Anchorhead

I really wanted to like this game. As a Lovecraft fan and a resident Masshole I was happy to see that the man-made horrors beyond comprehension that are Massachusetts small towns were finally being acknowledged in media. But there really is nothing going for this game that would justify its position as #2 on the IFDB Top 100.

The writing comes off as juvenile to the extreme. It violates the holy rule of "show not tell" which is especially important in a horror game, leading to a complete lack of atmosphere. It felt like the horror was being forced upon me, like a clown in a budget Halloween corn maze jumping out at you and shouting "Are you scared yet? How bout now??". The dialogue is awkward and stilted, and none of the characters seem to have the mannerisms of normal humans (even the ones who are actually human).

The gameplay itself tedious; the map is just large for the sake of being large. I spent more time inputting tiresome commands (like needing to unlock the door every time you want to open it, getting out of bed first before grabbing an item etc). than playing the game. These are things that should have been implemented automatically.

In all, a very disappointing experience. Its an alright game, it just doesn't deserve to be so highly rated when there are so many better IF games out there.