Maniac Mansion

About

In "Maniac Mansion" , you help Dale and his friends rescue Sandy from Dr. Fred by exploring the mansion, solving puzzles, and uncovering its mysterious past. With multiple ways to solve the mystery and a cast of quirky characters, this point-and-click adventure promises hours of humor and intrigue. The game features no typing, allowing you to easily point, click, and interact with the environment. Discover the secrets of the meteor, the strange inhabitants, and the weird objects in this comedic and slightly spooky rescue mission.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

83%

Audience ScoreBased on 120 reviews

graphics8 positive mentions

atmosphere3 negative mentions

Maniac Mansion is a classic point-and-click adventure that combines humor, creativity, and innovative gameplay, making it a must-play for fans of the genre.
The game features multiple characters with unique abilities, allowing for different puzzle solutions and multiple endings, which enhances replayability.
The Steam edition includes both the original and enhanced versions, providing players with options to experience the game in its nostalgic pixelated form or with updated graphics.

The game can be frustrating due to dead ends and the potential to lock yourself out of progress, requiring frequent saves and careful planning.
Some players have reported technical issues with the Steam version, including a problematic mouse cursor and missing audio elements compared to other versions.
The humor and gameplay mechanics may feel dated to modern players, making it less accessible for those unfamiliar with classic adventure games.

