Westmark Manor

About

Westmark Manor is a single player survival puzzle game with horror and mystery themes. It was developed by Nodbrim Interactive and was released on June 18, 2020. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

In "Westmark Manor," you uncover the mysteries of a haunted manor as the new groundskeeper. Solve puzzles, grow magical plants, and interact with otherworldly beings to restore balance to the manor. With a focus on exploration and story, this atmospheric adventure game immerses you in a beautifully hand-drawn world.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

64%

Audience ScoreBased on 50 reviews

atmosphere12 positive mentions

gameplay10 negative mentions

The game offers a unique Lovecraftian atmosphere with a focus on exploration and puzzle-solving, making it enjoyable for fans of the genre.
Despite its bugs, the game has a lot of potential and features intriguing lore, multiple endings, and a large manor to explore with over 100 rooms.
The developers are responsive to player feedback and have shown commitment to fixing issues, which gives hope for future improvements.

The game is plagued by numerous bugs and performance issues, including frame rate drops, unresponsive controls, and game-breaking glitches that hinder progress.
The inventory management system can be tedious, as players often find themselves running back and forth to storage due to limited space and excessive item collection.
The difficulty level may be too high for casual gamers, with unclear puzzle mechanics and a lack of guidance that can lead to frustration.

gameplay
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
33%
42%
Gameplay in Westmark Manor is a mixed experience, with some players finding it enjoyable once they grasp the core mechanics, despite its rough edges and need for optimization. The reliance on a sanity mechanic for saving and resource management adds depth, but unclear puzzle mechanics and a clunky control scheme can lead to frustration. Overall, while the atmosphere is praised, the gameplay can feel tedious and requires patience to navigate its challenges.
- “While still rough around the edges, and greatly needing more optimization, Westmark Manor still manages to be a lot of fun once you get a handle on its core gameplay.”
- “Some of the mechanics also hark back to classic survival horror.”
- “There is also another aspect where sanity is used as currency with the game's trader and some of the other aspects, where you have to give up sanity to obtain items or perform actions, once again bringing the focus on resource management to the front, a most enjoyable aspect of gameplay.”
- “The number of saves and loads are also limited, and the gameplay is just boring.”
- “With that said, certain puzzles can be a tad annoying due to unclear mechanics, and the touchy control scheme makes more precise actions more of a chore than engaging.”
- “Now it is not without some problems; there are times when going through doors is delayed for several seconds while oil is still burning, as well as some mechanics such as alchemy that could use some additional explanation, for example, in regard to how to make the bronze skeleton key.”
atmosphere
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
25%
15%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its eerie and immersive qualities, enhanced by moody music and sound effects that evoke a Lovecraftian feel. While it may not be classified as a horror title, it successfully creates a creepy environment that encourages exploration and offers a few unsettling moments. Despite some gameplay issues, the overall design contributes to a captivating experience that many players find worth revisiting.
- “Going back to the overall design, the atmosphere and music are quite good, with moody pieces that make the titular manor feel eerily empty and off, and sometimes tenser pieces that drive home the otherworldly nature of the game world.”
- “The atmosphere is fantastic, with just the right amount of unsettling events that keep that nervousness going.”
- “When it comes down to it, Westmark Manor is a game about exploration with inventory management and resource management wrapped in a thick, awesome dark atmosphere with a nice semi-optional story (most of the narrative is delivered via documents found while exploring).”
- “I had such high hopes for this game. I loved Alone in the Dark and was hoping for something similar. While the atmosphere is there, the gameplay just feels wrong.”
- “The game does not classify as a horror in my book, but it definitely has a creepy atmosphere with a strong love for Lovecraftian themes and storytelling.”
- “The sound effects, music, and somewhat flat tone of the main character suit the genre and add well to the atmosphere.”
story
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
39%
17%
The story in Westmark Manor is engaging and intricately woven, primarily revealed through exploration and the collection of documents, journals, and minor cut scenes featuring ghostly characters. While the game emphasizes exploration and puzzle-solving over traditional horror elements, it successfully creates a creepy atmosphere that appeals to fans of Lovecraftian themes. Players appreciate the intriguing narrative that unfolds as they piece together clues, although some may find navigation challenging amidst the exploration.
- “The story thus far is intriguing, following entries in journals, musings of the protagonist and piecing together the clues given in the items collected throughout playing.”
- “Plus there is a story to the whole shebang which is revealed very teasingly with a host of ghostly characters in minor cut scenes.”
- “On the whole, lovers of story-rich Lovecraftian horror will in all likelihood love this one.”
- “The game does not classify as a horror in my book, but it definitely has a creepy atmosphere with a strong love for Lovecraftian themes and storytelling.”
