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The Story of Henry Bishop

The Story of Henry Bishop Game Cover
79%Game Brain Score
story, atmosphere
grinding, stability
79% User Score Based on 147 reviews

Platforms

PCWindows
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The Story of Henry Bishop Game Cover

About

The Story of Henry Bishop is a single player action adventure game. It was developed by Blazes Games and was released on November 7, 2019. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

"The Story of Henry Bishop" is a narrative-driven game where you play as Henry, a real estate agent in the 1970s. When a mysterious client, Mr. Johnson, shows interest in an old mansion in Maine with a dark history, Henry is drawn into a series of unsettling events that change his life forever. As Henry, you will uncover the terrifying truth behind the house and confront your deepest fears.

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The Story of Henry Bishop screenshot
The Story of Henry Bishop screenshot
The Story of Henry Bishop screenshot
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79%
Audience ScoreBased on 147 reviews
story25 positive mentions
grinding3 negative mentions
  • The game features a haunting and emotionally charged story that effectively explores themes of trauma and mental struggle.
  • The atmosphere is immersive, with a minimalist art style and sound design that heightens tension and dread.
  • Despite its flaws, the game is a worthwhile experience for fans of narrative-driven horror, especially given its low price point.
  • The combat system is clunky and poorly executed, leading to frustrating encounters, especially during boss fights.
  • The game suffers from technical issues, including bugs and optimization problems that can hinder gameplay.
  • Voice acting and dialogue quality are subpar, detracting from the overall immersion and experience.
  • story
    101 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story of "The Story of Henry Bishop" is a short yet engaging psychological horror narrative that explores themes of trauma and regret through the protagonist's fragmented memories. While some players appreciate its haunting atmosphere and emotional depth, others criticize its predictability and lack of coherence, noting that the plot feels familiar and at times disjointed. Overall, the game offers a compelling experience for those who enjoy indie horror, despite some technical flaws and a brief runtime.

    • “The story of Henry Bishop is a haunting and emotionally charged psychological horror game that delivers a deeply personal narrative wrapped in an unsettling atmosphere.”
    • “The game invites players to explore the fragmented memories and dark secrets of Henry Bishop’s troubled past, blending storytelling with eerie exploration.”
    • “The story is thoughtful and well-written, exploring themes of trauma, regret, and mental struggle.”
    • “The biggest drawback to the game was actually the flow of the story.”
    • “The problem with 'The Story of Henry Bishop' is the voice acting.”
    • “The storyline for this game veers from element to element like a drunk driver, and in the final analysis, almost none of the plot makes sense (too many disparate elements which really don't cohere together well at all).”
  • atmosphere
    29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of "The Story of Henry Bishop" is widely praised for its haunting and emotionally charged qualities, effectively creating a sense of spooky dread without relying on jump scares. Players appreciate the game's detailed graphics, eerie sound design, and the way it builds tension through narrative and environmental cues, although some noted that certain audio effects detracted from the overall experience. Overall, the atmosphere stands out as a strong point, making it a compelling choice for fans of atmospheric horror games.

    • “The story of Henry Bishop is a haunting and emotionally charged psychological horror game that delivers a deeply personal narrative wrapped in an unsettling atmosphere.”
    • “It doesn’t rely heavily on jump scares but rather builds tension through atmosphere, narrative, and subtle environmental cues.”
    • “The atmosphere, the sounds, the lights... the fact that there's a variety of creepy enemies and you panic every time you come across one of them... and that you can actually fight them!”
    • “4/10 it had the atmosphere of a horror but none of the other ingredients necessary for the spooks.”
    • “And sometimes the audio effects were quite weedy and instead of building atmosphere it actively detracted from it.”
    • “clearly neither voiced by, nor written by English speakers (which is completely understandable given the game's developer) this really takes away from the atmosphere the game is trying to build.”
  • graphics
    27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players noting a dated and janky appearance typical of many Unity games, while others appreciate the atmospheric design and solid monster animations. Despite the graphical shortcomings, many find the visuals charming and fitting for the game's horror theme, with some praising the immersive environments and overall aesthetic. Overall, while the graphics may not be cutting-edge, they contribute positively to the game's atmosphere and experience.

    • “The minimalist yet effective art style and sound design create a tense and immersive environment where every detail matters.”
    • “The graphics and atmosphere were both amazing, played in 4K max settings.”
    • “The story is good, the graphics are nice and the overall design is well done.”
    • “The graphics are very janky and outdated.”
    • “Graphics are pretty standard as far as most Unity games go, but there's an overall jankiness to the whole proceedings.”
    • “I did not expect an indie game to ever require me to turn the graphics down on it; the game just ran pretty poorly most of the time, very choppy and not smooth at all.”
  • gameplay
    22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of the game is described as a mixed experience, featuring a variety of elements such as puzzles, exploration, and combat, which keeps it engaging despite some clunky mechanics and a mediocre plot. While the horror aspects and smooth gameplay are praised, issues like poor level design, limited health pickups, and translation flaws detract from the overall experience. Overall, players find the gameplay enjoyable but recognize it could benefit from improvements in certain areas.

