House of Caravan

About

"House of Caravan" is a suspenseful adventure game set in a 3D-rendered mansion filled with puzzles and secrets. As a kidnapped boy, you must explore the house, uncover clues about your capture, and find a way out. With full voice acting and inspired by classic horror, the game offers a fusion of narrative exploration and point-and-click adventure, providing 60-90 minutes of gameplay. Will you escape the dark secrets hidden within the house?

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

65%

Audience ScoreBased on 312 reviews

story43 positive mentions

gameplay8 negative mentions

The game has a creepy atmosphere and decent graphics, making exploration enjoyable.
Puzzles are straightforward and provide a light challenge, suitable for casual players.
The story, while simple, is intriguing and unfolds through collectible notes and letters.

The game is plagued by bugs that can halt progress, including a known issue with a puzzle that prevents completion.
Gameplay can feel repetitive, with many empty drawers and cabinets to search through for minimal rewards.
The voice acting and character interactions are often annoying, with repetitive phrases that break immersion.

story
135 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
60%
8%
The game's story is primarily conveyed through scattered notes and documents, which some players found intriguing while others deemed it weak and predictable. Many reviews highlight that the narrative lacks depth and clarity, often feeling disjointed or cliché, with players needing to search extensively to piece together the backstory. Overall, while the atmosphere and visuals are praised, the story itself is seen as underwhelming and not engaging enough to elevate the gameplay experience.
- “The gameplay is a bit rusty, but you will get a fully narrated story that unfolds nicely with every letter you read.”
- “The creators did a reasonably good job of creating the backstory and allowing it to gradually unfurl.”
- “The house is really creepy and the story will get disturbingly interesting as it progresses.”
- “The story is weak and the puzzles are mediocre at best.”
- “The story is almost completely contained in a series of 14 documents, and the rest is in the opening and ending sequences.”
- “The story wasn't clear; I think I just inherited a house?”
atmosphere
47 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
36%
6%
The game's atmosphere is consistently described as creepy and immersive, effectively enhancing the exploration experience within a beautifully designed mansion. While it features some minor jump scares, the overall tone leans more towards atmospheric intrigue rather than outright horror, with strong audio design and visuals contributing to the unsettling ambiance. Despite its short length and simplistic puzzles, players appreciate the atmospheric depth that keeps them engaged throughout the gameplay.
- “The game manages to create a spooky atmosphere that piques one's interest to see what you will find in the mansion and how the game will end.”
- “When exploring the mansion you can hear stuff like floors creak, wind howling and that does help build an unsettling atmosphere.”
- “While it's a rather short game, House of Caravan doesn't skip on atmosphere and the puzzles are a decent enough challenge, particularly those involving photographs, to keep you busy so that you don't blow through the entire thing too swiftly.”
- “There are a couple of jump-scares, but they are otherwise harmless and only meant to keep the player on edge, feeding into the atmosphere that the game is trying to instill without an actually present, impending danger.”
- “The voice acting is very amateurish and breaks whatever atmosphere is created by the visuals.”
- “The game has a nice atmosphere but it lacks the story and character.”
gameplay
43 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
65%
19%
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it tedious and repetitive, primarily involving exploring a dark mansion and solving simple puzzles. While some appreciated the atmosphere and narrative elements, others criticized the clunky mechanics and lack of engaging gameplay, leading to frustration and boredom. Overall, the game offers a short experience that may appeal to achievement hunters but falls short in delivering a compelling gameplay experience.
- “Played on Linux using Proton, I liked this game; nice atmosphere (spooky), nice graphics, nice sound, really good voice acting, some minor jump scares, not over the top or hard puzzles, 1 to 2 hours of gameplay, more if you're an achievements hunter.”
- “Gameplay is simple and fluid; it's highly integral to snooping into everything. Leave no room corner unlit, no drawer unopened, and no cupboard left closed. There are ample matches to light each corner and lamps to turn on, and even if things are in the dark, you can still find them, so gameplay isn't stunted.”
- “However, I got used to the gameplay after a while and sort of enjoyed the game by the end.”
- “This game could've been quite nice if there weren't so many bad decisions made with gameplay.”
- “Gameplay is just walking around a dull dark mansion opening every single drawer and cabinet looking for photos to solve tediously dull puzzles.”
- “The gameplay itself is very disappointing; I was expecting hard puzzles as well as literally any threat.”
graphics
41 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
51%
41%
7%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players appreciating the atmospheric and artistic style, describing them as decent to good, especially for an indie title. However, some criticize the visuals as outdated, with low-resolution textures and a reliance on older technology like DirectX 9. Overall, while the graphics contribute positively to the game's ambiance, they are not universally praised, with some noting issues like blurriness and repetitiveness.
- “The graphics and atmosphere, in still images, are brilliant.”
- “The mansion is pretty and the visuals are very atmospheric.”
- “Obviously time was put into it - the models and artwork look good.”
- “The graphics are also very outdated, using DirectX 9 and some very blurry and muddy low-res textures.”
- “Graphically unappealing and very dark.”
- “The mansion is pretty and the visuals very atmospheric, but unfortunately the story is uninteresting, obvious, and very poorly told.”
stability
