The Excavation of Hob's Barrow is a folk horror narrative-driven adventure. Explore the isolated moors of rural Victorian England as you uncover the mysteries of Hob's Barrow. The answers lie in the soil...
Very Positive
3,003 Steam reviews
| LANGUAGE | AUDIO | SUBTITLES | INTERFACE |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Y | Y | Y |
It's a point and click adventure game. Of course I will recommend it. What a question!
*Contains spoilers*
A solid point and click game with a disappoint end. All games must not end happily, but for the stakes in the game to matter, your actions must affect the outcome of the game in some meaningful way. If the best outcome in every aspect of the story would have come from not taking part or engaging in the story, then that undercuts the game as a whole. There are no braching trees or multiple endings, you're stuck commit a series of actions that in the end lead to disaster. This review could be summarized "What a strange game, the only winning move is not playing" as the computer in Wargames put it. But that makes the end seem conceptually interesting in a way in which it is not, it is simply a disappointment.
Point-n-click adventure with the same UI as the other Wadjet Eye games. Feels like this one a bit shorter than usual with a smaller "map" but it has a certain supernatural charm that reminds me of classics like Gabriel Knight.
The Excavation of Hob's Barrow is a folk horror, point-and-click adventure game. You play as antiquarian Thomasina Bateman, travelling to the remote village of Bewlay in the English countryside after an invitation to dig up a barrow. However, town folks are either avoidant or warning her from doing so. It feels kinda Lovecraftian in a way, a cityperson travelling to a remote place with dark, ancient secrets.
Gameplay is similar with other Wadjet Eye-published games, where you talk to people, collect objects, and find uses for them, with the occasional minigame and puzzle-solving. Nothing really different, but the atmosphere is the highlight of the game. It's slow and eerie, making you curious in finding out what's wrong in this village. The story is great, but people have issues with how linear it is, no choices-matter elements. From me personally, I wished there were more lore and less puzzle in the final chapter.
If you're a fan of point-and-click adventure games, this is another good title with a familiar gameplay. Fans of folk/cosmic horror would enjoy this title as well. It's decently long, but I feel like it could've been longer, like some characters and items feel unused or underdeveloped.
I really liked this game. I don't usually play horror games because I get scared easily, but this one managed to keep me hooked.
The game isn't perfect, but I think the pros outweigh the cons.
And the ending made perfect sense to me. [spoiler]What did you expect? You were ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ around with fae folk, demons and stuff.[/spoiler]
Interesting little Point&Click Adventure. The Puzzle are not too hard and the ending is quiet unusual.
I liked it!
Good looking point & click game without moon logic puzzles that has a unique folk horror feeling and very atmospheric period setting. There's some humor but not too much and it manages to stay creepy.
This is the first time I’ve written a review. It was an enjoyable game. But what the f*** did you do at the end? What a demonic script! In the final sequence, you, the protagonist, are possessed and end up killing your own father. The opposite of a happy ending. That’s why I can’t recommend this game to a man of God and why I have to give it a bad review. Be aware of satanic content in your reality.
Well done 2D pixel mystery game. Unfortunately, not the best when it comes to player agency.
Like, a girl says her brother took her doll, you find the brother, but no option to say anything about the doll, you have to talk to her about that.
Another one; you've to explore a dark area &, obviously, you need a light source. There's a lantern in the village, but you can't simply go back & get it, oh no, you've to get "near" the darkness in order for your character's single braincell to figure it out!
It's a good one in terms of the 2D pixel graphics & the mysterious happenings, but the lack of player agency just kills it for me.
Will try again, one day.
First act is great.
Second act is good.
Third act is terrible.
Very few good puzzles, terrible story.
Avoid, there is plenty of better p&c games.
Entertaining game with a non-sensical ending.
I quite enjoyed the game, until the last chapter. Then it stopped making sense to me. The game gives both the player and the main character the information about where it's going. I did not want to make the decisions the character made and it was totally forced, and based on what we learnt about Thomasina, a out of character, in my opinion.
To be honest. I had read about the ridiculous ending before and was expecting a completely different, ridiculous, ending. This one was even worse than what I thought it could be.
Also, as a Spaniard, the lack of Spanish language is a downside. However, even in Spanish, the opinion about the game would not have changed.
In summary, I'll give it a 4/10. I somewhat enjoyed it, but the last part of the game ruined it.
