Blackhaven

80%
Game Brain Score Based on 238 reviews
  • story
  • graphics
  • gameplay
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Blackhaven is a first-person narrative game that follows Kendra Turner, a college intern at Blackhaven Hall, a historic mansion burned during the American Revolution. Working alone on a holiday, Kendra uncovers a trail of secrets and misdeeds that spans centuries and may determine her future.

  • PC
  • Steam Deck
  • Windows
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

80%
Audience ScoreBased on 238 reviews
story53 positive mentions
gameplay5 negative mentions
  • Engaging and thought-provoking storytelling that effectively explores the complexities of American history and the erasure of marginalized voices.
  • Visually appealing with a well-designed environment that immerses players in the museum experience.
  • Free to play, making it accessible for anyone interested in history and narrative-driven games.
  • Technical issues such as lag and frame rate drops can detract from the overall experience, especially on lower-end PCs.
  • Controls can feel clunky and imprecise, making navigation and interaction frustrating at times.
  • The gameplay is heavily linear with limited player agency, which may not appeal to those looking for more interactive or challenging experiences.
  • story105 mentions

    The game's story is a mixed bag, with many players praising its engaging and immersive narrative that tackles historical themes and emotional depth, while others criticize its execution as clunky or simplistic. Some found the storytelling to be powerful and thought-provoking, despite technical issues and a linear format that limited player agency. Overall, the story is seen as a significant highlight, with potential for deeper exploration in future installments.

    • “Absolutely outstanding storytelling.”
    • “The story was so gripping and immersive, and at times it made me feel uncomfortable, which shows that they did a good job.”
    • “It's a wonderful, intriguing game with a powerful story.”
    • “The story feels like it was written by a middle schooler who reads too much BuzzFeed.”
    • “With the whole preachy story, cringeworthy writing and dialogue which is unskippable, it just isn't fun enough to keep going for two hours.”
    • “All of the characters are one-dimensional archetypes; the plucky intern, the duplicitous boss, the evil corporation, the tone-deaf southerner and so on, which makes the story difficult to become invested in.”
  • graphics27 mentions

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players noting that while the visuals create a compelling atmosphere, they are plagued by performance issues and technical shortcomings such as aliasing and blockiness. Some users report that even on low settings, the game struggles to run smoothly, leading to frustration despite the appealing aesthetic. Overall, while the graphics are described as decent and capable of enhancing the storytelling, they lack optimization and can be demanding on hardware.

    • “The graphics, while not technically perfect or mind-blowing, are perfect in terms of creating an atmosphere.”
    • “Blackhaven boasts strong writing and voice acting, good-looking visuals, a compelling (tense) atmosphere, and - perhaps most impressively - palpable yet realistic suspense.”
    • “Still, amazing storytelling and fantastic story with pretty good graphics and great historically-based information.”
    • “Graphical shortcomings and aliasing.”
    • “Sadly, the graphics are quite bad.”
    • “While the overall graphics are okay to look at, the more you look at them, the more imperfections and block-like appearance you notice.”
  • gameplay22 mentions

    The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it simplistic and often boring, typical of walking simulators. Critiques highlight awkward movement mechanics, clunky controls, and frustrating design choices, such as the lack of a crouching mechanic. While some appreciate the game's narrative potential and concept, they feel that the execution falls short, leading to a lack of engagement and numerous performance issues.

    • “Strongly recommend checking it out and supporting this work as it feels close to developing an interesting approach between history and gameplay.”
    • “The gameplay is nice and this can be played in a single sitting.”
    • “Gameplay-wise it's simple; controls are similar to any walking sim.”
    • “However, the movement is somewhat awkward at times (sluggish turning and somewhat imprecise movement mechanics), and the lack of a crouching mechanic was often frustrating when I was trying to look through the many drawers throughout the Blackhaven Hall Historical Society.”
    • “But the gameplay is incredibly boring.”
    • “It took me over 2 hours to log 0.4 hours of gameplay - the game crashed enough times that I finally just quit trying to play it - at one point I had to restart my PC because my graphics display went haywire - I finally got through the initial 'quiz part' and when I went to go outside it crashed again (black screen), so I gave up and will uninstall.”
  • optimization11 mentions

    The game's optimization has received significant criticism, with users reporting inconsistent frame rates that can drop dramatically despite minimal graphical demands. Many players experienced performance issues, particularly in outdoor areas, and noted a lack of adjustable settings to improve the situation. Overall, while some found ways to mitigate the lag, the optimization remains a major drawback.

