Wooden House
- September 5, 2016
- GDNomaD
Get on Steam"Wooden House" is a narrative-driven game set in a peaceful village house, where a calm day turns into a nightmare as strange voices emerge from beneath. Players must uncover the source of the voices and deal with an ancient evil, with only their wits and the game's ambient sounds and detailed graphics to guide them. Features include hounding enemies and no in-game tips, encouraging exploration and independent thinking.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The graphics are decent and create a somewhat atmospheric environment.
- Some players found moments of genuine horror and tension during chase sequences.
- The game can provide a few laughs due to its poor execution and broken English.
- The game is plagued by constant crashes and bugs, making it nearly unplayable.
- The story is poorly translated and incoherent, making it hard to follow.
- Gameplay is shallow, with minimal interaction and repetitive mechanics.
- story30 mentions
- 10 % positive mentions
- 73 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The game's story is criticized for being vague, incoherent, and poorly executed, often rendered incomprehensible due to broken English and bad grammar. While the premise of a man retreating to a haunted house has potential, the narrative is poorly paced and lacks clarity, leaving players confused about the plot and objectives. Overall, the story fails to engage or immerse players, detracting significantly from the gaming experience.
“Moral of the story: you never know what life has in store for you, and if I had given up when all odds were against me, I wouldn't be where I am today.”
“You play as a man who wants to get away from everyday life and decides to take a retreat to his new home, but after a night there, you notice there's some spooky things going on and that's where the story kicks off.”
“The story is that you have rented an old house for a while, away from all the noise and stress of the city; however, one night, the main character starts hearing voices coming from beneath the house and additionally finds an old book that, once opened, releases all the evil that is contained within it.”
“The story is atrocious and is insanely hard to follow, and you barely know what's going on because of the most notorious staple of GDNomads games: the broken English.”
“The story is confusing to follow, and Nomad's bad translations, spelling, and grammar don't help with following a story that has a good concept and setup, but ultimately fails to deliver any form of determination or set an end goal for you.”
“The incoherent story is told through broken English, making it challenging to understand what the story is or what exactly is wanted from me.”
- graphics14 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players finding them acceptable or even appealing, particularly in terms of design and aesthetics, while others criticize them for being subpar, with poor textures and a lack of polish compared to previous titles. Overall, the visuals are described as decent but not of AAA quality, and many players express disappointment in the downgrade from earlier games.
“I thought the graphics were decent and I kind of liked the chiming sound that would help to sort of guide me through the story so I didn't get too confused about my objectives.”
“The one thing that I loved were the graphics; if you look beyond the poor English and jump scares, there really is a very pretty game under it all.”
“The visuals are great, and I like the design of the house, as well as the interesting look of the doors in the basement... very nice~”
“Graphics and sound have been severely downgraded from the developer's previous titles, as these were really the only two things I praised in their earlier entries. It's disappointing to not get something appealing to look at or listen to.”
“Much of the store page is also fabricated: 'lustrous graphics, allowing you to see in bloody detail.' Sure, they're okay, but they're not AAA quality.”
“Story is stupid, mechanics are a mess, sound is laughable, and graphics are cheap and nasty.”
- gameplay12 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The gameplay is criticized for its poorly functioning mechanics, bland environments, and lack of engaging content, with only a few moments of potential. Players find the experience slow, uneventful, and frustrating, with inadequate puzzles and subpar animations, leading to an overall disappointing impression. Despite some glimpses of a good horror game, the execution falls short, resulting in a lackluster experience.
“In short, the gameplay has glimpses and short spells of something that could be in a good horror game, and the game shows some real potential at times but is let down with the rest of the game being slow, uneventful, and not scary.”
“Not the worst indie horror I have played, but overall, even at the low price, at most you get an hour of gameplay.”
“There is a puzzle mechanic in this game, but just only at the end, so you have to figure out the solution then.”
“Well, it isn't worse than Autumn Dream as most mechanics don't work properly, but the wooden house is so bland in every way it provides to the player.”
“In short, the gameplay has glimpses and short spells of something that could be in a good horror game, but is let down with the rest of the game being slow, uneventful, and not scary.”
“Puzzles were poor and the game mechanics added to the frustration.”
- atmosphere5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 40 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is noted for its greyish tone and effective use of sound and environment to create a horror ambiance, which shines in a few well-executed moments. However, these highlights are overshadowed by an overall lack of consistency, leaving players with only fleeting glimpses of the potential for a truly immersive experience. While the atmosphere is appreciated, it ultimately stands out as the game's sole strength amidst a less compelling overall execution.
“The horror in this game doesn't rely as much on cheap jumpscares but now on trying to create a horror ambiance with its sound, environment, and atmosphere, which actually work in some parts of the game when it comes to its level design.”
“I do enjoy the atmosphere that this game creates, but that's about the only good thing that I can say about it.”
“It was atmospheric and would have been a great addition if the rest of the experience had been up to par.”
“Other than that, I think this is one of the better looking nomad games, because of the greyish tone which I think creates a slightly better atmosphere, but not by much.”
“However, these small glimpses into what a horror game should be consistently filled with are literally all you get. These two moments are pretty well done, but then are surrounded by an atmosphere which, like these two moments, only have slight glimpses and moments of something that could be good but doesn't live up to the rest of the game.”
- music4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players enjoying the chase scene tracks while finding the overall soundtrack lacking originality and poorly suited to the game's environments. The ambient music is criticized for being recycled from previous titles, and the jump scare music is described as redundant and disappointing.
“I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
“The music for the chase scenes at the end of the game in the last 2 acts is pretty good.”
“The music for the chase scenes at the end of the game in the last 2 acts is pretty good, but nothing else really stood out to me. The ambience promised in the description is just the same old music that Nomad has reused from his other titles, and here it doesn't fit the environment well.”
“The music associated with the jump scares was redundant and disappointing.”
- humor4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by its unintentional comedic elements, with players finding amusement in the reused audio and overall poor execution, leading to a "hilariously bad" experience. Many users report laughing throughout their playthrough, suggesting that the game's flaws contribute to its comedic charm rather than detract from it.
“Is it wrong that I was laughing the whole time?”
“This game is hilariously bad.”
“Bad in a hilarious way.”
- replayability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The game is criticized for its lack of replayability, with users noting that it can be completed in under half an hour and offers no incentives or factors to encourage a second playthrough.
“The game offers no replayability and no factors to make you want to play it again, so it's short and gives no reason for you to play it a second time through.”
“This game is easily beatable in less than half an hour, and there's no replayability whatsoever.”
“- no replayability”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability has been heavily criticized, with users reporting numerous bugs and glitches that significantly detract from the overall experience, leading to disappointment over its commercial release.
“I can't believe this game is sold for actual money considering it's a buggy mess and the game is terrible overall.”
“Too many glitches.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Reviewers note that while the game has potential as a short experience, it requires further optimization to enhance stability and overall performance.
“There's quite a bit of real potential as a short experience for this title; it just needs a little love in the copy editing department and maybe some more optimization so that the game is a bit more stable.”
