Lydia's Heart

"Lydia's Heart" is a large, complex game with a serious tone and seven or eight NPCs you can converse with. The genre is low-key horror: There's almost no actual blood, but there are several ways to die in a very frightening way. Various bits of magical fantasy are included in a basically real-world setting.

This game is version 2.0 of "Last Resort." The story is the same, but it's not simply a TADS port of the original -- there are more rooms and about 18 entirely new puzzles. The author recommends that you play "Lydia's Heart," not "Last Resort."

You play the part of 14-year-old Diane Lindsay. You have been dragged off by your Aunt Caroline to a run-down motor court in rural Mississippi for reasons that are not initially clear. As you explore the motor court, you'll meet various creepy people and overhear a murder being committed. You'll meet a ghost named Lydia, who (if you can figure out how to make friends with her) will tell you why you've been brought here, and why you must get away before the afternoon is over.