    • “It's a pretty good horror game with just a small amount of wonky mechanics.”
    • “The gameplay here really has a little bit of everything; small puzzles with easy-to-find solutions, minor key finding, melee and gun combat, and stealth.”
    • “The sheer variety of gameplay elements means that you are unlikely to become bored with one particular set of tropes that the game throws at you.”
    • “This game has so much effort put into most of it for a real mediocre plot, real okay gameplay, and real not great level design.”
    • “It's priced well; it's just that you aren't going to find much original gameplay in this game to speak of.”
    • “The story and gameplay are pretty basic for a horror game of its kind - exploring a creepy looking building, solving some riddles, gathering quest-relevant items while getting spooked by the undead residents of the house.”
  • humor
    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is largely derived from its voice acting, which many players find amusingly poor, contributing to a charmingly comedic experience. While some dialogues are hit-or-miss, the overall delivery, including spelling errors and cheesy translations, adds to the unintentional hilarity, making it entertaining despite its flaws. The ending twist also leans into this accidental humor, leaving players with a lighthearted impression.

    • “Also, the voice acting is hilarious; it's so bad I was laughing constantly.”
    • “Hilariously bad voice acting and spelling errors, which are top-notch entertaining.”
    • “I love the voice acting; it's funny bad but in a good way!”
  • grinding
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious, particularly due to the lengthy and frustrating boss fight that follows. The combination of a janky fighting system and the need for extensive grinding has led to a negative reception, with some feeling it detracts significantly from the overall experience.

    • “Who on earth thought it was a good idea to put such a long and tedious boss fight combined with a janky fighting system at the end of this game?”
    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “It's a tedious section made worse because right after is a boss fight that I had to attempt several times.”
  • stability
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game's stability is relatively solid, with only minor issues such as animation glitches and a few invisible walls. Players noted that while there are some bugs, they are not pervasive, and the experience remains enjoyable despite these shortcomings.

    • “As far as bugs and glitches go, the only thing I found was that if you open a door and back off because it's going to slam you in the face, the door shuts again instead of fully opening.”
    • “I've seen worse games full of glitches and bugs; this one doesn't seem to have many, besides some invisible walls I came across two times in an open room.”
    • “This game is short, and I liked the story, even though it has some animation glitches.”
  • music
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is generally well-received, evoking strong Silent Hill vibes and enhancing the atmosphere, though it is described as decent rather than exceptional. While it effectively contributes to the overall experience, it may not stand out as award-winning.

    • “The music in the beginning gave me some very solid Silent Hill vibes, and it was a very welcoming feeling.”
    • “But, if you're looking for a relatively well-done Russian-made game that has pretty good scares and a fair soundtrack, look no further!”
    • “The music is not bad, but it's not award-winning either; it does the trick, albeit by the skin of its teeth.”
  • optimization
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization has received significant criticism, with users reporting poor performance and noticeable asset usage. Many players experience choppy gameplay even on high-end machines, often needing to disable effects to maintain playable frame rates.

    • “The game has poor optimization, and the use of assets is too noticeable.”
    • “My biggest problem with it is that it is poorly optimized. On my machine, I have to play with all the effects disabled, and although I have high FPS, the game gets choppy at times.”
    • “Optimization sucks sometimes.”
  • replayability
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game offers limited replayability primarily due to its short length of about two hours; however, players may find some incentive to replay it to explore alternative endings.

    • “The game offers a surprising amount of replayability, especially if you're interested in exploring the alternative endings that change the narrative experience.”
    • “Despite its short length, the game encourages multiple playthroughs to uncover different story paths and endings.”
    • “I found myself wanting to replay the game just to see how different choices impact the outcome, which adds a layer of depth to the experience.”
  • emotional
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its haunting and deeply personal narrative, which effectively creates an unsettling atmosphere that resonates with players. Reviewers note that it successfully evokes trepidation, making it impactful within the psychological horror genre.

    • “The story of Henry Bishop is a haunting and emotionally charged psychological horror game that delivers a deeply personal narrative wrapped in an unsettling atmosphere.”
    • “The horror genre is designed to provoke trepidation in the viewer/player, after all, so if nothing else, the game succeeds in its emotional impact (at least in my view).”
  • monetization
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The monetization strategy of the game appears to rely heavily on its derivative nature, drawing comparisons to popular titles like "Outlast" and "Resident Evil 7," which may influence players' perceptions of its value and originality.

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3h Median play time
3h Average play time
3-3h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

The Story of Henry Bishop is a action adventure game.

The Story of Henry Bishop is available on PC and Windows.

On average players spend around 3 hours playing The Story of Henry Bishop.

The Story of Henry Bishop was released on November 7, 2019.

The Story of Henry Bishop was developed by Blazes Games.

The Story of Henry Bishop has received mostly positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its grinding.

The Story of Henry Bishop is a single player game.

Similar games include DreadOut, Maid of Sker, Welcome to Hanwell, The Beast Inside, Eternal Evil and others.