更新：开发者说不是全男，是1女1男工作组。家访了下工作室主页，网页上1女2男，只有貌似主创的1号男有头像，一个白男大头。
引用朋友的总结：
出场的女性角色：1.深爱爹的女主 2.养植物人老公和女儿却沦为背景板的倒楣妈 3.照看弟弟的姐姐 4.被哥哥欺负的妹妹 5.忘不了死去老公的老太太，她做的甜点很好吃 6.想和男友私奔的女佣和欺负女佣的女管家（均为男贵族工作）7.似乎无法和人类沟通的山精之女（不太记得原文用什么词了，反正不是人类，山精之女是我自己的理解）8.独居森林的老“巫女”，深谙医术
结论：女角色只有照顾男性的女人和“疯女人”
============================
全男制作组，虽然是女主，但其实是重点都在男性身上的嗲爹矫子文学。
Charming adventure game with excellent voice acting. Great cozy small town vibe with some actual legit creepy moments! The pixel art is serviceable, but not very expressive. There were only one or two unituitive puzzles in the middle that I struggled with, the classic "nonsensical combination of items" type that seem to come with the territory with this genre. Overall I really enjoyed the vibe and the story!
Buena aventura grafica con un buen desenlace. Cuesta que el juego arranque a nivel narrativo, ya que al principio se da mucha vuelta por el pueblo. Aunque de primeras parezca que gráficamente esta bastante dejado, a mi parecer esta hecho adrede para, en las escenas que deben ser algo mas espeluznantes te generen una sensación mas incomoda de lo que debería.
Gorgeous, intimate, crushingly hopeless horror game. It's transparent with its classic, Gothic Horror influences, to its benefit.
It did not deeply move me. Partially the voice acting (which was solid, but maybe left me wanting more?), partially because adventure games are not normally my thing.
This was still a fun little game, and it was short.
What a wonderful beginning of an adventure. This game has reignited my love for point and click adventures it seems. It starts off very atmospherically with a rainy day and an inn full of grumpy, mostly drunk, xenophobic Englanders, which makes you wonder what else is in store. Will the female protagonist, a stranger to the town, be abducted on her very first night, or will she be able to command respect? I’m very curious to find out.
what do you mean i cant pet the kitty?????
This is more of a mixed bag than really a negative review.
I like The Excavation of Hob's Barrows for its thick and dreamy atmosphere, the aura of mystery building up throughout each chapters, and excellent dubbing, but this game falls to deliver as a point & click adventure, with unintuitive yet paradoxically not very challenging puzzles, and a really convoluted story that has a hard time balancing its more fantastical elements while rushing to its conclusion towards the end.
There are definitely enjoyable elements, as evidenced by the many positive reviews this game received from other players, but it really pales in comparison with classics of the genre, like Gabriel Kinght or Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, or even more recent indie forays in the genre, like The Drifter.
Very slowburn. An excellent chapter story that goes straight from twee to absolutely terrible. Loved the art, music, and voice acting all the way through; especially the voice acting. Took me about eight hours, might try another time later. there are apparently some very subtle forks in dialogue and side story
Point and click adventure game of a woman who is following her father's footsteps on an ancient excavation site. Spectacular ending.
Pros:
1) Hallucinating cats
2) Actual chaotic cat
3) Enchanting paranoid small village
4) Fast travel
5) light romance
6) Medium puzzle solving
Cons:
1)Herbert is never friend
Charming, atmospheric, with gorgeous pixel art and excellent voice acting. I have never played a game that felt more authentically Northern, with the character voice, accents, and culture woven in. Puzzles were generally quite intuitive, with a few exceptions, and delving into the characters and surroundings of Bewlay was a real treat.
My only real complaint was with the ending sequence, which made the leap from character and world-based interactions to pure puzzle dungeon, somewhat undermining the excellent atmosphere and tension building up throughout the game. I also wish that more of that sequence had been based more on folklore elements specific to the region rather than broader common horror motifs. As it stands the last hour or so of the game feels a bit generic as a result.
Still, well worth a purchase for the atmosphere, characters and art, as well as the first 3/4 of the story. I look forward to seeing what this team comes out with next!
Hands down one of my favorite adventure games, and I've been playing them since the mid 80s.
Don't want to spoil, so I'll just say, you'll get your money's worth. A++
This is an unsettling, retro-graphic, point-and-click tale with great art and pacing. Highly recommend!
