A Salem Witch Trial

About

A Salem Witch Trial is a single player simulation game. It was developed by Digital Bento and was released on February 22, 2018. It received neutral reviews from players.

"A Salem Witch Trial" is a gothic murder mystery visual novel that immerses you in a creepy witch hunt. Investigate the crime, uncover clues, and interrogate suspects in a classic text-based adventure with a dark twist. With gorgeous hand-painted 2D art, an extensive art gallery, and multiple characters to suspect, it's up to you to sieve through the evidence and deduce the mystery.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

59%

Audience ScoreBased on 54 reviews

story12 positive mentions

gameplay3 negative mentions

The game features beautiful hand-drawn artwork that effectively sets the atmosphere of the story.
The storyline, while short, is engaging and offers multiple endings, including a surprising true ending.
The game provides a decent experience for fans of visual novels and murder mysteries, making it a worthwhile play for its price.

The game is very short, with many players finishing it in under an hour, leading to a lack of content for the price.
There are numerous technical issues, including grammar and spelling errors, as well as bugs that disrupt the gameplay experience.
The gameplay is overly simplistic, with little to no meaningful choices affecting the outcome, making it feel more like a guided reading experience than an interactive game.

story
49 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
70%
6%
The story is generally considered interesting but criticized for its brevity and lack of depth, with many reviewers noting that it feels linear and repetitive. While some appreciate the atmosphere and character design, others find the dialogue simplistic and the plot predictable, leading to an overall impression that the narrative lacks engagement and mystery. Despite its shortcomings, the story has moments of intrigue and potential, leaving players wanting more.
- “The storyline, despite its brevity, was an interesting one to follow, with multiple endings available.”
- “Overall, I found it an immersive (albeit brief) story and certainly didn't expect the true culprit...”
- “Lovely artwork and a good story premise.”
- “There are far better ways to present a story than this as it's just an endless click-fest to keep the text moving at such a slow pace in what feels like a way to stretch out the very short premise.”
- “The story is also limited in scope and ideas with very little difference given to any of the choices you make for the endings.”
- “But the story is bland, a lot of text is repeated, and the game is absurdly short.”
graphics
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
72%
11%
17%
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their beautiful, period-appropriate artwork and pleasant art style, which effectively enhances the game's atmosphere. While some users noted that the graphics are not the most advanced and the dialog design is simplistic, the overall visual presentation is considered a strong point, contributing to an immersive experience. The game's aesthetic, combined with its quaint visuals, makes it a visually appealing choice for fans of visual novels.
- “The art style is gorgeous, and clearly a lot of care has been taken with both it and the soundtrack.”
- “The experience is a brief one, clocking in at roughly two hours, but what it lacks in length it more than adequately makes up for with its gorgeous artwork and quaint aesthetic.”
- “Loved the atmosphere in this game and the artwork is excellent.”
- “The graphics are basic models with a few solitary expressions, and that's about all.”
- “The dialog design is very simple, in contrast to the art style behind it.”
- “While the graphics aren't the best, they do actually fit well with the tone and era of the story.”
music
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
44%
17%
The music in the game effectively sets the mood and enhances the atmosphere, with some tracks being described as eerie and fitting for the game's themes. However, many users noted a lack of variation and repetitiveness in the soundtrack, which detracted from the overall experience. While the music is generally considered decent and contributes to the game's flow, it could benefit from more diversity to truly shine.
- “The art style is gorgeous, and clearly a lot of care has been taken with both it and the soundtrack.”
- “The seemingly painted artwork is gorgeous, the soundtrack eerie and the resulting atmosphere as palpably creepy as it befits the game's setting, subject matter and time period.”
- “The soundtrack is great as well and helps even more with the atmosphere.”
- “The music sets the mood very well, but there isn't enough variation in it to really make the game shine.”
- “Somewhat repetitive music, and one cannot load a save during the credits... meaning one has to quit the game and restart it to load and try another ending.”
- “The music sometimes stops.”
atmosphere
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
The atmosphere of the game is consistently praised for its creepy and immersive qualities, enhanced by beautiful artwork and a fitting soundtrack. Reviewers highlight how the bleak and eerie ambiance significantly contributes to the overall narrative experience, making it a key element that outweighs any technical flaws. Overall, the game's atmosphere is described as a compelling blend of visual and auditory elements that effectively draw players into its dark themes.
- “And I really liked that eerie atmosphere which was skillfully created due to the beautiful art and fitting music.”
- “The seemingly painted artwork is gorgeous, the soundtrack eerie, and the resulting atmosphere as palpably creepy as it befits the game's setting, subject matter, and time period.”
- “As far as visual novels go, this one comes loaded with an atmosphere that can properly be described as bleak, which is perfectly complementary to the narrative it seeks to weave.”
- “The seemingly painted artwork is gorgeous, the soundtrack eerie and the resulting atmosphere as palpably creepy as it befits the game's setting, subject matter and time period.”
- “For me personally, immersion in that creepy atmosphere and the strong emotions I experienced outweighed any negative moments, but you should take into consideration all those flaws before buying it.”
gameplay
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
17%
50%
The gameplay is characterized by simple mechanics that work well together with the story, providing an enjoyable experience for players of all skill levels. Overall, while the mechanics are straightforward, they effectively contribute to the game's fun factor.
- “Overall, the game mechanics work decently and I'm pleased with them.”
- “While the game can be played by anybody, it offers a fun gameplay experience.”
- “Both the story and game mechanics have to work in unison to provide a worthy experience.”
- “The game's mechanics were extremely simple.”
- “Overall, the game mechanics work decently, and I'm pleased with them.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, indicating that it can become a monotonous and unenjoyable experience.
- “The grinding feels tedious and repetitive, making it hard to stay engaged.”
- “I find the grinding aspect to be incredibly monotonous, draining the fun out of the game.”
- “The amount of grinding required is overwhelming and takes away from the overall experience.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The game offers decent replayability with six possible endings and a playtime of about an hour and a half, allowing players to explore different choices. However, the ability to save at two points to access alternate endings may diminish the incentive to replay the game extensively. Overall, while replay value exists, it may not be as compelling for those seeking a more challenging experience.
- “However, there is much replay value with different endings to find.”
- “There are two points you can save at to make sure you don't have to dredge through the entire game again just to get the alternate endings, which makes replayability obsolete.”
- “There's about an hour and a half of play time and six possible endings, so there's more replay value than some visual novels out there.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is effective, eliciting genuine laughter from players.
- “Sorry, but it made me laugh.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game has a known issue with a specific achievement ("the adventure begins") that is currently buggy, but users are optimistic that it will be resolved soon. Overall, stability appears to be generally good aside from this isolated problem.
- “There is one buggy achievement currently ('The Adventure Begins'), but I'm sure that'll be fixed or removed shortly.”