[zane]

just finished scratches and its a whirlwind of impressive atmosphere and huge potential. You play as an author who seeks inspiration by retreating to an old victorian manor. You then go about your business over a series of days in the old bizarre house, moving first person through still environments. The flow of the game is excellent, as you'll do some mundane things like taking phonecalls to setup tension for the odd occurances that start to unfold. Suspense is what this game does best and the music enhances that perfectly. One of my complaints however was there wasnt enough bizarre to go along with the suspense. Ultimately the game wasnt as scary as id like it to be despite the excellent build-up and unforgettable setting. The other problem with the game was the puzzles which sometimes ranged from frustrating to borderline illogical. But i cant say enough about the fascinating design of the manor and how enjoyable it is to explore it through the puzzles. Clearly a huge amount of work was put into replicating a victorian home on the brink of falling apart. I found myself wanting the house to be twice as big and there to be another week of events. Nevertheless, scratches felt like a complete and satisfying adventure game. I'd rate it 8/10