The Horror Of Salazar House
- October 15, 2020
- Maldo19
- 3h median play time
Get on Steam"The Horror of Salazar House" is a gothic, point-and-click adventure game with Virtual Boy style graphics and rotoscoped cut-scenes. As reporter Elisa, investigate the abandoned mansion of a missing author and uncover its haunting secrets. With multiple endings, customizable color palettes, and available in multiple languages, can you solve the enigma of Salazar House or will you become its next victim?
PC
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- The game features a captivating story with multiple endings that enhance the lore and encourage replayability.
- The retro graphics and exceptional music create a haunting atmosphere that immerses players in the horror experience.
- The puzzles are generally satisfying and logical, rewarding exploration and attention to detail.
- The chase mechanics can feel frustrating and random, leading to unfair deaths and interrupting the exploration.
- Some gameplay mechanics, such as hiding from enemies, are poorly explained and can lead to confusion.
- The game is relatively short, which may leave some players wanting more content and depth.
- story95 mentions
- 42 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The game's story is a blend of creepy and emotional elements, often described as captivating despite its brief length. Players appreciate the depth provided by multiple endings and context clues, which allow for personal interpretation and engagement with the narrative. While some find the story simplistic or generic, many highlight its effective atmosphere, intriguing lore, and the emotional weight it carries, making it a compelling experience overall.
“The horror of Salazar House tells the story of a journalist that is sent to investigate what happened inside the house and, as expected, gets involved in something terrifying.”
“A nice little horror game, made by one guy from Chile, and it tells a really compelling story anchored on some historic context; the uber retro aesthetic works wonders and makes everything look uncanny in a good way.”
“The story is well crafted for such a short experience.”
“Looks interesting, but there isn't much to do and what little story there is is rather generic.”
“The story is also rather boring and not very interesting to engage in.”
“It's all standard stuff; I went into this game looking for a story, however, and was quite disappointed when I was done with it because this game has failed to have the depth and lore that I expected it to have.”
- graphics76 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The graphics of "The Horror of Salazar House" are characterized by a nostalgic retro aesthetic, featuring simple, monochromatic visuals that effectively contribute to the game's eerie atmosphere. Many players appreciate the unique art style, which combines pixel art and minimalist design, enhancing the horror experience while evoking memories of classic adventure games. Despite some critiques regarding detail and consistency, the overall presentation is praised for its ability to create a compelling and unsettling environment.
“The artwork is well done and the landscapes, though few, were elaborate and mysterious.”
“The colors and graphics are gorgeous.”
“The visuals and audio design alone created a wonderful atmosphere and sense of dread.”
“The house feels creepy and uncomfortable, and the graphics contribute a lot to it.”
“The graphics were what drew me in - so nostalgic!”
“The game looks great with its color palette and fairly detailed pixel art, but the art style of the game lacks consistency and switches between a weird anime-inspired design to something more improvised and original every now and then.”
- gameplay61 mentions
- 18 % positive mentions
- 70 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is a mix of retro aesthetics and simple mechanics, featuring exploration, item collection, and a hiding mechanic that some players find frustrating. While the chase and hiding elements add tension, they can also feel tedious and poorly executed, leading to mixed feelings about the overall experience. Despite its limitations, many players appreciate the nostalgic feel and engaging story, making it worth a try for fans of the genre, especially given its low price.
“The gameplay is simple but enjoyable enough for its length.”
“Gameplay revolves around exploring the map, locating a series of ritual sacrifices and learning how to safely negate them, all while avoiding the monsters that wander the corridors of the Salazar house.”
“It's like a perfect mix of Kemco/Macventure adventure games and newer horror game gameplay concepts like Amnesia and Outlast where hiding is a main mechanic.”
“The getting chased and having to hide mechanic is more annoying than scary, so playing this feels like a chore.”
“I might return to this if the difficulty gets tweaked and the gameplay refined, but for the time being, it's just not interesting enough to want to fight with frustrating mechanics and bad luck.”
“The gameplay is mostly frustrating, but still very well executed in terms of the style and era it’s mimicking.”
- music33 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its ability to enhance the atmosphere, with many reviewers noting its clever composition and nostalgic retro style that complements the visuals. While the soundtrack is memorable and fitting for the game's creepy narrative, some players found it repetitive over extended play sessions. Overall, the music effectively contributes to the game's suspenseful and immersive experience, making it a standout feature.
“Creepy and sad story, with exceptional music and fantastic art direction.”
“The music is so clever too being based off 'the devil's trill.' The music can be nice at times, but still make you feel uneasy or paranoid.”
“The music sets a great mood.”
“Wasn't a huge fan of the music after a couple of hours though.”
“Audio is mostly a single looped melody (except on enemy spawn where music stops and changes to creepy ambient sound).”
“Music cuts out immediately during chase, which adds to the suspense.”
- atmosphere33 mentions
- 55 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its exceptional ability to evoke nostalgia and tension, combining old-school aesthetics with effective sound design and unsettling visuals. Reviewers highlight the game's capacity to create a chilling and immersive experience, often comparing it favorably to higher-budget titles despite its simpler graphics. Overall, the atmosphere is described as a key strength, enhancing the horror elements and engaging players throughout their experience.
“Great visual aesthetic, consistently keeps the horror atmosphere, and tells the story it wants to very well.”
“The atmosphere is so good, I cannot put it into words; just play the game now, do it!”
“The visuals and audio design alone created a wonderful atmosphere and sense of dread.”
“Audio adds atmosphere but may annoy you if you don't like three simple melodies constantly looped.”
“Unsettling graphics and atmosphere.”
“The retro style works and provides a surprisingly eerie atmosphere, and the animations are very evocative of classic Italian horror films.”
- grinding8 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and annoying, particularly due to frequent monster chases and excessive trial-and-error mechanics. While some appreciate the charm and brevity of the game, many feel that the repetitive nature of certain sequences detracts from the overall experience, especially in the later stages.
“They were tedious and just flat out annoying.”
“Tedious, annoying with too many endings and trial/error.”
“It just seemed like toward the last puzzle it was easier to get caught, die, reload the last save, and try another route.. which got tedious.”
- emotional5 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its ability to deliver a powerful narrative with minimalistic design, creating a touching and authentic experience. Players appreciate the combination of a compelling story, evocative music, and striking visuals that enhance the emotional depth, while the simplicity of the puzzles allows for a more immersive exploration of the game's themes. Overall, the game effectively balances horror and emotional resonance, leaving a lasting impact on players.
“Very elegant, achieves a lot with a little, can pack quite an emotional punch.”
“Amazing horror game that has a great visual art style with interesting puzzles and a story that is both scary and emotional.”
“A touching, sad, and interesting story with catastrophic consequences all around the house you explore.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's humor is characterized by its self-aware and tongue-in-cheek style, contributing to its overall charm and enjoyment. Despite some pacing issues, players appreciate the blend of fun and creepy elements, making it a memorable debut for the developer.
“As it's the developer's debut game, I think it's a great first entry, and I would love to see more based solely on the art, colors, audio, and the fun self-aware and tongue-in-cheek humor.”
“Despite the annoyance of having to spend so much time waiting around, the game was a blast and exudes charm, humor, and a frightening, creepy aura that was really awesome to dive into.”
