Not only the best interactive fiction game I have ever played, but one of the best works of horror I have ever read. It really is like being inside HP Lovecraft's world, the suspense is so masterfully built, the clues just difficult enough to be an accomplishment, and the sensory writing is perfectly balanced with the protagonist's stream of consciousness. That being said, this game IS difficult. I had to rely on a walkthrough after getting halfway through and realizing that certain clues I missed put me in a checkmate situation. However, the story is so good that I replayed with the walkthrough anyway just to find out what happens.
"Although it appears spacious from the outside, the house's interior feels cramped and gloomy. The walls seem too close together; the ceiling is too high. The doorways, leading in several directions, are narrow and filled with shadows,
and the stairs leading up to the second floor are steep and rickety. This is not
a house that makes you feel welcome. It is a house that makes you feel tiny and
timid, and afraid of dark places. It is a house that makes you feel alone."
TIPS: there are NO items in the game that you will not need. Take them all.
If you've played the game before- I drew out the full family tree and was stuck on it for so long, thinking I missed a bunch of fathers! Imagine my surprise when I realized I didn't, lol.