graphics
33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
67%
9%
The graphics of "Maniac Mansion" offer players a choice between the original pixelated style from 1987 and a more polished enhanced VGA version, which features sharper and more colorful visuals while maintaining the core gameplay. While the original graphics evoke nostalgia, the enhanced version provides a fresh aesthetic that appeals to modern audiences. Overall, both versions are praised for their unique charm, with the enhanced graphics being a notable improvement without altering the game's classic feel.
- “You can choose which version to play via the Steam settings, a thoughtful feature that lets you experience the game in its original pixelated glory or with a more polished graphical style.”
- “The enhanced version brings a sharper, more colorful aesthetic while keeping the gameplay intact.”
- “Great overall aesthetics that will offer you tons of vintage vibes.”
- “The very first graphic adventure by LucasArts has a redundant command prompt, poor graphics, poorer sound effects, and several ways to make the game unwinnable (I hope you use several save slots on your first gameplay) but it is amazing anyway!”
- “There are no gameplay differences between the two versions; the enhanced version just has better and more detailed graphics, but the original version has a higher nostalgia factor, at least in my opinion.”
- “Before you buy this, keep in mind you can play Maniac Mansion in Day of the Tentacle Remastered, or even play the fan-made Maniac Mansion Deluxe, which is free and has updated graphics and sound.”
music
31 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
74%
10%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players noting the absence of tracks that were present in earlier versions, such as the NES and Commodore 64 editions. While some background music and character theme songs exist, they are sparse and fail to enhance the overall experience, leading to a sense of emptiness during gameplay. Overall, players express disappointment over the lack of a robust soundtrack, which detracts from the game's otherwise engaging elements.
- “Each character has a theme song, and the eerie yet playful background music sets the tone perfectly.”
- “Beautiful colorful aesthetics, clever puzzles, multiple characters, fantastic humor, and iconic music are some of its characteristics.”
- “Music and sounds are sparse as all hell, although the green tentacle has a bangin' tune on his demo tape - I gotta say.”
- “This version of the game doesn't have music like the NES version did, but it has the innuendos that Nintendo wouldn't include in the console release.”
- “But man.. you don't realize until you're playing without the music just how much you miss it.”
humor
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is widely praised for its quirky, clever, and irreverent nature, blending dark comedy with absurdity and creativity. Players appreciate the detailed environments filled with jokes and funny puzzles, which contribute to its charm and timeless appeal. While most find the humor engaging and memorable, a few express that it may not resonate with everyone, highlighting its unique blend of creepy and comedic elements.
- “Even decades after its original release, it’s a game that stands out for its humor, creativity, and groundbreaking design.”
- “The mansion is a patchwork of creepy, funny, and weird, with each room packed with details that make you want to explore every corner.”
- “The humor is top notch and you can usually find plenty of added jokes in inspecting the environment.”
gameplay
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
71%
14%
The gameplay of *Maniac Mansion* is characterized by its groundbreaking nonlinear structure, allowing players to choose different characters with unique abilities, leading to multiple endings. While the trial-and-error mechanics can be frustrating for some, the game remains beloved for its memorable characters and humor. Despite some dated elements like a cumbersome command prompt and primitive logic, the core gameplay is engaging and easy to learn, though players may experience some control issues with the mouse in the point-and-click interface.
- “The enhanced version brings a sharper, more colorful aesthetic while keeping the gameplay intact.”
- “The combination of nonlinear gameplay, memorable characters, and laugh-out-loud moments makes *Maniac Mansion* one of the most beloved adventure games of all time.”
- “One of the unique features in this game was that it incorporated multiple endings and that you could play with different characters for different gameplay options and endings.”
- “It's based on trial and error, a mechanic that most people find quite annoying nowadays.”
- “Yet, its gameplay logic is still a little bit primitive compared to the following LucasArts games, and I'm not a big fan of deaths and dead ends.”
- “Mouse cursor jumps around like crazy during gameplay, which is a problem, seeing as it's a point-and-click adventure.”
story
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
68%
16%
The story of *Maniac Mansion* features a mad scientist and a plot that parodies B-movie horror tropes, allowing players to choose from six unique characters that influence the narrative and puzzle-solving. While the game is recognized for its innovative storytelling approach for its time, many reviews note that the overall plot lacks depth and character development, making it less engaging compared to contemporary titles. Despite its historical significance, some players suggest that watching a playthrough may be more enjoyable than playing due to the minimal dialogue and convoluted puzzles.
- “You choose three characters to form your team, and this choice isn’t just cosmetic—it affects how puzzles are solved and how the story unfolds.”
- “The friends you choose to bring along each have their own way of finishing the story, and the game has multiple endings.”
- “The semi-autonomous characters in Maniac Mansion make the game feel more like a living story, and less like a puzzle the player moves through.”
- “The story isn't that interesting, but it's an old game after all.”
- “In my opinion, it's better to just watch someone else play through the game if you want to experience what little story there is than to actually play this.”
- “Save yourself the headache of a game with almost zero storyline.”
replayability
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
36%
27%
The game offers significant replayability through its multiple endings and character-specific puzzles, encouraging players to explore different strategies and choices. While it is relatively short, the variety of character skills and the potential for discovering new routes and solutions enhance its replay value beyond that of typical adventure games. Overall, players appreciate the depth and options available for replaying the game.
- “The game’s multiple endings depend on your chosen team and how you play, giving it replayability that was ahead of its time.”
- “It's not that long of a game, but it offers good replayability. I went for a couple of the endings and still had some things that I didn't know how to access or use.”
- “Still, with the different characters having different skills, and certain puzzle solutions and endings only being possible with certain characters, there is quite some potential for replayability.”
- “Maniac Mansion has a lot of replayability value due to the player's ability to play the game with a different character composition, changing quite a few of the puzzles and opening up other routes.”
- “- it's short, but replayable thanks to multiple characters and endings.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
150%
The atmosphere of the game is enhanced by basic yet effective sound design, contributing to the overall ambiance, particularly within the mansion setting, which is noted for its strong atmospheric presence.
- “The mansion has some great atmosphere.”
- “The sound design, though basic, adds to the atmosphere.”
- “The overall ambiance feels flat and uninspired, lacking any real depth.”
- “The lighting is inconsistent, which detracts from the immersive experience.”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be slow and tedious, significantly hindering the overall gameplay experience.
- “It makes gameplay go extremely slow and feels very tedious.”
- “The grinding is so repetitive that it drains the fun out of the game.”
- “I find myself doing the same tasks over and over, which becomes incredibly boring.”