You’re asleep at your desk, when a knock on your door startles you up. When you answer the door, you find a package with no markings on it. When you open it, you find an old typewriter. After exploring the room to find all the things you need to make the typewriter work, it types out an invitation for you (how does it know your name is beyond me). The promise of a real séance draws you to a dilapidated hotel. There you not only find the people there to be frauds, but you also see a spirit of your own! It’s your grandmother, who begs for your help restoring her good name. She tells you of a mysterious haunted house that only appears for short periods of time and moves all over the world. You go there and enter a world you’ve only imagined exists.
As you move through the house you find that there are other residents, each with their own unique ability. They need your help and your ability to speak to ghosts to help put their spirits to rest. The residents use their varying talents to help you, as well as giving the occasional word of advice.
This was one of the longest games I’ve played in some time, even without the bonus chapter (The bonus chapter is a Collector’s Edition exclusive, and not accessible until the main story is completed). There are rooms, hidden rooms, and more rooms. One of my favorite things about it was that it was not completely linear. Objects discovered early in the game were not used until near the end some times. Other times, you’d need the object right away. There was even a knife, and a lighter that were used i
n several different scenes.
Game play is standard. Click on objects to pick them up. If you need it, it’ll go in your inventory and will disappear from there when you’re done with it. Hidden object scenes are lit up, even in the more difficult mode of play. I enjoyed the hidden object aspect of this game a lot. House of 1000 Doors also has an added layer of difficulty with the use of multi-step objects. For instance you have to move a pillow to find items underneath, or find a knife to cut something open, or even assemble an object before you can “discover” it. There are loads of puzzles in this game, and a lot of “now what room did I need this item for?” The fact that I had to go all the way back to the beginning at one point, even though I was more than half way through the game was something that really got me hooked.
