Kraven Manor

I have another horror game to talk about with you guys! In my spare time, I've been trying to get my hands on some good ones (that live up to my expectations, having played Outlast...I told you guys, I'm slightly obsessed, and I don't really know if anything is ever going to compare to the love that I have for this one...) and this one popped up. I said "hey why not!"

My newest conquest (if you couldn't tell from the title and the picture): Kraven Manor.
This one's about a haunted house...that's about all you know, unless you're paying close attention, which I clearly didn't. Normally I'm all about storylines in horror games, this one's story develops way later, but it all starts to come together at the very end. I was kind of disappointed about it in the beginning, but once I got to the end, it satisfied my craving for some kind of answer about what the hell was going on (but it did not satisfy my craving for tiramisu, which is still happening.)

Essentially, the premise of the game is that you're in this house alone with nothing but a flashlight, and you can't fight the entity trying to attack you. That antagonist you have chasing you around is a bronze mannequin. Yeah, Maniac style. See below for explanation.

I didn't love the game, as it didn't have a story at the beginning so you're kind of just wandering, like I said about Among the Sleep, but I definitely enjoyed it. The story is explained throughout the game in notes and books, but it's kind of hard to keep up with because you have the potential to read them all out of order. I understand, though, that this was a teeny indie horror game created by graduate students at a college, so I'll cut 'em some slack. Good job, guys. So with that in mind, the game gets credit to me as: not the best game I've ever played, but definitely terrifying. If you're looking for a game that may potentially make you pee your pants, this is probably a good one.

I also like the fact that as the game goes on you pick up pieces that look a little bit like chess boards, and those all connect on a table in the entryway to Kraven Manor. These boards are actually scaled-down models of the rooms in the house...which you can move around and rebuild as you play to connect different rooms. What that means is every time you move the models around, the rooms in the house move to match it. It was a really cool concept, and towards the end it became crucial to move the rooms into the right spot to finish the game.

On to those mannequins I was telling you about:

I wish that I could link to a youtube video of their awful grunting and creaking that they do when they move up behind you, but you should honestly just play for yourself and listen to it. Ick. You're playing the game with a demon mannequin breathing down your neck. Their noises are horrific. They're Maniac-style creepy mannequins. (If you've never seen Maniac, you should probably do that.) Oh, and let me also mention that they can only move when you turn your back to them (think Dr. Who's weeping angels), which makes them even worse. They also kind of teleport really, really close to you...it's awful.

All in all, I'm happy with this game, though. I should have put a camera on myself during playtime because I was screaming and jumping all over the place. There were curse words said. There was eye-covering. Therefore, it's good in my book.

Let me know if you guys decide to play this one, I'd love to know what you think!

Also, I might have a giveaway coming up in the near future, let me know how you guys feel about that.