Shady Brook - A Dark Mystery Text Adventure
- October 24, 2016
- Storycentric Worlds
- 8h median play time
Get on Steam"Shady Brook - A Dark Mystery Text Adventure" is a single-player Role Playing game with an interesting plot, inspired by the television series Twin Peaks. As author Jake Torrent, you explore a small town's twisted secrets in this interactive fiction game, featuring a graphic user interface that emulates early 1990s text adventures. Gameplay includes making choices, exploring locations, collecting items, and advanced adventure game mechanics, taking about 8 hours to beat.
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Reviews
- The game features a creepy and engaging story that keeps players hooked until the end.
- Simple controls and a mix of easy to hard puzzles provide a satisfying gameplay experience.
- The game successfully integrates meaningful puzzles within a choose-your-adventure-style interface, enhancing interactivity.
- The plot is fairly linear and predictable, with choices that don't significantly impact the outcome.
- Some puzzles can be frustratingly obscure, requiring walkthroughs to progress.
- The game starts slowly, taking over an hour to get into the main plot, which may deter some players.
- story46 mentions
- 26 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The game's story has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it simple and predictable, while others appreciate its immersive and creepy atmosphere, particularly as it unfolds with unexpected twists. The narrative is described as engaging, with strong character interactions and a compelling mystery, though it may take time to fully captivate players. Overall, while some desire a more original plot, many agree that the storytelling effectively enhances the game's eerie ambiance.
“The plot is exciting and it manages to enthrall gamers right to the very end.”
“There are several twists and turns, and although you could guess what's going to happen broadly, the finer plot points, especially the ending, were unexpected.”
“I loved the immersive story. The story creators made a good job in pulling you into the mystery and making you feel like 'there is something wrong here' but you can't pinpoint 'what exactly?'.”
“The plot is a little simple, although I suppose I liked the resolution.”
“I would like to try another game of this style, just with a more surprising plot--I mean I've certainly seen movies with this exact plot several times, all the way to the black and white era.”
“The story is going to unfold in a very narrow field.”
- graphics8 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The game features minimal graphics typical of a text adventure, supplemented by impressionist drawings that enhance the player's experience. It includes still graphics for each location and several cut-scene images, reminiscent of classic adventure games. Overall, the artwork is considered decent, adding a visual layer to the narrative-driven gameplay.
“Each location has a still graphic, and there are several cut-scene stills that contribute to the overall experience.”
“There are some impressionist drawings that give the player an idea of what they are looking at, which is a nice touch.”
“Since this is a text adventure game, there are no real graphics to talk about. All the same, there are some impressionist drawings to give the player an idea of what they are looking at, which is nice.”
“A hybrid text-based adventure game with a graphical overlay, reminiscent of the old Legend games engine used to make games such as Xanth, Shannara, and Death Gate.”
“-/+ decent artwork (each location has a still graphic and there are several cut-scene stills).”
- music8 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The music in the game is noted for its ominous and creepy tones, effectively enhancing the dark atmosphere of the story. Players appreciate the immersive quality of the soundtrack, particularly the western themes that complement the southern town setting. Overall, while the music is well-received, some critiques mention that the story itself feels somewhat lazy despite its engaging elements.
“The western themes in this game are awesome and pull off well the southern little town vibe.”
“The background music is ominous and creepy, which is a perfect accompaniment for the dark story.”
“The writing is decent, and it has music to go along with stills of the various areas you visit.”
“The soundtrack features western themes that are awesome and effectively capture the southern small-town vibe.”
- gameplay4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -25 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The gameplay emphasizes exploration and features time-based events that can lead to missed opportunities for accumulating points and unlocking bonus content, making it challenging for players to achieve 100% completion. The immersive story and character interactions enhance the experience, drawing players into a mysterious narrative set in a small town, though the game's length may limit replayability for casual players. Overall, the combination of exploration, character depth, and a compelling horror story contributes to a rich gameplay experience.
“Much of the gameplay is oriented on exploration, and this title introduces time-based events. This means some events will skip time, and if you don't take care to talk to everyone and explore before proceeding with the story, you lose the chance to accumulate points—over 1400 in this title. This makes achievements challenging and also affects the unlocking of bonus scenes. As the game is longer than 10 hours, it also makes replay value difficult unless you're a 'hardcore' player.”
“I loved the moments of interaction between the two main characters and how you, as Jake, try to live and integrate yourself in a small country town. Many interactions with the locals are available, and in no time, you end up knowing most of them and their routines. To put it simply: I loved the immersive story. The creators did a great job pulling you into the mystery and making you feel like 'there is something wrong here' but you can't quite pinpoint 'what exactly?'. In the end, it's a good horror story, and even if you don't guess it at first glance, the western themes in this game are awesome and capture the southern small-town vibe perfectly.”
“Much of the gameplay is oriented on exploration, and this title introduces time-based events. This means some events will skip time, and if you don't take care to talk to everyone and explore before proceeding with the story, you lose the chance to accumulate points—over 1400 in this title. This makes achievements difficult and also hinders unlocking the bonus scene. As the game is, in my opinion, longer than 10 hours, it also makes replay value challenging unless you're a 'hardcore' player.”
“The gameplay heavily relies on exploration, and the introduction of time-based events can be frustrating. If you miss talking to characters or exploring before advancing the story, you risk losing out on accumulating points, which can exceed 1400. This design choice complicates achievements and makes unlocking bonus content a challenge. Given the game's length of over 10 hours, it significantly impacts replayability for casual players.”
“The gameplay is primarily focused on exploration, but the time-based events can be a major drawback. If you don't engage with the environment and characters before progressing, you may miss opportunities to earn points—over 1400 in total. This not only complicates achievement hunting but also makes it difficult to unlock bonus scenes. With the game lasting more than 10 hours, it poses a challenge for those who aren't 'hardcore' players.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game lacks significant humor, with players noting that any moments of amusement seem unintentional. The characters are described as unremarkable and devoid of quirky traits, contributing to an overall absence of surreal or comedic elements.
- replayability2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The game's replayability is limited due to its lengthy duration of over 10 hours and the presence of time-based events that can cause players to miss opportunities for exploration and point accumulation. Achieving all possible outcomes and unlocking bonus scenes requires significant effort, making it more appealing to hardcore players rather than casual ones.
“Much of the gameplay is oriented on exploration, and this title introduces time-based events. This means some events will skip time, and if you don't take care to talk to everyone and explore before proceeding with the story, you lose the chance to accumulate points—over 1400 in this title. This makes achievements challenging and also affects the unlocking of bonus scenes. Since the game is, in my opinion, longer than 10 hours, it makes replay value difficult unless you're a 'hardcore' player.”
“Much of the gameplay is oriented on exploration, and this title introduces time-based events. This means some events will skip time, and if you don't take care to talk to everyone and explore before proceeding with the story, you lose the chance to accumulate points—over 1400 in this title. This makes achievements difficult to obtain and also hinders unlocking the bonus scene. As the game is, in my opinion, longer than 10 hours, it makes replay value challenging unless you're a 'hardcore' player.”
“The time-based events in this game significantly impact replayability. If you miss opportunities to explore and interact with characters before advancing the story, you can miss out on accumulating points and achievements. This design choice makes it hard to enjoy the game multiple times, especially since it takes over 10 hours to complete.”
“Replayability is severely limited due to the time-based mechanics. Players are forced to make choices quickly, which can lead to missing out on important interactions and points. This not only affects the ability to unlock achievements but also discourages players from replaying the game, as the lengthy playtime makes it a daunting task.”
