The Boogie Man

About

"The Boogie Man" is a horror-adventure game where players must navigate a dark forest while avoiding the titular monster. Gameplay involves solving puzzles, finding hidden items, and managing resources like light and sound to evade the Boogie Man. The game features a unique art style and a haunting atmosphere, with a focus on stealth and survival.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

82%

Audience ScoreBased on 122 reviews

story26 positive mentions

optimization3 negative mentions

The story is engaging and features strong character development, particularly with returning characters from previous games.
The addition of voice acting adds a new layer to the experience, enhancing character interactions and emotional moments.
The game features challenging puzzles and multiple endings, encouraging exploration and replayability.

The voice acting quality is inconsistent, with some performances feeling amateurish and detracting from the overall immersion.
Puzzles can be overly convoluted and obscure, often requiring a guide to progress, which can frustrate players.
The navigation through the castle can be confusing and tedious, leading to unnecessary backtracking and loss of momentum in the gameplay.

story
71 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
59%
4%
The story of the game is widely praised for its engaging plot and well-developed characters, continuing the strong narrative tradition of its predecessors. Players appreciate the emotional depth, twists, and the impact of choices on the storyline, although some find the puzzles frustrating and the voice acting inconsistent. Overall, the narrative is described as captivating and thought-provoking, making it a significant draw for fans of the genre.
- “The story of the characters and the game was fantastic, with both tragic and surprise events keeping me engaged.”
- “The story is captivating once again and it really keeps you on your toes, making you feel uneasy throughout.”
- “The story was twisted, the puzzles challenging, and all the different characters in the game made it wonderfully nuanced.”
- “The game really has no fun qualities; the gameplay isn't that exciting, the story is rather boring, and the characters are so dull compared to the original Crooked Man game.”
- “Firstly, the story is so slow and doesn't make sense half the time.”
- “After playing through about half of this trying to get the true ending, I eventually gave up on it because, quite frankly, it's convoluted, and I wasn't really being moved at all by the story.”
gameplay
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
50%
21%
The gameplay has been described as largely similar to previous entries, featuring exploration, item usage, and boss fights, but it suffers from clunky combat mechanics and frustrating puzzle design that can lead to tedious backtracking. While the expansive story and writing are praised, the overall gameplay experience is considered lacking, with some players finding it infuriating and not particularly engaging. Despite these criticisms, some aspects of the gameplay are still deemed enjoyable, particularly when complemented by the strong narrative.
- “The gameplay is almost identical to the former entries, which isn’t a bad thing.”
- “Other than that, the gameplay is good enough to carry us through the excellent story.”
- “The boogie man's story is good, but the gameplay is a bit redundant at times; otherwise, really enjoyable!”
- “The biggest issue with gameplay would have to be the clunky yet necessary combat portions, which has been true since the very first game.”
- “The gameplay is incredibly infuriating because if you miss one tiny thing you end up having to backtrack to the other side of the map to find it and you cannot progress unless you find it. Even using walkthrough guides, it can be frustrating trying to progress because it's so easy to miss items and clues you need to progress.”
- “The game really has no fun qualities; the gameplay isn't that exciting, the story is rather boring, and the characters are so dull compared to the original Crooked Man game.”
emotional
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its impactful storytelling, featuring a mix of heartfelt and heartbreaking moments, particularly in its multiple endings. While some characters may come off as emotionally stilted, the main character's reactions to horror enhance the emotional depth of key scenes. Overall, players report a strong emotional connection to the narrative, with some even expressing that it left them in tears.
- “Having the main character be usually unfazed by the horrors makes his emotional parts really shine.”
- “The atmosphere in this game is good, it's not spooky though, but the game was intended not to be traditionally spooky. The multiple endings for this game were good; probably the best bad ending was the 'Boogie Fine Tonight' as it felt pretty symbolic. I also really like the good ending 'Come Rain or Shine' as it was very heartfelt and beautiful.”
- “It really got me all emotional and I am not ashamed to say that it even made me cry.”
atmosphere
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
25%
38%
The game's atmosphere is characterized by its gory visuals and claustrophobic settings, which create a tense and immersive experience. While it may not be traditionally spooky, the inclusion of notes and diaries enriches the world-building, and the quality of music and art enhances emotional engagement. However, opinions are mixed regarding the voice acting, with some feeling it detracts from the intended ambiance.
- “Its gory visuals and claustrophobic setting create a tense atmosphere that will keep you on edge throughout, and its focus on challenging (but not impossible to solve) puzzles means that you'll be spending a lot of time in that atmosphere.”
- “There’s also a good portion of notes and diaries to read, as I love notes in gaming because they can help build the game's world, story, and atmosphere, and these notes and diaries are no exception.”
- “It had perfect atmosphere with the higher quality music, the cinematic art was beautiful and truly captured the appropriate emotions, and the voice actor for the boogie man... let me just say that he deserves an award for best voice actor ever.”
- “The choice to add voices was a mistake in my opinion; part of the atmosphere was the ambience and quiet, and it makes it even worse since the voice acting is atrocious.”
