Nightmare Adventures 1: The Witch's Prison

Nightmare Adventures: The Witch's Prison
by Ghost Ship Studios

Series links:  Nightmare Adventures 1: The Witch's Prison, Nightmare Adventures 2: The Turning Thorn

Available at:
Big Fish for PC and Mac
iWin
Steam



Help  Kiera Vale discover her ancestor’s history as she explores Blackwater  Asylum in Nightmare Adventures: The Witch’s Prison! After receiving a  mysterious letter from Alton Quinn, Kiera sets off to find out about her  birth parents. Finding Blackwater Asylum to be in a state of disarray,  Kiera begins exploring the grounds looking for information about her  family, and Alton’s mysterious secret. Help her discover the truth in  this Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game!

• Eerie atmosphere
  
• Gorgeous graphics
  
• Explore Blackwater Asylum!
  

Nightmare Adventures: The Witch's Prison (Adventure)

I absolutely adore this game. Certain games are going to be set apart from the crowd - you know they will be good, just because of the history of the series. Return to Ravenhearst, Dire Grove, PuppetShow, Echoes of the Past... Nightmare Adventures: The Witch's Prison is far and away one of the best games of the year.

Oh yes. I rate this game right up there with the greats, but don't let that make you think this is an IHOG - it's not. This is an adventure game that any IHOG lover will love (IMO)... unless, of course, you HAVE to have hidden object scenes in order to enjoy a game.

The game originally had some people frustrated out of their minds, as there was a problem with the inventory/sluggish cursor. THIS HAS BEEN FIXED, and indeed, it was fixed the day after release!

The first thing I noticed about the game was the that the screenshots looked kind of dark. Dreary even. I entered the game and happened to click on the Options. I was shocked at what I found! Music Volume, SFX Volume... Brightness Level! Lo! Let there be light! You have a handy dandy brightness slider that allows you to change how light or dark you'd like the game to be!

The game starts out journaling your past and what brought you to this strange place. The scenes are crisp and atmospheric, without being overwhelmed with text. You can advance the story at your own pace, and although you can skip it entirely, the story is what truly makes this game immersive... besides, they get a lot of information into just a few panels - it won't take you long to read

Immediately after the story-introduction (or lack, depending on what you choose), you have the choice of tutorial or no. I DO recommend looking at the tutorial. It is not an exercise in hand-holding, just a single pertinent page which explains the gameplay.

There is a button next to the Menu on the bottom left, labeled 'Story'. This is your PDA and...go figure... keeps you filled in on the story I highly recommend keeping up with your "journal"/PDA. It will not give you unsolicited hints, a MAJOR plus in my books! :thumb:

You do have a HINT button, and the refill-time is quite acceptable. Next to the HINT button is a PHOTOS button. Wonder what that does? Any adventure-gamer knows that you have to go back and forth, back and forth any time a new puzzle crops up. "What was that I saw, again...? I can't quite remember..." Those who find this frustrating, rejoice! You automatically get a literal 'photo' of important places/items/etc. If you prefer to journal these things out with pen and paper, no problem! Simply avoid clicking on the PHOTO button!

As for puzzles, yes, there are some! What would an adventure game be without puzzles? The difference with this game is that the games are pertinent to the story, they make logical sense and they are do-able without being insultingly easy. If you simply can't stand mini-games, there is a SKIP button... and a HINT button!

Have I mentioned the humor? I haven't! I have been remiss! lol~ They made just about every clickable item in the game have two responses, and sometimes they had me rolling. Monty Python references? Oh, yes! They even throw a parody hidden object scene in there (just the one).

Perhaps the most impressive thing about this game is that it was made by a small studio, with a two-person team :O A quote by GhostShip (Tim) from a post made at The Diving Bell Pub: "We are a tiny team, and not really fully grounded in the world of casual games as yet." A game of this length and quality from such a small team? AWESOME - I don't know how else to describe it. The developer had a lot of interesting things to say in the Beta thread at the Pub.

This game is atmospheric with an interesting plot and great gameplay. MANY kudos to the developers, and many thanks to Big Fish for supporting their amazing game! It is absolutely worth demoing, even if you don't tend to like adventure games.

DISCLAIMER: If you do not like to read, you will not enjoy this game as much as I did.

Nightmare Adventures: The Witch's Prison (Adventure-lite)
December, 2018 review update

TL; DR - Just skip to the final paragraph ;)

Options include Full-screen and Custom Cursor, plus separate sliders for Music, SFX and Brightness.  One difficulty, and no achievements.

I first played this game in January of 2012, and absolutely adored it.  There are elements of the game that did not hold up well - such as the graphics - but it's still a very good adventure-lite, so read on!

Cutscenes are short and to the point.  To get the full story - including the prequel to the game's intro - you'll need read the blurbs in your journal (PDA) often.  There are no spoilers in there, and no hints for puzzles, so read with no worries!  You will find journal entries periodically, which will also expand on the story.

There is a refillable HINT button (does not discharge with directional hints), and puzzles can be SKIPPED.  There are no instructions for the puzzles, but using a hint will help... Just be careful with it, as sometimes it will give away part of the solution, ie. "I think the first line should read..."  Whenever these came up, I wondered how our character could possibly know that info.  *shrugs*  I am not the most observant person in the world, so I may have just missed something.

Any time you come across something of interest (that will help you solve puzzles), you will automatically take a picture of it, and it will be stored in the PHOTOS.  When you solve the puzzle the the photo(s) are linked to, they'll magically disappear, leaving only helpful pictures behind.

Gameplay is point-and-click exploration, experimentation and puzzle-solving.    The puzzles themselves range from not-so-bad to this-is-going-to-take-a-while!!  If you'd like the game to be a bit (OK a LOT) more difficult, try taking notes and not using looking at your camera!  Some of the puzzles are real doozies!

There is NO MAP, but you only have access to a small number of locations at a time, so there's not a lot of backtracking.

I REALLY appreciate that the devs took the time to explain WHY things we try won't work.  THANK YOU, Ghost Ship!  I cannot tell you how irritating it is to be told that I can't do something when logically it should work just fine!  "I can't quite get it with my fingernails," is enough of an explanation to keep me satisfied.

Something else that I appreciate is that almost every item you click on has more than one response, and the second click usually had me giggling... There's even a Monty Python reference in there!  We have one hidden object scene in the game as a parody, too.  Very cute. *snicker*

Perhaps the most impressive thing about this game is that it was made by a small studio, with a two-person team.   A quote by Tim of Ghost Ship Studios: "We are a tiny team, and not really fully grounded in the world of casual games as yet."   A game of this length and quality from such a small team?  AWESOME!

In closing, this is a high-quality game for its time, and although the graphics are dated, the gameplay, story and puzzles are very good, and still enjoyable today!  Recommended both to the casual-gaming crowd and point-and-click lovers~!