Great chill game to play on the deck, interesting dark horror story and fantastic pixel art. I needed a guide for a couple of the puzzles but it was mainly due to not seeing things in the environment, other than that highly recommended.
Short and sweet, lovely graphics, The game is one of the easiest i have played but fun, pretty much straight forward. Love The Wicker Man vibe.
I really enjoyed playing The Excavation of Hob's Barrow. The atmosphere is fantastic and the art style is absolutely gorgeous. It really pulls you into the creepy folk-horror setting. However, I did find the puzzles a bit too easy, so it didn't offer much of a challenge. The game is also quite short. Overall, it's a great experience for the story and mood, but don't expect a difficult or lengthy adventure.
Excellent old school adventure game, with a horror story, and good voice acting. Some obscure puzzles but nothing too hard and not out of character for this type. Enjoyed the time I spent with it.
A short but good game.
Pretty landscapes, great atmosphere, good voice acting. But the story and dialogues are graphomania in purest form.
I adored this game.
It's quite slow paced, but I was immediately interested in the story and drawn into the mystery. I think I finished it in two or three sitting because I couldn't put it down and had to know how the story played out to it's epic conclusion. The puzzles are fun and a mix of what you'd expect in a point and click and fresh new ideas. It's dark, witty and heartful, with an amazing voice cast. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes horror and mysteries.
Excellent point & click, ambiance marquante, j'ai adoré !
One of the point and click greats--engaging and terrifying in equal amounts. An instant classic, and one any fan of folk horror and adventure games absolutely NEEDS to experience.
A delightful classic adventure game with fantastic voice acting and an excellent creepy, folk-horror vibe. This is a game that knows what it wants to be and sticks the landings. One or two of the puzzle solutions can be a bit obscure, but that's kind of the nature of these kinds of games. I enjoyed the heck out of it - well worth the price and time.
This is a great game, and I hope the developers make more like it.
I would happily watch a TV adaptation, and I mean that as a compliment.
Also, I would like to say after reading some of the reviews, I do not understand how some people think that [spoiler] the Barrow puzzles are abstract. You just have to follow the journal, it's pretty clear. [/spoiler]
I nice little Lovecraftian point and click adventure. P&C fans are probably not going to get too much out of it, it's a bit too short and the puzzles are pretty cookie cutter, but it makes up for that in atmosphere. Bewley feels very lived in, I thoroughly enjoyed exploring the small town (and I do mean small, it's like maybe 10 areas altogether), and I really liked the slow build-up of tension throughout my playthrough.
The game fell a little flat in the end though. Thomasina felt very inconsistent, particularly when [spoiler]the villains show up. They are so transparent that it doesn't really make sense that Thomasina continues to do their bidding, especially as her defining character trait is that she's supposedly smart. It's pretty annoying when the player is several steps ahead of her and the narrative isn't able to sell how she would fall for the deception nor her drive to see the excavation through even if she was aware that she was being tricked.[/spoiler]
Still, worth a play, especially considering the low price. Just don't go in expecting a masterpiece.
Excellent jeu, ambiance et inspiration à la Cthulhu très réussi, flippant et mélancolique. Bonne difficulté. Vraiment un très beau jeu juste assez court.
What an utter disappointment. The game starts out so strong and then gets worse and worse the longer it goes on. The first third of the game set the tone perfectly, it made you want to find out more about the town and its characters, the puzzles were logical. The 2nd third/2nd day, the puzzles started getting more contrived, the plot started dragging on with fetch quests, but it was still mostly fine. But then the final third of the game completely lost the plot. It started doing the classic point and click sin of having ridiculous item combinations as puzzle solutions and the story became utterly stupid. The main character made a series of incredibly dumb choices that were completely out of character and the game forces you to go along with it with zero player agency, forcing you into an ending you saw coming from miles away. And so should the main character. She should have known better, yet the game forces you into watching her make the stupidest possible choices, only so you can watch their idea of a "dark" ending. Except the main character was established as an intelligent, logical person, who would have never made those choices and who would have seen what was going on long before the end. I hate, HATE when games force you to make idiotic choices just so they can give you a contrived, "dark" ending.
A wonderful experience that harkens back to the best LucasArts point-and-clicks, and achieves an atmosphere and story that stays with you. While more player agency over the story would have been nice (the game seems primed to include multiple choices and paths), what's there is nevertheless compelling and satisfying. Overall, I found the puzzles to be well-balanced in their difficulty; I didn't need any guidance to beat the game, but the solutions didn't come so easily that they felt unrewarding, either.
