Classic survival horror game, which pits you against hordes of undead, unraveling the truth about a haunted house !
Yet, when I revisited the game a few weeks ago, I noticed that they are still as enjoybale as they used to be. Besides the graphics, which are dated but still support the game's general creepy atmosphere, especially due to the cinematic camera angles, the game has a nice storyline and some fair (rather easy) action elements, where you have to face off against undead and other creatures you would expect to lurk around in an old mansion.
The crux of the game are the puzzles, which pretty much resemble the mechanics of a classic adventure games, find items, combines items, use items with etc. The interface however is much simpler than common adventure games (the "actions" can be accessed by "pausing" the game and choosing a stance such as search, push, fight etc.). The game's focus is clearly on exploring the house and being drawn into atmosphere.
The story is not in-depth but still effective. The former owner of the house research into demonic rituals and got himself mixed up with mininons of some "deep one" ( Yes, the game's underlying lore is inspired by Lovecraft !).
The first two parts of the series are very good, the second one being slightly better than the first one. The third part feels a bit odd and disconnected and takes the survival horror atmosphere of the "mansion" away but reallocating the action into a "Wild West" town. While this gives the game the appeal of some B-Horror movie (Undead Cowboys), it is too quirky to be scary.
Anyway, a legendary trilogy that should not be missed !
River