Review for The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow
Adventure games, like all art, should evoke emotion in their players. Published through Wadjet Eye Games, The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow by Cloak and Dagger Games successfully blends exceptional writing, graphics, music, and voice acting. It delivers a frightening experience to players, an expectant fear that a mouse may feel when it sees a hungry cat outside its hole. It grabbed me from the title screen and didn’t let go.
The title screen shows your companion on this adventure, Thomasina Bateman, sitting in profile on a train; she’s penning a letter. You can’t see what she’s written, but her pensive expression reflected in the window and the heart-pounding background music suggests she might be embarking on a harrowing experience. The letter is her way of banishing demons or seeking a confessor. She seems distracted. She can’t concentrate on her letter. She can’t tear her horrified gaze away from the putrid purple energy she sees spewing from the gaping maw of Hob’s Barrow. The title screen put frissons of fear in my mind that stayed with me. Throughout my 20-hour play-through, I had to remind myself that it was only a game.
The game uses a very familiar point-and-click interface. Left-click to grab items and right-click to examine them. There’s a map to decrease travel time and a to-do list to keep track of tasks. Along with your inventory, they’re accessed by pointing your mouse at the top of your screen. You can double-click on an exit to skip the walking animation and move through scenes quickly.
Happily, the pixel art backgrounds are reminiscent of Wadjet Eyes’ other published works, especially The Shivah and The Blackwell Legacy. The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow benefits from this beloved art style because the efficient use of details ensures that the player won’t find it overwhelmingly frightening; although the story is disturbing enough without the captivating backgrounds. It would evoke empathy from Rosangela Blackwell herself. She’d find it eerily familiar.
Thomasina is writing a book on the burial mounds of England. She’s invited to the town of Bewlay by Leonard Shoulder to investigate nearby Hob’s Barrow. He promises to help smooth her way. Upon her arrival, her supposed ally is nowhere to be seen, and the townspeople claim to be ignorant of Hob’s Barrow. After a scary nightmare, she discovers a shocking familial connection to Hob’s Barrow. She’s determined to discover the truth, and you’ll help her.
Although she was an avatar, Thomasina seemed more like my partner on this adventure because the effort put into the animation made it seem like she had a mind of her own. She walks smoothly, and realistically bends over to retrieve items. Yet the animators’ extra touches grant her the feeling of autonomy. For example, at the story's beginning, she will tousle her hair when preparing for the day. After a nightmare, she’ll rub the tears from her eyes. During a terrifying part of the adventure, a frightened look will claim her face, and she’ll look questioningly toward the player as if to mutely plead, “What are we going to do now?”.
The supporting characters are animated with the same care as Thomasina. They move around and perform actions fluidly. Animals in the forest augment the reality of their setting. The developers did a great job of visually engaging the player. The sound design, including voice acting, sound effects, and background music, will engage players' ears as well.
The music grabbed me from the title screen. Its throbbing drumbeat stoked my excitement. When I started the game, the music continued to stroke my emotions like violin strings. It is appropriate to the scenes where it is used. When I was strolling calmly through the village on market day, the music was calm and relaxing. It was upbeat and raucous when I spent the evening at a bar. When I was exploring the forest, I heard the sounds of animals. When I finally entered Hob’s Barrow, the music was appropriately ominous. The background music and sound effects are spectacular, though I think the stellar voice acting has the most significant impact by pulling the player into the story.
Wadjet Eye always uses great voice actors, and this game continues that tradition. The voice acting endows the characters with emotion, which heightened my empathy for them. My favorite character was Thomasina, and spending the most time with her was a pleasure.
Thomasina and I faced several well-orchestrated challenges that organically rose from the narrative; they were well-clued enough to divulge their solutions relatively quickly. Even so, I felt two aspects of this adventure were more challenging than necessary and caused me some frustration. Firstly, the boules of Hob’s Barrow were covered in a purple glow. This succeeded in heightening the fear factor during the game’s finale. Still, it was also frustrating because it made it tough to see details and hotspots. Even with the assistance of the hotspot indicator, it was difficult to see what the arrows were signifying. The other irksome aspect of this game was a music puzzle. I had to reproduce a musical pattern to open a door. A visual representation hint was there, but similarly, this was challenging to see.
The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow is an excellent addition to any adventure fan's library. The voice acting is top-notch, and the characters are well-developed and likable. The puzzles are primarily challenging but fun to solve. There are a few minor flaws, but overall this is a great game that is well worth playing.
__medium.jpg)