Good story, good rhythm, with a really nice voice over and pixel art to boot.
The story is a little abrupt and I wish it was a little longer and more fleshed out. But still, it's fun, very atmospheric, interesting story and characters, and the pixel art is beautiful. I'd pay full price for an extended edition.
Great point and click adventure game with a mature suspenseful story, great voice acting and logical puzzles.
Runs very well on the Steam Deck (3 TDP)
I would recommend this game it has a charming pixel art style and it has some nifty point and click adventure game features like a to-do list and "detective" mode vision that shows things you can interact with. The puzzles are pretty logical most of the time and i wasn't stuck to long on them. The story is pretty fun if you like british horror. The only down side of the game is there are some wonky looking visuals when the camera is really pulled back but that doesn't happen very often.
A fun game with a creepy-cozy vibe, interesting characters, and a compelling mystery. The atmosphere and story reminded me of movies like The Wicker Man and The Witch (if either of them took place on the moors around Wuthering Heights). There were lots of different locations to explore, and the pixel-art style was pretty. The dialogue was well-written, too; I particularly enjoyed getting to talk to all of the different characters and loved the voice acting.
Some parts of this game (day two in particular) were a bit heavy on fetch-quests for my taste. However, the story and puzzles on day three made up for it. This game is a great choice for anyone who would like to combine the retro point-and-click interface of Kathy Rain with the atmospheric dread and occult mystery of The Séance of Blake Manor.
"The Excavation of Hob's Barrow" é uma obra-prima do horror folclórico que prova como a atmosfera e o ritmo podem ser muito mais aterrorizantes do que qualquer susto repentino. O foco aqui é totalmente na narrativa e no mistério crescente, ao contrário de outros jogos de aventura point-and-click que se perdem em quebra-cabeças absurdos e sem lógica. Apesar da estética de baixa resolução (pixel art), creio que os apreciadores de contos de Robert Aickman ou da atmosfera rural isolada de filmes como The Wicker Man também irão apreciar a descida de Thomasina Bateman às profundezas da isolada vila de Bewlay.
Eu disse que o foco é a narrativa, mas há uma estratégia sutil na forma como você conduz as investigações e interage com os habitantes locais. No papel da antiquária Thomasina, você não está apenas coletando itens; você está tentando navegar por uma comunidade hostil e supersticiosa. O jogador precisa ser metódico ao explorar os pântanos e as ruínas, e escolher a ordem das conversas pode não mudar o destino final, mas dita a forma como as peças do mistério se encaixam na sua mente. Não são apenas decisões de curto prazo sobre qual objeto usar em qual porta, mas sim uma imersão psicológica em que quem jogar vai sentir o peso da solidão e do presságio em cada diálogo.
A jogabilidade é clássica, mas, na minha opinião, extremamente refinada: os puzzles são integrados organicamente ao mundo, parecendo tarefas reais de uma escavação arqueológica. É mostrado o progresso através de um sistema de notas; quando você finalmente consegue acesso ao túmulo no topo da colina, a recompensa visual e narrativa é acompanhada por uma trilha sonora que evoca um desconforto crescente. No entanto, é preciso ser cauteloso; o jogo utiliza muito bem o "espaço negativo" e o silêncio para construir uma tensão que explode em momentos de puro horror corporal e psicológico, o que ensina que o maior perigo não é o que está visível, mas o que os locais se recusam a dizer.
Ainda sobre a imersão, aqui há um conceito muito importante que é o moral da protagonista frente ao isolamento. Como Thomasina é uma mulher pragmática e científica em um ambiente dominado pela crença no sobrenatural, o moral do jogador é constantemente testado pela frustração dos obstáculos impostos pela vila. Por exemplo: se você tenta desafiar abertamente os costumes de Bewlay, a cidade parece se fechar ainda mais para você. O moral aumenta ao descobrir segredos familiares enterrados, mas o mais importante é não ignorar os sinais de perigo; se você for imprudente e focar apenas na sua ambição arqueológica, o desfecho será uma lição amarga sobre o que deveria ter permanecido enterrado.
