Scratches Director's Cut

Scratches Director's Cut
by GOT Game Entertainment - 2006

Available at:
Big Fish
GOG
Steam



Help writer Michael Arthate explore the legendary Blackwood house! Follow mysteries through the house and dive into secrets of the past! As he is drawn deeper into the story, his sleep is shattered by mysterious noises, and he is plagued by nightmares that cross into reality. Whose shadows lurk in the dark corners? Is that lonely house inhabited by restless spirits of the past or something more sinister? Find out in Scratches, a dark Adventure game!

• Eerie and immersive story
  
• Haunting soundtrack
  
• Full 360 degree panoramic viewing
  
• Puzzles and challenges throughout
  
• Numerous hours of gameplay
  
• Explore a Victorian mansion, sinister chapel, forbidding crypt, musty rooms, greenhouse…
  
• Walkthrough (Big Fish)
  

Director’s Cut includes:

• An alternate ending that might be more shocking than the original
  
• A new chapter: “The Last Visit” will have you back at the house 10 years after the events of the original game
  
• Michael’s diary with more clues and thoughts from the main character
  
• Upgraded graphics and an eerier soundtrack
  

Click images to enlarge
   

Okay, DH and I finally finished Scratches and its accompanying epilogue The Last Visit. We had expected a great, classic horror game, but to be honest, we were underwhelmed and definitely did not find the ending scary or even slightly terror-inducing.   (Plus, you pretty much know how it's going to go down.) We enjoyed the mysterious element and appreciated the incremental building of some tension but there was so much tedious wandering around that even that grew old. It's a very slow-moving game that feels much older than 2006 - is that really its release year?  My husband's comment was, "Not great, but not too bad for the 90s" and I had to correct him.  

One of the things that, for me, detracted from the atmosphere was

SPOILER:

In summary we felt that as a mystery, the game is pretty good although quite slow. However, as a horror title it didn't live up to our expectations. A whole lot of playing hours for not much payoff. Therefore, playing the game with different expectations might be a good thing.

ETA - Oh and I advise adjusting the gamma control to "high" in both very dark games or you can't see a thing.

I have not yet played it, but I've found that "true" adventures tend to have a less immersive atmosphere for me.  While I don't want unsolicited hints, I do enjoy black bar pop-ups giving me extra information about what I'm seeing, as it seems to draw me more in to the story.

Genki, I don't have normally have that problem with true adventures. The Longest Journey was VERY immersive for me -- I just lived it, and DH and I felt the same about the Broken Sword series, particularly #3, which we *adored*.

There are so many positive reviews about Scratches - many called it the scariest game they'd ever played - and I can really appreciate what the developer was trying to do. And yes, this was a dark story with some horrific elements for sure, but for us the ending was a big letdown. 

Changing the subject but FWIW I still think the storyline from the film Skeleton Key would make an outstanding horror game.

That's very weird, RMom. Everybody who I know played Scratches was terrified of it. Sound plays a huge role in creating the atmosphere. My sister has low quality speakers and half of the effect was gone (she was still scared though).

The ending is a bit meh, especially The Last Visit. The atmosphere rocks though... if that's your thing ;)

Yeah - could be that playing with DH affected my experience. He's not a true dedicated gamesman and bores of them easily so tends to call out even minor flaws. And once called out, those flaws just sit there being obvious. For ex, Scratches really just wasn't scary to us. Again, prob due to

Spoiler:

DH doesn't like to sit still so it takes a LOT to hold his attention to a computer screen for hours on end.  OTOH when he approves of a game he's wholeheartedly passionate about it. He loved the Myst games back in the day - even though he was lousy at them - and he's always trying to get me to find games like the Broken Sword series. Umm yeah, there may be some great games out there but not for us until we get a new, much faster computer, dear.   (I did try to get him to play NiBiRu but after being wowed by the fun and humor of BS he claimed the "stiff, wooden characters" didn't hold his interest. Picky, picky. )

However, I did tell him about the upcoming Gabriel Knight remake and he's totally up for that!!

The thing about Scratches being scary is that it leaves you to your imagination what could
happen behind the door--or the shower curtain.    I play alone in the dark,  so my imagination
goes wild.     

I did find myself laughing during what I called  Part 2--when a journalist (I believe)
goes to the house years later.  He looks down the hole and calls "Here Kitty".
It made me think of the movie Alien 3,  when a prisoner was calling the Alien in
the same way.       


Now,  Rhiannon the 4 somethings game---that I found boring.  I could not finish it.
Others loved it.

Rhiannon was mind-numbingly boring. To think that I joined BFG for it! I couldn't finish it. I slogged my way through second chapter for so long that I reinstalled Windows in the meantime. The game wouldn't run properly on new installation. After 5th crash, I ditched it. It was horrible.

The scariest thing in Scratches is the ambiance. Most of the time nothing happens, but if you play in the dark and with good quality audio... Ooh. Heart attacks on major scares! ;)

I couldn't finish the demo of Rhiannon, it was that boring!

I think the best thing about Scratches was the build-up to the ending. I mean, all through this game, we're finding notes, journals, diaries (and reading them) and subtle clues about what's going on. The most frightening scene for me was the basement. I dreaded having to go down there and actually got cold chills. 
For me, this went on for days. By the time I got to the end, I was sufficiently terrified.

In the beginning stages of the game I was scared of the basement, gallery, etc. But as the game wore on, I found I wasn't. And I do frighten pretty easily, so I think it was mostly b/c I was playing it along with DH. On my own I probably would've felt more of a sense of dread.

I found Scratches to be just like a VERY good movie whose time frame was about 1950's or early 60's...

The voices were EXCELLENT and although , YES,  one wasn't in danger or could not die, it STILL was FRIGHTENING, but in a good ghost story way...
I prefer no guts or gore and hate slasher movies, or games so it was right up my alley.

The TOTAL silence in many parts when one was exploring were VERY very expertly (IMHO) placed...total silence is WORSE than any creepy music...


I guess you have to be in the right frame of mind for it, and I can imagine people who prefer more action might be bored, but to me, it was the psychological terror , which really got me...

I prefer no guts or gore and hate slasher movies, or games so it was right up my alley.

I'm totally with you there, except for one thing... I LOVE a good zombie flick!  One of my favorites is the 2004 version of Dawn of the Dead.  *shrugs*  I don't know why, I just love zombies!

Now while I'm not a blood and guts type of gal, I'm STILL really looking forward to Bad Omen, which is supposed to be out this month.  The intro reminds me of a zombie flick, so I can't wait to see where it goes!