Waxworks: Curse of the Ancestors

About

In Waxworks: Curse of the Ancestors, players explore a sprawling waxwork museum to lift curses afflicting their ancestors. Each diorama presents unique puzzles and challenges in different historical settings, from Ancient Egypt to Victorian England. Players must collect and use items, interact with characters, and make choices that affect the narrative's outcome in this immersive horror adventure game.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

Waxworks: Curse of the Ancestors screenshot

54%

Audience ScoreBased on 48 reviews

gameplay4 positive mentions

stability6 negative mentions

The game captures the atmosphere of the original Waxworks, providing a nostalgic experience for fans.
The addition of voice acting and a more immersive HUD enhances the gameplay experience.
The developers show dedication to improving the game, with ongoing updates and communication with players.

The game is riddled with bugs and performance issues, making it frustrating and often unplayable.
Combat mechanics are janky and poorly executed, leading to a lack of satisfaction in gameplay.
The remake lacks the depth and polish of the original, with many features missing or poorly implemented.

gameplay
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
61%
17%
Gameplay reviews highlight a mix of strengths and weaknesses. While some players appreciate the atmospheric design and the blend of various gameplay mechanics in titles like Waxworks, others criticize the clunky controls, poorly placed save points, and lack of depth in combat and story. Overall, the gameplay experience is described as inconsistent, with some elements feeling outdated or poorly executed, leading to a sense of frustration rather than enjoyment.
- “This game is a full 3D remake with real-time combat, voice acting, lighting mechanics, fog, and more.”
- “Visually pleasing, fun gameplay, great atmosphere, and the voice acting is okay.”
- “Waxworks' greatest strength was mixing multiple themes (each waxwork) with multiple types of gameplay/mechanics in a rather confusing and thrilling dungeon crawler/point-and-click/grid-based RPG.”
- “Save points are poorly placed and sometimes may put you directly in harm's way or break game mechanics.”
- “It's a soulless nostalgia cash-grab, with bare-minimum effort placed into mechanics beneath stock textures, lazy map design, and clunky combat.”
- “The Victorian era (aka Jack the Ripper) is known for its 'stealth' gameplay with minor combat (you cannot even attack at all until the end); however, the atmosphere was the best, and you have to play smart and fast in order not to get caught by the lynching mob or the police.”
music
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
56%
19%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews; while some players appreciate the atmospheric and high-quality recreation of the original soundtrack, others lament the lack of music compared to the memorable MIDI tracks from the 1992 version. Overall, the game's sound design contributes to its eerie atmosphere, but some users feel that the music is insufficient and even criticize the decision to sell the soundtrack separately.
- “As a preface to this review, I should mention that I played the original MS-DOS release of this game as a kid and fell in love with the creepy, violent art, the bone-chilling music, and the eerie atmosphere.”
- “The game is a love letter to the original; the soundtrack has been recreated in very high quality and even improved.”
- “The game is very atmospheric, has pretty graphics, great music but mediocre animations and sound.”
- “Music is almost non-existent: the original game from 1992 had very memorable MIDI music.”
- “Insult to injury, they're selling the soundtrack for $5.”
- “Music is almost non-existent: the original game from 1992 had very memorable MIDI music.”
story
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
36%
21%
The story is generally praised for its engaging narrative, but many players find it hindered by incomplete dialogues and a lack of depth, leading to logical inconsistencies. Additionally, the absence of a tutorial and numerous bugs detract from the overall experience, making it difficult for some to fully enjoy the storyline. Despite these issues, the game's visuals and premise are noted as appealing.
- “Story: great”
- “Looks great and has a really good story!”
- “To buggy I really tried to play it; I loved the story but it is just unplayable.”
- “Some of the dialogues are incomplete, so the story does not make logical sense.”
- “The graphics and the sound are terribly outdated, the story has no real depth, the subtitles have numerous typos, the unrewarding gameplay consists mostly of running annoying chores, the controls are clumsy, and the fighting part is outright atrocious.”
- “No tutorial: you're not getting any explanation in this game, aside from the quest tracker.”
atmosphere
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
21%
21%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its faithful recreation of the original's eerie and creepy aesthetic, enhanced by visually pleasing graphics and haunting music. Players appreciate the immersive Victorian setting, which effectively complements the stealth gameplay, creating a tense experience as they navigate threats from mobs and police. While some elements like animations and sound may be lacking, the overall atmosphere remains a standout feature that captivates both new and returning players.
- “But when I stepped into that bloody mine, I enjoyed myself so much I didn't mind any of that. The game wonderfully captures the atmosphere of the original and builds upon it by adding new elements, like poison level and health management.”
- “As a preface to this review, I should mention that I played the original MS-DOS release of this game as a kid and fell in love with the creepy, violent art, the bone-chilling music, and the eerie atmosphere.”
- “As someone who's played the original, I have to admit that this is pretty faithful in terms of the atmosphere and the overall look and feel of the original while being its own thing.”
- “- Decent atmosphere, can hold a candle to the pixel art of the first game.”
graphics
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
The graphics of the game are generally considered outdated, reminiscent of 2005, with some users noting that while the visuals can be atmospheric and appealing, they suffer from low framerates at higher settings, impacting gameplay, particularly in combat. Despite these issues, some reviewers find the graphics acceptable for an indie title, though they highlight mediocre animations and sound as additional drawbacks. Overall, the graphics are seen as a mixed bag, with potential that is not fully realized.
- “Graphics are good; while you can't expect crispy, sharp 4K textures in a small indie game, it doesn't need to hide from other modern indie titles.”
- “Graphics: good”
- “The graphics and the sound are terribly outdated, the story has no real depth, the subtitles have numerous typos, the unrewarding gameplay consists mostly of running annoying chores, the controls are clumsy and the fighting part is outright atrocious.”
- “The game is very atmospheric, has pretty graphics, great music but mediocre animations and sound.”
- “Playing on the highest graphics settings is a detriment: certain actions, especially combat, malfunction at higher framerates, such as lighting enemies on fire.”
stability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with numerous reports of bugs and glitches that render it nearly unplayable. Users have noted issues with gamepad controls and persistent problems like subtitles not turning off, contributing to an overall frustrating experience.
- “The gamepad controls are flawed and incomplete, buggy (I explicitly turn off subtitles - yet they are there), and everything else is just... a joke.”
- “It's too buggy; I really tried to play it. I loved the story, but it is just unplayable.”
- “There are bugs and glitches aplenty, even game-breaking; sometimes...”