Para finalizar, outra coisa que eu gostei: a dublagem fenomenal, que dá uma personalidade única e melancólica a cada personagem, especialmente à Thomasina. Na exploração, não fique com preguiça de clicar em cada detalhe do cenário para ouvir as descrições; foque na atmosfera densa da charneca inglesa. Você não precisará de reflexos rápidos, mas antes é preciso ter paciência para desenterrar a verdade e estômago para enfrentar o que Hob's Barrow esconde.
Enfim, recomendo.
PRO: Mood, user experience, trama interessante...
CONTRO: ...ma altalenante nel ritmo, alcune sbavature
VOTO: 8-/10
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Da tempo aspettavo di provare The Excavation of Hob's Barrow ma non trovavo mai il momento giusto. Ora, complice anche il rilascio di una mod per la traduzione in italiano (fatta bene e non con l'AI), mi sono deciso e ne sono rimasto colpito ma non fino in fondo.
Se sto facendo questa recensione è perchè qualche anno fa sono rimasto folgorato da The Last Door, gioco affine nelle tematiche e nel genere e al quale non posso che rivolgermi per avere un metro di paragone. In The Excavation of Hob's Barrow l'estetica è abbastanza classica, è ben fatta ma non riesce mai ad essere d'impatto, lo stesso vale anche per la regia. Questo è l'aspetto in cui il titolo perde di più rispetto al capolavoro di The Game Kitchen. Molto efficaci invece che piccole cut scene che di solito consistono in primissimi piani sui volti. Il comparto audio invece è ancora più anonimo, con una colonna sonora basilare e un doppiaggio standard. Questo è ovviamente solo in inglese come i testi, per i quali però come già detto è presente un'ottima mod per la traduzione in italiano.
Un grande plauso va fatto anche alla user experience, tra le migliori mai trovate in un'avventura grafica. Le interazioni si basano solo sue due tasti, click sinistro per effettuare azioni (interagire o parlare) e click destro per analizzare, sono presenti salvataggio e caricamento rapidi e soprattutto il teletrasporto verso le uscite del quadro, anche se è la prima volta che lo si visita. Utilissimi anche l'elenco delle cose da fare e il teletrasporto verso alcuni luoghi notevoli. L'unico difetto forse è l'inventario a scomparsa in alto, che risulta un po' scomodo da utilizzare, specie quando bisogna combinare due oggetti.
Il gameplay invece è solido ma classicissimo. Apprezzo la presenza di un numero adeguato di interazioni possibili nello scenario, per evitare lungaggini, così come la quasi assenza di documenti da leggere. Alcuni dialoghi poi hanno risposte a scelta multipla, dove di solito è chiesto se mentire o meno, che credo influiscano sull'esito del finale ma non ne sono sicuro. Come in molti altri esponenti del genere però a volte si finisce per bloccarsi e in un paio di occasioni ho dovuto cercare piccoli input su internet per proseguire (sarebbe stato utile un sistema di suggerimenti interno). Interessante la presenza di brevissimi flashback anche se sono utili solamente a livello di lore, sono infatti quasi totalmente narrativi e privi di alcuna sfida. La difficoltà però nel complesso è adeguata, mai soverchiante ma sempre stimolante, e ho apprezzato molto la credibilità degli enigmi, con solo una manciata di essi a risultare forzata perchè basati su conseguenze improbabili delle azioni.
Il fulcro della produzione però è ovviamente la trama, che risulta interessante ma non quanto mi sarei aspettato, soprattutto nelle prime fasi. Manca infatti un incipit d'impatto, ci mette un po' troppo ad ingranare e anche quando lo fa non lascia mai con la voglia di sapere, a differenza del già citato The Last Door. Un paio di discreti colpi di scena riescono ad aumentare la curiosità e il finale risulta comunque piuttosto impattante, è sicuramente la parte migliore del gioco sotto tutti i punti di vista.
In conclusione, The Excavation of Hob's Barrow è una buona avventura grafica a tema Lovecraft, non raggiunge gli apici di The Last Door ma riesce comunque ad intrattenere per tutte le 8 ore circa necessarie e concluderla. Non ha difetti evidenti e anzi brilla grazie ad una user experience eccezionale, ma non riesce mai a fare quel passetto in più per far sì che rimanga nel cuore. Mi sento quindi di consigliarla ma solo ai fan del genere, tutti gli altri dovrebbero invece prima passare dalle parti di The Game Kitchen.
VOTO: 8-/10
As my grandfather Boris of Poltava was wont to say, this game is positively capital!