    • “Now I know Unity is not very well optimized, but it's still strange that it runs at a crisp 60fps for 95% of the time and then sometimes it'll drop to around 25 when nothing is happening at all.”
    • “If you can handle some lag and some performance issues, it's worth experiencing.”
    • “The framerate performance was not well optimized, but I set the mouse sensitivity on the lowest setting in the game and just plodded around slowly and it didn't detract too much.”
    • “The engine also has some strange performance issues, especially considering that the game doesn't do anything particularly graphics intensive.”
    • “The second problem is that the performance for this game is truly awful.”
    • “Eventually I ended up playing the game at 720p, which, given I'm using an RTX 2060, is some crappy performance.”
  • emotional11 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its gripping and immersive narrative, which evokes a range of feelings from discomfort to deep empathy, particularly regarding historical injustices. Players appreciate the passionate storytelling that centers on personal journeys and the pursuit of truth, often leading to profound emotional responses, including laughter, anger, and tears. While some players may have varying levels of emotional connection based on their backgrounds, the game's ability to engage and resonate with diverse audiences is widely recognized.

    • “The narrative is really on-point, and uses its location to reinforce the emotional beat of the story.”
    • “I laughed with Kendra, I cried at what Dorothy went through, I raged at the arrogance of the Harwoods, and was shocked at all the lies of the historical society.”
    • “It's very clear that the people working on this had a lot of passion and broad knowledge on the topics covered, and yet they are able to center the focus on an emotional journey about following in someone's footsteps - a lot of someones - and bringing the truth to light because it deserves to be heard.”
    • “The game fails to evoke any real emotions, leaving players feeling disconnected and uninterested.”
    • “The story is so dull that it doesn't resonate with players on any emotional level.”
    • “There is a lack of depth in the characters, making it hard to feel anything for their struggles.”
  • atmosphere9 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is described as compelling and tense, with a spooky and solitary feel that effectively creates suspense, despite some technical limitations and performance issues. While the visuals and writing contribute positively to the overall ambiance, some players feel that the lack of background music and pacing detracts from the experience. Overall, the game successfully evokes a powerful and immersive atmosphere, though it could benefit from improved optimization and a more engaging narrative structure.

    • “The graphics, while not technically perfect or mind-blowing, are perfect in terms of creating an atmosphere.”
    • “Blackhaven boasts strong writing and voice acting, good-looking visuals, a compelling (tense) atmosphere, and - perhaps most impressively - palpable yet realistic suspense.”
    • “I'd agree that this can be a very powerful and insightful game and its story is both gruesome and authentic, but half the running time or double the amount of actual events, gameplay, or atmosphere would've done wonders for me.”
    • “The game could use some background music though; the atmosphere feels like a horror game and left me on edge the entire time.”
    • “The solitary atmosphere appeals to me.”
  • humor7 mentions

    The humor in the game is characterized by a Marvel-like wit, blending mild educational elements with a funny and engaging narrative. Players appreciate the nuanced and understated comedic moments, including dark humor, which enhance the overall experience without relying on typical threats. The commentary is also highlighted as both humorous and enlightening, contributing to the game's charm.

    • “I have a feeling this was written with a Marvel sense of humor in mind.”
    • “The commentary was funny, enlightening, and overall fantastic!”
    • “The story unfolds at your own pace and has real punch to it, with moments of dark humor.”
  • stability6 mentions

    The game exhibits notable stability issues, with frequent bugs and glitches that hinder gameplay, particularly at higher settings like 4K. While some players acknowledge these problems as understandable given the developer's solo status, the overall experience is marred by instability, including unresponsive achievements and crashes that prevent completion.

    • “Still a little buggy and hitched a little while playing at 4K on high, but as it's the first game from a new solo dev, it's understandable.”
    • “Glitches - firstly, on the tour, I had to read some of the placards two, three, and even four times before they would trigger the associated achievement.”
    • “Game glitches out halfway through and you can't complete!”
  • music6 mentions

    The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players noting that it can be overly loud and melodramatic, detracting from the voice tracks. While the music is present during tense moments, many feel that the game would benefit from more ambient background music to enhance the atmosphere and provide a sense of calm. Overall, the lack of consistent musical elements leaves the experience feeling somewhat incomplete.

    • “The music, different narrator, multiple locations (maybe Jefferson's home in Barboursville that burned down on Christmas).”
    • “Still, despite some weird music/voice mixing, it was an interesting and impactful game if you are able to put yourself into the shoes of others.”
    • “The game could use some background music though; the atmosphere feels like a horror game and left me on edge the entire time.”
    • “The music is a little loud compared to the voice tracks and comes off a bit melodramatic at times.”
    • “The music, which only came on during very tense parts, didn't help either. Some nice ambience to make it feel more calm and safe would have been nice.”
  • grinding2 mentions

    Players find the grinding elements of the game to be overly tedious, suggesting that while some tasks are designed to reflect the main character's mood, the experience is hindered by clunky controls and a lack of polish. Improvements in the user interface and task design could enhance engagement and reduce frustration.

    • “Some of the parts are, I think, meant to feel a little tedious to capture the main character's mood, but it should really be the activity and not the UI that creates that feeling.”
    • “A lot of the tasks seemed a bit too tedious, and a little bit of polish to the controls would be helpful.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

3hMedian play time
3hAverage play time
1-4hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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