Haunted Mansion was written by John O’Hare and it is apparently the third in his adventure trilogy. I have not yet played the other two installments but it does not appear that you have to play them in any sort of order.
The game is a treasure hunt and you begin on a well worn path bordering a forest. Just to the west is a mailbox with a ring of keys inside. The front porch to a large mansion is just to the south of the mailbox. Once you step up onto the porch you are told to drop the treasures that you find there and type in the word SCORE to see how you’re doing.
This was a pull no punches short and sweet approach. The game does not try to hide the fact, but instead embraces, that it is a treasure hunt. There are 20 different treasures to find and deposit on the front porch before you can declare victory.
A few things stood out to me as I proceeded to play the game:
The map of the game is huge and there are at least 55 different locations. The descriptions of each location take the minimalist approach.
I thought that Mr. O’Hare did a great job trying to evoke a creepy atmosphere. Each time you enter a new location the brief description is usually followed by “you hear a door slam somewhere” or “was that a scream?” or “a black cat crosses your path” or “you hear footsteps” and there were a few others. I don’t recall another game going so out of its way to instill a sense of fear.
There were no puzzles in the game that you had to solve. The game seemed more like a walking simulator disguised as a treasure hunt. The parts of the game that may have caused some consternation were easily worked through because there were very specific hints to be found within books and scraps of paper that you find.
There are some adversaries in the game that act as obstacles to other parts of the map but you have items in your inventory to deal with each of the menaces. There is a ghost, a goblin, a troll, and a vampire that all need to be overcome.
The game probably took me 90 minutes to 2 hours to complete. This would have gone faster if I were not so concerned with mapping it out and being a completionist. The game held my interest and I found myself wanting to finish it due to the many locations and treasures to be found. The author deserves credit for a strong and unique attempt at atmosphere but admittedly this game is weaker than the other interactive fiction offerings in this same year.
If anyone wants to attempt a foray into the Haunted Mansion here is a link which will get you up and playing in moments.