Creepy, great tension building- made me think really hard for the puzzles
Excellent horror game. Puzzles can be a little finicky at times, but nothing too difficult. Sound/music/VA and story are top notch.
one of the best adventures I ever played. felt like the lucasarts adventure games from back in the day expect the difficulty.
一天内通关，全程有配音是一大优点，但没中文，需要自己翻译，像素+剧情克苏鲁，结局不太好，看了攻略还差2个全成就，也不想再补了
I enjoyed this point-and-click Lovecraftian horror adventure a lot, although not quite as much as An English Haunting. I just didn't care for the ending set of puzzles [spoiler] - the barrow is just so creepy in a way that turns my stomach, and after a pretty simple set of fetch quests, it was annoying to have these semi-abstract logic puzzles slowing me down at the very end[/spoiler].
I haven't yet finished the game, just started playing tonight. Though I can say with certainty this is the best point and click adventure game that I have played in years. The artwork is incredible, though there is something a bit off about the title screen, it seems to be of strangely lower resolution than the rest of the game.
I appreciate that none of the puzzles so far use moon logic. Some parts can be a little hard to figure out at first, but you'll quickly get it. No need to go looking up any walkthroughs. Honestly I sort of recommend not watching the trailer for the game either. The less you know the better.
The artwork is incredible, the voice acting is stellar for an indie game. And the story so far has been fantastic.
Great story and pacing, some nice puzzles
Nice
Eh, the fact you couldn't change anything on the outcome at all makes it all pointless. All you can do is stare in impotent rage as the game forces you into the ending.
Splendid! Very atmospheric and tons of great acting. Well written and suspenseful. I loved the ending!
I was reminiscing one night about the old point and click style games I used to play growing up as a young teen in the early 1990's. I remembered I got this game as part of a Humble Bundle bundle package awhile back and decided to give it a try. It absolutely hit the spot. There is a fun mystery to solve while you go around the town meeting villagers, where you can have different outcomes based on the interactions you have with the locals. Most of the puzzles are fairly straightforward to solve, however, I did have to consult online for a couple of hints. I would absolutely recommend this game if you enjoyed games in the style of Maniac Mansion, Hugo's House of Horrors, and Leisure Suit Larry. I am looking forward to trying a couple more games made by this studio found here on Steam.
Una joya oculta. Como las antiguas aventuras de point and click
Played this game off and on over a year, and finishing it, I can say that's it definitely worth the time. The atmosphere is quite dark, and the story is very good. It picks up in pace towards the end and the ending......wow. Buy this game.
"The Excavation of Hob's Barrow" ist ein unerwartet spannendes, charmantes und mitreißendes Game, das die Geschichte von Thomasina erzählt, welche in die Fußstapfen ihres Vaters getreten ist, um als "Barrow Digger" interessante, geschichtliche Funde und Überbleibsel alter Kulturen freizulegen.
Dabei kommt sie in Kontakt mit einem Mister Leonard Shoulder, dessen Verschwinden selbst zu einem kleinen Mysterium wird! Und das bleibt auch nicht das Einzige...
Positive Aspekte:
+ Interessante Geschichte mit authentisch erscheinenden Charakteren
+ Tolles Voice Acting, vor allem von der Protagonistin!
+ Sehr charmante Visuals
+ Gutes Storytelling mit einem Pacing, das die Spannung aufrecht erhält
+ Interessante Rätsel (wenn auch manchmal etwas schwer zu verstehen)
+ Wird trotz der Länge nicht langweilig!
+ Sehr schönes Sound Design
Neutral:
/ [spoiler] Der Horror kommt erst recht spät, dafür dann aber mit voller Wucht! [/spoiler]
/ [spoiler] Gegen Ende werden die Handlungen der Protagonistin doch eher unlogisch, was ich sehr schade fand. Das kann aber vielleicht auch an mir liegen, da ich das Spiel während eines Subathons gespielt habe und bereits in der 16. Streamstunde war xD [/spoiler]
Negativ:
- Die Steuerung ist anfangs sehr unintuitiv und hat immer mal wieder dafür gesorgt, dass die Immersion gebrochen wurde
- Die Speicherstände waren bei mir sehr buggy. Ich habe während des gesamten Spiels nur zwei Speicherstände haben können und erst spät am Ende bekam ich einen dritten Speicherstand?
Alles in allem würde ich dem Spiel 9 von 10 Punkten geben! ♥
Pleasant Point n Click with good voice acting and engaging story. Can be finished in one sitting.
