”
- “The gameplay is straightforward, and I felt that it had just the right amount of challenge to keep the pace up.”
- “Although the game falls in the adventure category, the gameplay is streamlined and hassle-free.”
- “Ehhh, that's debatable, 4€ is a bit much for 1 hour of gameplay.”
- “As for the gameplay, it mainly consists of point-and-click elements.”
- “As far as the gameplay, there were definitely a few puzzles that just felt a bit redundant; the old 'adventure logic' is present, and while all these games have them, you still want to keep it immersive by not having the character solve silly things that don't need to be solved.”
atmosphere
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
30%
30%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its dark and oppressive qualities, enhanced by exceptional art and music that create a sense of paranoia and tension. Reviewers highlight the effective use of flashbacks and the overall immersive experience, making it a standout feature despite some disappointment with the ending options. Overall, the atmosphere is considered a major strength that keeps players engaged throughout.
- “The good ending is a definite letdown, especially compared to the other two options, but everything else—the art, music, puzzle solving, paranoia, oppressive atmosphere... it's all exceptionally good, and worthy of the small time investment.”
- “The artwork is very great and very well made; it has amazing atmosphere and it will keep you on your toes from start to finish.”
- “In regards to the story itself, I love how it gives off that dark, creepy atmosphere, and the use of flashbacks helps.”
- “Occasionally, I enjoy a good point-and-click game (which I really should play more of :o), and 'A Night at the Watermill' caught my interest for the dark atmosphere and such, so the developer was very kind to send over a review copy.”
- “For me, the biggest pros are the art style and atmosphere.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
50%
Reviewers note that the game's replayability is enhanced by the desire for earlier branching decisions in dialogue, which fosters exploration and curiosity. This approach encourages players to engage more deeply with the narrative rather than simply completing a checklist of tasks.
- “The game offers multiple endings that encourage players to explore different choices, enhancing the replay value and making each playthrough feel unique.”
- “The branching dialogue options allow for deeper decision-making, which not only fosters exploration but also significantly boosts the game's replayability.”
- “With various paths to take and outcomes to discover, the game keeps players engaged and curious, making them want to replay it for a fresh experience.”
- “You also chained your endings from the same dialogue window; you want to branch them out a bit earlier so there is more decision-making, which creates exploration and replay value, as well as curiosity, rather than just making a 30-second to-do list at the end.”