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is widely criticized for its numerous bugs and glitches, which significantly hinder gameplay and can make it unfinishable for some players. Issues include a problematic inventory system, distorted voiced dialogue, and erratic object interactions, leading many to label it as a "buggy mess." While some players report minimal issues, the overall consensus is that the game's stability is a major drawback.
- “The inventory is really buggy, and I was unable to finish the very last thing.”
- “You might know the game from the meme speedruns where the only viable strategy is to clip through the floor, so that should tell you how buggy it really is.”
- “Sigh.. the game is unfinishable due to glitches.”
music
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
50%
25%
The music in the game is generally described as fitting and atmospheric, enhancing the overall experience with a mix of relaxing and haunting tracks. While some players appreciated the soundtrack's ability to create an eerie ambiance, there were complaints about the volume levels during cutscenes, which detracted from the dialogue. Overall, the music is considered decent, contributing to the game's aesthetic but not standing out as exceptional.
- “The soundtrack is fitting and the graphics look beautiful.”
- “Nice graphic & soundtrack leading to an eerie atmosphere.”
- “Sound: the background music is rather appropriate and ominous which makes sense as you're trying to figure things out and you're not quite sure how bad things will get.”
- “I skipped the cutscene thinking it wasn't the end, but whilst the video stopped playing, the speaking continued, with music so loud I have no idea what the speaker was saying (I had the 'music' SFX set to 0 which clearly didn't work).”
- “The puzzles are decent, the atmosphere is decent, the music is decent; decent is the key word for this title.”
- “The music was relaxing and movement was rough with very little direction to solve some of the puzzles, though they weren't particularly challenging.”
humor
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is a standout feature, with players finding it both hilarious and entertaining, particularly through its glitches and absurd scenarios. Many reviews highlight the comedic elements, such as funny narrator vocals and the joy of unexpected outcomes, contributing to a lighthearted gaming experience. Overall, while opinions on the game's quality may vary, the humor consistently receives praise for its ability to elicit laughter.
- “And when I played it for the first time, literally the first thing I tried to do was wedge a chair under the doorknob so it wouldn't open, and the next thing I knew I was a mile above the map laughing my ass off at how broken this game is.”
- “It's hilarious and very easy to wreck.”
- “Narrator vocals are funny.”
optimization
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
Overall, the game's optimization has seen some improvement following the first patch, with players noting better performance and additional tweaking options. However, issues such as item glitches, players getting stuck in environments, and inconsistent performance in specific areas still persist, indicating that further optimization is needed.
- “The optimization has improved and runs better now with the first patch. There are also options to tweak now, and maybe more in the future, but I'm not complaining about it.”
- “The only thing I noticed about the game is that it could use a bit more optimization, especially in the room with the trap door frames, which really jumped around for some reason.”
- “Stuff like items glitching, you being stuck in the cabinets, and other items, and of course frequent slowdowns due to poor optimization.”
- “Only thing I noticed about the game is it could use a bit more optimization; just in the one room that has the trap door frames, it really jumped around in there for some reason.”
- “My only real complaints are that it could use a bit more optimization, and some of the physics on the items are a bit wonky.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by a poignant ending monologue from the antagonist, which evokes a mix of sympathy and horror as he expresses a twisted desire for family loyalty despite his horrific actions. While the delivery is heartfelt, many players interpret it as a reflection of the character's insanity rather than a moment deserving of empathy, leaving a complex emotional impact.
- “Tears welled up in his eyes when he realized what exactly was at stake.”
- “In the end, you escape, and are given a little monologue from the person ultimately responsible for your kidnapping - delivered as a message, some time later, perhaps - hoping that, despite things, you will carry on his wishes to continue the family name and 'do anything for family.' Despite the somewhat pleading, heartfelt delivery of the ending monologue, I think it should be received as yet more of his horrible nature or insanity rather than anything worth sympathy.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, as it involves aimlessly searching through a dark mansion for items to solve monotonous puzzles, compounded by frequent interruptions from earthquakes that disrupt gameplay.
- “Gameplay is just walking around a dull, dark mansion, opening every single drawer and cabinet looking for photos to solve tediously dull puzzles.”
- “Frequent earthquakes halt gaming progress and become tedious after a while.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users note that the game has minimal replayability due to its short length, suggesting that a sequel could enhance the experience.
- “A sequel would be lovely due to the very short length and limited replayability.”
- “Minimal replay value.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The monetization strategy has been criticized for being exploitative, with accusations of plagiarism due to a lack of credit for original artists and developers, leading to perceptions of the game as a cash grab.
- “The developers didn't credit any of the artists and real game developers who created the assets, which feels like plagiarism and a cash grab.”
- “The monetization strategy is overly aggressive, making it difficult to enjoy the game without spending money.”
- “It feels like the game is designed to push players into spending more, rather than focusing on providing a fun experience.”