This game has some good features that were unfortunately overshadowed by a disappointing ending that changed my overall opinion.
On the positive side, the art and voice acting are both very well done. The setting and characters are interesting, and most of the puzzles are intuitive. Also, I beat it in a little over 6 hours, so the game doesn't feel like a drag.
On the negative side, there are a couple puzzles solutions which were a bit convoluted. But the real letdown was that there is only a single ending. Throughout the game you get choices on how you want to interact with people, but none of that matters because the ending will always be the same.
Muyyy bueno.
[h1]The Excavation of Hob's Barrow[/h1]
[i] A horror themed point and click game with some themes from Lovecraftian nuances, done in old-school style. [/i]
[b] PROS [/b]
+ Incredible atmosphere.
+ Beautiful graphics and visuals.
+ The voice acting was very good.
+ The story was interesting and written well.
+ Puzzles were logical.
+ Voiced dialogue.
[b] CONS [/b]
- Sometimes the item subtitles were mixed with other item subtitles / text.
- The puzzles were sometimes very easy - but the great story exceeded the easiness of puzzles.
- Multiple endings would have given more depth and replayability for the game.
- In the final sections of the game: some last puzzles were frustrating to solve (at least for me).
[b] RATING [/b]
***½/*****
3,5/5
si sabes ingles tienes que jugarlo, tienes que tener un nivel medio alto para entenderlo, pero si puedes y te animas no te arrepentiras!
si te gusta la tematica gotica, estilo "el perror de los baskerville" el juego es una aventura grafica clasica,con buena ambientacion y quizas se hace un poco mas pesada a la mitad, consigue mantenerte en vilo jugando entre que es la realidad e imaginacion en una pequeña aldea de los paramos
A great game with an amazing story about grief, religious obsession, and inevitability.
The sound design, voice acting, and pixel art work really well together and make a peaceful and at times unsettling atmosphere.
The puzzles are simple and don’t get in the way.
The only real issue is occasional backtracking, but the story easily makes up for it.
No soy fan de este tipo de juegos, (point and click) pero la ambientación esta excelente!
Excellent point & click d'horreur. Juste ce qu'il faut d'ambiance lourde et de visions cauchemardesques pour être pris dans l'histoire sans vouloir la lâcher.
看宣传以为会很黑暗猎奇， 实际上这部分占比太小了，绝大部分时间都在小镇逛。 能互动的物品太多了， 对话选项也很多，但百分之九十都是无意义的语句， 读完并没有对故事有推进， 纯浪费时间。整体流程过长，然而实际的故事其实很短。也就英音配音比较好听， 最后的解密有点意思罢了。
Muito muito bom. Um point e click de suspense bem divertido com uma história intrigante e uma atmosfera misteriosa.
Вхоа, вот это игруха!!!
Тут обалденно абсолютно всё - визуал, сюжет, музыка, пазлы. С самого начала грамотно нагнетается интрига, на фоне играет офигенный эмбиент, сельское быдло через одного какие-то ебaнаты странные. Ваще закачаешься!!!
Игра довольно легкая в плазе пазлов, можно спокойно без гайда проходить самому.
Блин, да это просто шик-блеск! Если хоть немного нравится жанр квестов, то не проходите мимо.
Fantastic little folk horror. Great writing. Sppoky atmosphere.
A game with a certain charme and very good dubbing. Controls are a bit weird and backtracking/walking from place to place could become lengthy and annoying at times. All in all a nice game "snack" that you can finish in a few hours. The term "lass" is engraved in my brain now.
g
This is an excellent, story-driven game, the overall mood of folk horror is omnipresent, the graphics are great, voice acting is brilliant. This is absolutely one of my all-time favourites. I have finished the game 2 times and I'm on the third playthrough now - and it keeps getting better each time. This is, however, a slow burner, so not really a game I can recommend to people looking for fast-paced action. If you are looking for a brooding, tense experience, then look no further.
This is a more than competent horror tinged point and click adventure revolving around an amateur archeologist who seeks to do right by her bed-ridden, all but comatose father, and poke around ancient burial sites just like he taught her.
The pixel graphics are pretty darned sweet, the music is repetitive from time to time but can be wonderfully unnerving (sounds like an oxymoron, but it's a horror game!), and the dialogue is better than decent, as is the voice acting (a little flat from time to time, but overall quite good).