- “I really liked the mood and the story, but I always forgot where I was or which way I took to find the puzzle I wanted to solve, because I found the item for it.”
- “Plus, there is a story to the whole shebang which is revealed very teasingly with a host of ghostly characters in minor cut scenes.”
graphics
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
42%
25%
The graphics in the game receive mixed reviews, with some players noting beautiful artwork but also experiencing issues like frame rate drops, flickering textures, and occasional black screens that disrupt gameplay. While the overall graphical quality is considered good, there are concerns about model refinement and the need for trial-and-error adjustments in the graphics settings.
- “Also beautiful artwork!”
- “While Mr. Westmark himself is a little lacking in model refinement (he's very shiny and a bit blocky), the graphics are good overall!”
- “Merely adjusting the graphics menu was, in itself, a bit of a trial-and-error situation; but the early tutorials were fortunately thorough enough to set me straight.”
- “There are some rooms that have flickering floor textures and the graphics are mostly faded with muddy textures.”
- “There are also some cutscenes and places inside the house where the frame rate drops down into the 40s even with the graphics set to low.”
- “After about 30 minutes of playing, I started getting completely black screens with no way of bringing the UI back (I could still hear everything and tell that I was still playing the game, just without visuals), forcing me to restart.”
optimization
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
37%
38%
Westmark Manor is criticized for its poor optimization and numerous bugs, particularly given its use of the Unity engine and locked camera angle. Despite these issues, players find the core gameplay enjoyable, but many hope for future performance improvements from the developers. Overall, the game's optimization is seen as a significant area needing enhancement.
- “While still rough around the edges and greatly needing more optimization, Westmark Manor still manages to be a lot of fun once you get a handle on its core gameplay.”
- “The overall optimization of the game leaves a lot to be desired, and hopefully the developers continue to improve on the game's performance.”
- “This is a poorly optimized and buggy indie horror game made with the Unity engine that has an isometric top-down view and a locked camera angle.”
- “Still, the overall optimization of the game leaves a lot to be desired, and hopefully the developers continue to improve on the game's performance.”
- “Still, the overall optimization of the game leaves a lot to be desired, and hopefully the developers continue to improve on the game's performance.”
stability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is criticized for being poorly optimized and buggy, with issues that are slightly disruptive but not game-breaking. However, the developers are noted for their responsiveness and active engagement in addressing these problems, leaving room for potential improvement in the future.
- “This is a poorly optimized and buggy indie horror game made with the Unity engine that has an isometric top-down view and a locked camera angle.”
- “What breaks this game, unfortunately, are the bugs and glitches.”
- “First off, I want more than anything to be able to change my review in the future, provided the bugs and glitches get sorted out.”
replayability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
The game offers notable replayability through multiple endings and randomized item placements, encouraging players to navigate differently in each playthrough. This variability significantly enhances the game's value, making it a worthwhile investment for those seeking a fresh experience with each session.
- “I feel like this would greatly help in expanding the replay value for the game.”
- “There's even some replayability with a couple of different endings and the fact that, except for some objects, the rest of the items are randomized, so you might have to navigate the house differently this time.”
- “Overall, this game is definitely worth the asking price, especially because of its replayability value.”
music
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The music in the game is praised for its atmospheric quality, featuring moody and tense pieces that enhance the eerie and otherworldly feel of the manor. The sound design, including effective music cues, adds to the immersive experience, keeping players engaged and on edge as they explore. Overall, the combination of music and sound effects complements the game's genre and atmosphere effectively.
- “The atmosphere and music are quite good, with moody pieces that make the titular manor feel eerily empty and off, and sometimes tenser pieces that drive home the otherworldly nature of the game world.”
- “The sound effects, music, and somewhat flat tone of the main character suit the genre and add well to the atmosphere.”
- “Exploring the manor is a joy, and the music cues hit it wonderfully in anticipation of things to come, or not to come; like a game master rolling their dice at random to keep the players on their toes: a welcome sound design to keep it interesting.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, as it often involves repetitive exploration of rooms and frequent trips to storage areas to manage inventory. This cycle can detract from the overall enjoyment of the gameplay experience.
- “In the end, you'll probably find yourself exploring a few rooms and then looking for a way to get to one of these storage rooms to drop or retrieve items, which can become really tedious.”
- “The grinding aspect of the game feels repetitive and uninspired, making it hard to stay engaged.”
- “After a while, the constant need to grind for resources becomes a chore rather than an enjoyable part of the game.”