D1896

About

D1896 is a single player platformer game with horror and erotic themes. It was developed by Arkhouse Telegraph and was released on November 15, 2019. It received neutral reviews from players.

D1896 is an action adventure platformer in the style of the early horror movies, inspired specifically by "Le Manoir Du Diable", the first horror movie ever made (it was released in 1896).

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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58%

Audience ScoreBased on 19 reviews

graphics8 positive mentions

atmosphere3 negative mentions

The game has a uniquely beautiful gothic art style combining Photoshop and sprites that create a haunting atmosphere.
The soundtrack is a melancholic solo piano album that perfectly complements the game's mood and never becomes tiresome.
The narrative and dialogue are intriguing, thoughtful, and richly thematic, adding depth to the explorative gameplay.

The gameplay is clunky, with awkward and unresponsive controls, especially during platforming and combat, making it frustrating and unforgiving.
Boss fights and enemy attacks are often cheap and unpredictable, requiring unfair precision that leads to excessive player deaths.
The game lacks quality-of-life features such as adjustable controls, save functions, and polish in dialogue, with numerous typos and unintuitive UI elements.

graphics
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
45%
15%
The game's graphics are widely praised for their unique black-and-white, gothic, silent film-inspired art style, featuring striking character and monster designs with a distinct atmosphere. However, some users note issues with overly dark or washed-out scenes and feel that the aesthetic, while beautiful, cannot compensate for poor gameplay. Overall, the visuals are considered outstanding and memorable, appealing especially to fans of atmospheric, artistic design.
- “The graphics are okayish. I liked the character and monster designs and the black and white style throughout the game. It kind of makes it look like you're playing an old monster movie.”
- “A fun, brutal ballbuster of a Castlevania wannabe game with stunning gothic silent film visuals and a celluloid filter that really feels like you're playing a game set in the silent film era.”
- “Everything is in black and white with appropriate use of grayscale. There are several gothic variations in shapes and aesthetics; sometimes minimalistic, other times baroque, grossly organic, and also elements of classical art.”
- “While I did say the black and white graphics were okayish, there were some parts that were too dark or too gray or too white. The best example would be the final boss.”
- “Aesthetic takes priority over gameplay, intentionally or not.”
- “Everything is in black and white with appropriate use of greyscale. There are several gothic variations in shapes and aesthetics; sometimes everything looks minimalistic, other times baroque or grossly organic, with elements of classical art.”
gameplay
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
66%
17%
The gameplay is widely criticized for being clunky, frustrating, and poorly executed, with issues such as finicky platforming, broken hitboxes, awkward controls, and confusing combat mechanics. While thematic ideas and visuals are praised, the gameplay significantly detracts from the overall experience, making it feel tedious and unrefined.
- “Most gameplay sections have interesting thematic ideas that keep the experience fresh throughout the entire runtime.”
- “Because such gamers don't care about details and put gameplay value above everything.”
- “Overall, I like the game for lots of things.”
- “Alright then the dislikes and holy crap is there a lot to dislike, for starters the biggest is the gameplay. It's absolutely garbage. First, the platforming feels pretty finicky with a keyboard; it's a little bit easier with a gamepad, but if you don't have a gamepad it feels almost impossible. Then there are these glowing little platforms that you can jump on, but the problem with them is the fact that they feel very, very finicky with a keyboard. Even with a controller, they still feel a little finicky.”
- “Your worst enemies here are: broken hit boxes, terrible platforming in general and clunky jumps in particular, weird and frustrating combat mechanics, awkward and unchangeable controls.”
- “Overall, I like the game for lots of things, but I'm highly disappointed that broken gameplay severely twisted my experience.”
story
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
54%
23%
The game's story is polarizing, with some praising its intriguing, artsy, and vintage horror-inspired narrative, while others find it confusing, unfocused, and pretentious. Many feel it has potential if streamlined but is ultimately marred by excessive, disjointed dialogue and lack of clarity. Overall, it offers a cryptic and open-to-interpretation experience that suits fans of unconventional storytelling.
- “The story and dialogue are intriguing and well realized.”
- “Very artsy story; many things are left unanswered, most are left open to interpretation.”
- “Mirage of Dragon was a very unique game, an exploration-based platformer that allowed you to experience the story in any order.”
- “The story is really bad; it was extremely confusing and felt pretentious, jumping from topic to topic, making it hard to follow.”
- “Nearly every level is repetitive, every boss is the same, and the story feels like it wasn't proofread properly.”
- “The game had potential, but the unfocused story and excessive dialogue ruined it, making it feel like absolute garbage.”
music
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
11%
33%
The music in the game is widely praised for its beautiful, creative, and fitting soundtrack, featuring piano pieces and a silent-film motif that enhance the atmosphere and complement gameplay elements. Despite some players' frustrations with other aspects, the soundtrack remains a standout and enjoyable part of the experience.
- “The soundtrack never becomes tiresome.”
- “The music is incredible and the silent-film motif was done to perfection.”
- “Beautiful piano music, appropriate sound effects, everything is great, with no voices though; the music goes perfect with the battles, hazards, NPC interactions, all of it.”
- “Love the art style, music, and atmosphere, but the gameplay and the suffering I had to go through outweigh those positive sides.”
- “Control-wise, it's a needlessly stiff and plodding mess; the music is okay, design is linear enough to make the Netherlands look positively mountainous by comparison, and it's so disappointing for such a gorgeous game to be so unplayable.”
- “Probably like most people here, I also grabbed the game for its visual aspects, style, music, and atmosphere.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
75%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its unique gothic art style, blending Photoshop and sprites, complemented by fitting music that creates a distinctive and immersive experience. Many players are drawn to the visual and auditory elements, which stand out as the game's strongest features despite gameplay frustrations.
- “A mixture of Photoshop and sprites to create a gothic atmosphere.”
- “When I saw the trailer, I knew exactly who the developer was - the art style and atmosphere so unique it is unmistakable.”
- “A mixture of Photoshop and sprites to create gothic atmosphere.”
- “Love the art style, music, and atmosphere but the gameplay and the suffering I had to go through outweigh those positive sides.”
- “Probably like most people here, I also grabbed the game for its visual aspects, style, music, and atmosphere.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is characterized by unapologetically ridiculous and funny dialogue that provides a lighthearted balance to its challenging gameplay. It cleverly incorporates modern geek culture references and employs a brilliantly tongue-in-cheek style, adding a vintage horror flair to its comedic tone.
- “To keep the game from feeling too heavy, unapologetically ridiculous and funny exchanges are in almost all of the dialogues, and I laughed a little with each of these exchanges; the game sometimes pays tribute to modern geek culture through a few references, and is brilliantly tongue in cheek at times.”
- “If you want a game that is cruel in difficulty, but ultimately fair, which combines a cryptic story with hilarious flair, as seen through a lens of vintage horror, I recommend you get this one right away!”