Blackhaven

About

Blackhaven is a single player action game with mystery and historical themes. It was developed by Historiated and was released on July 26, 2021. It received positive reviews from players.

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.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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81%

Audience ScoreBased on 258 reviews

story58 positive mentions

gameplay6 negative mentions

The game effectively addresses the sanitization of history, particularly regarding colonial America, and provides a compelling narrative that encourages players to reflect on historical truths.
The attention to detail in the museum's design and the authenticity of the artifacts create an immersive experience that resonates with players who appreciate history.
Despite some technical issues, the game offers a unique and thought-provoking exploration of race and history, making it a worthwhile experience for those interested in educational games.

The game suffers from significant performance issues, including lag and unresponsive controls, which detract from the overall experience.
The presentation can feel overly guided, with the game explicitly pointing out important details rather than allowing players to discover them organically, which may dilute the impact of the message.
Some players found the voice acting and character dialogue to be lacking in authenticity, which can break immersion and detract from the storytelling.

story
114 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
51%
46%
3%
The story aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players praising its engaging and educational narrative that effectively connects historical themes and personal experiences. While some found the storytelling to be powerful and immersive, others criticized the execution as clunky or overly linear, detracting from the overall experience. Despite technical issues and a lack of player agency, the narrative's depth and emotional resonance left a lasting impression on many players, generating anticipation for 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.”
graphics
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
59%
11%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players appreciating the atmospheric quality and aesthetic, despite noting technical imperfections and performance issues. While some visuals are described as decent or good-looking, others report significant lag and graphical shortcomings, particularly on lower-end systems. Overall, the graphics contribute to the game's immersive experience, but optimization and performance enhancements are needed for a smoother gameplay experience.
- “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.”
gameplay
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
65%
23%
The gameplay is primarily a linear point-and-click walking simulator, characterized by clunky mechanics, slow movement, and frequent glitches that detract from the experience. While the story has potential and features some humorous dialogue, many players found the gameplay boring and lacking in engagement, with minimal interactivity and frustrating performance issues. Overall, the game offers a simple experience that may appeal to fans of the genre but falls short of delivering a compelling or immersive gameplay experience.
- “Although the gameplay is very linear with little chance to diverge from the path, the story is interesting and the main character has plenty of funny little quips.”
- “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.”
- “The mystery didn't start to unfold until a couple of hours into gameplay, preceded by two mandatory tours the main character needed to complete.”
- “There were other glitchy/clunky mechanics that were irritating, such as things freezing, needing to click on some things three times before initiating the interaction, the character 'running' being very slow, and others.”
- “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.”
emotional
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
92%
25%
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its gripping narrative that evokes a range of feelings, from discomfort to deep empathy, as players engage with the historical themes and personal stories presented. Many reviewers noted the immersive experience and the powerful portrayal of characters, which elicits strong emotional responses, making it both beautiful and psychologically challenging. Overall, the game successfully combines passion for its subject matter with a focus on the emotional journeys of its characters, leaving a lasting impact on players.
- “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 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.”
- “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.”
- “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 an emotional level.”
- “There is a lack of depth in character development, making it hard to feel invested in their journeys.”
optimization
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
46%
27%
The game's optimization has received significant criticism, with users reporting inconsistent frame rates that can drop dramatically despite the lack of demanding graphics. Many players experienced performance issues, particularly in outdoor areas, and noted that the game could benefit from additional graphical settings to improve overall performance. While some found ways to mitigate the lag, the general consensus is that the optimization is poor and detracts from the experience.
- “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.”
atmosphere
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
11%
33%
The atmosphere of the game is described as compelling and tense, with a spooky and solitary feel that enhances the overall experience. While the graphics effectively contribute to this ambiance, some players noted performance issues that detracted from immersion. Despite its strong writing and voice acting, there are criticisms regarding the lack of depth in storytelling and the absence of background music, which could have further enriched the atmosphere.
- “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.”
humor
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is characterized by witty quips from the main character and a blend of lighthearted and dark comedic elements, reminiscent of Marvel's style. Players appreciate the nuanced and understated approach to humor, which complements the game's immersive storytelling and ambiance. Overall, the commentary and narrative provide a humorous yet enlightening experience, making it a standout aspect of the game.
- “Although the gameplay is very linear with little chance to diverge from the path, the story is interesting and the main character has plenty of funny little quips.”
- “I have a feeling this was written with the Marvel sense of humor in mind.”
- “The commentary was funny, enlightening, and overall fantastic!”
stability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game exhibits notable stability issues, with users reporting frequent bugs and glitches that hinder gameplay, particularly at higher settings like 4K. While some players acknowledge the challenges as understandable for a debut title from a solo developer, the overall experience is marred by instability, including problems with triggering achievements and game progression.
- “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!”
music
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
17%
50%
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 and overall experience. While the game features music during tense moments, many feel that it lacks sufficient background music to create a more immersive atmosphere, often leaving players feeling on edge. Overall, the music could benefit from better integration and a more balanced approach to enhance the game's emotional impact.
- “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.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
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.”