- “There’s also a good portion of notes and diaries to read. I love notes in gaming because they can help build the game's world, story, and atmosphere, and these notes and diaries are no exception.”
- “The shift in mood and atmosphere from the Crooked Man to the Sand Man caught me off guard. Even though I am more of a fan of the horror genre, the Sand Man was a very pleasant and surreal surprise.”
music
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews; while some tracks are praised for their quality and ability to enhance the atmosphere, others feel that certain pieces are unfitting for the game's darker themes. Notably, the removal of key soundtracks, particularly during critical moments, has disappointed players and detracted from the overall experience. Additionally, the voice acting, especially for the character of the boogie man, has been highlighted as exceptional.
- “The music in the game is pretty good with some nice tracks to listen to.”
- “It had perfect atmosphere with the higher quality music, the cinematic art was beautiful and truly captured the appropriate emotions, and the voice actor for the boogie man... let me just say that he deserves an award for best voice actor ever.”
- “Please bring back those soundtracks!”
- “The music is really unfitting for the grueling and horror-filled scenes.”
- “I think the reason was (and this is really stupid to have done) they removed the soundtrack 'The Dungeon of Chase', which is the final battle theme, and another soundtrack that plays after TBM has been beaten. Again, really not necessary, but for some reason in this version they removed it, and now it affected me.”
- “Please bring back those soundtracks, and fix the text and voice acting, please!”
graphics
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The graphics are praised for their gory visuals and detailed pixel art, which effectively create a tense and immersive atmosphere. The cutscenes are also noted for their high quality, contributing to an overall positive reception of the game's visual presentation.
- “Its gory visuals and claustrophobic setting create a tense atmosphere that will keep you on edge throughout, and its focus on challenging (but not impossible to solve) puzzles means that you'll be spending a lot of time in that atmosphere.”
- “The pixel graphics, like the two previous games, are very good; they have great detail with a lot to see, and the cutscene art continues to be impressive.”
- “It's quite possibly the best game so far, with better writing, graphics, plot, and setting (though the puzzles are a bit lacking compared to Crooked and Sand Man).”
- “The pixel graphics, like the two previous games, are very good; they have good detail with a lot to see, and the cutscene art continues to be very good.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The optimization of voice performances in the game varies significantly, with standout contributions from Richard Grundler and the Boogie Man, while others, like the actor for Keith, were less impressive. Additionally, the quality of microphone recordings also fluctuated, affecting the overall audio experience, although some performances, such as that of Helena, showed marked improvement over time.
- “Probably the best, most consistent performances came from Richard Grundler and the Boogie Man himself, though the actor for Keith wasn’t far behind them.”
- “On a nuts and bolts level, just as some actors gave better performances than others, some mics did better than others.”
- “Other performances came off a bit awkward and stilted, though I will say that the voice actress portraying Helena dramatically improved by the end.”
- “That being said, some vocal performances were definitely better than others.”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with some players finding the voice acting to be hilariously bad yet endearing, particularly in contrast to other titles. While the main character's performance is often criticized, the overall experience includes amusing moments, especially during boss fights and puzzle-solving, which provide a lighthearted balance to the horror elements. Players appreciate the game's self-awareness and the comedic challenges, contributing to an enjoyable, if imperfect, comedic atmosphere.
- “There's horror and stuff, but there are also funny moments that give you laughs.”
- “The only thing I found hard was completing the 'Boogie Wuz Here' achievement, which was hilariously annoying how long it took me to not find them but how to make it so I get the achievement! Press spacebar on the red messages/graffiti!”
- “Better than the first two so far! The good ending and bonus was lovely and hilarious, the boss fight with the good end was so amazing too, even with the wrestling moves, had me laughing.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The stability of the game has been criticized due to bugs that hinder gameplay, preventing players from accessing bonus content. Users have reported issues and have reached out to developers for support.
- “It was a new feature to the series, and I wish I had gotten to explore the bonus content at the end with their comments, but my game was buggy and wouldn't let me (I submitted this issue to the devs).”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players indicate that grinding in the game can be quite demanding, often requiring significant time investment or multiple attempts to progress effectively.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “The grinding feels endless and tedious.”
- “I spent hours grinding, and it felt like I made no progress.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Reviewers appreciate the character development in the game, highlighting its engaging twists and turns that enhance the overall narrative experience.
- “I enjoy the twists and turns in this game, especially the character development.”
- “The character development is incredibly rich, making each character feel unique and relatable.”
- “I love how the characters evolve throughout the story, with their backstories and motivations deeply explored.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players generally find the game's replayability to be high, thanks to multiple endings, diverse character choices, and various gameplay modes that encourage exploration and experimentation. Many reviewers appreciate the dynamic elements that change with each playthrough, keeping the experience fresh and engaging. However, some note that certain linear storylines may limit replay value for those seeking a more varied experience.