There are some lulls in gameplay/narrative tension where there's too much stereotypical P and C lollygagging (go through every screen/location you've already been through just to find the one location that's got a new/changed feature, etc etc), and there's (literally) a couple of moments where you will probably find yourself wondering what the heck to do next unless you too possess a galaxy brain, but compared to most P and C games, this is a shockingly intelligent and logical game with puzzles and situations that make coherent sense and follow naturally from the narrative.
And the ending, whew!
So, not a perfect game by any stretch, but absolutely solid and featuring some (largely) great gameplay, graphics, and plotting/writing.
Recommended!
The Excavation of Hob's Barrow is a game where you FAFO.
This is a great point and click adventure game with some really creative pixel graphics and even features some rotoscoped animation!
You play as Thomasina who is a very experienced antiquarian. She is writing a book about the all the barrows she's excavating and has become fairly well known for her expertise. Thomasina received a letter that piqued her interest about a barrow in a small town. Thomasina arrives to town and this is when the game starts as you and Thomasina solve puzzles and collect evidence to lead you to the location of the infamous Hob's Barrow.
I LOVED the pixel art animations, writing, and the voice acting.
My only criticism for this game, because I am greedy and want more, is that I wish that it were longer. I feel like the first couple chapters were at a level steady pace and the last were ZOOMING but maybe that was a creative choice to add to the abrupt slide into crazytown.
I enjoyed playing The Excavation of Hob's Barrow and I think that if you enjoy point and click adventures/puzzle games this game would be a great addition to your steam library. Give it a try! Become the antiquarian of your wildest dreams (or nightmares)!
The game is a fantastic folk horror adventure that tells a good story.
The puzzles are actually fair and fun, so you can stay focused on atmosphere instead of getting stuck for hours.
It runs like a dream on the Steam Deck and battery will last for hours.
To me, The Excavation of Hob's Barrow (TEOHB) is first and foremost a love letter to Northern England, and in particular to the beautiful moors around that region. The game does an excellent job at building up a sense of apprehension and intrigue with it's slow-burn plot, and the environment that Thomasina (our protagonist) finds herself in plays a substantial role in the story. The moors are a character to contend with in this game, just as much as any other character we come across. The Lovecraftian horror melds perfectly with this setting - anyone who's travelled to that part of England can attend to its almost alien landscape, both beautiful and yet somewhat inconceivable.
I thoroughly enjoyed playing this game, and it gave me a real sense of the 'classic' point-and-click puzzle games I used to play. Although I didn't find the puzzles particularly hard, the rich story and excellent voice acting more than made up for what were some no-brainer challenges. And honestly, sometimes it's nice to just be able to work out a puzzle; this meant that I could stay connected to the story and enjoy what I was playing, without ever feeling frustrated that I couldn't work something out.
I have to say, I still came away from the game wishing it had done a few things differently. Firstly, the player learns quickly that that [spoiler] there are conversational choices to be made that hold consequence - I.E. characters Thomasina comes across will behave differently based on what she says or how she reacts. However, upon finishing the game it's pretty clear that these choices ultimately won't change the story's final outcome. This is a shame, as this almost completely negates the desire to replay the game to see how things could be different.[/spoiler]
Secondly, the plot. It drives towards a conclusion that becomes more and more unattainable in my option - this is because Thomasina, a woman of reason, is faced with clear evidence that [spoiler] her father was clearly trying to do something to prevent something bad from happening. Although it's easy to believe that Thomasina is struggling with the comic mystery of it all, to me it completely went against her character and nature to choose to release Abraxas at the end, knowing that her father wanted to prevent it from escaping. As the player, I would have loved to have been given the choice at the end of the game to NOT give my own blood (and maybe to have some previous conversation choices have their consequences here). [/spoiler]
Overall, I really did love playing this game. But replayability is close to zero based on the above.
This is an instant classic in the AGS genre for me. Immaculate sound design that makes you feel eerie throughout the whole game. Great voice acting. Puzzles are what you'd expect but they do mostly make sense. A highlight were the sometimes grotesque sometimes funny animated close ups that happen in key moments. The story is also close to being one of my favourites in these style of games.
If you enjoy point and click adventures you need to play this.
An interesting semi-Lovecraftian, squasi-ghost story of a game. I mostly enjoyed my time with the game and liked the plot and atmosphere although I think the designers maybe pulled back a bit of the curtain a little too soon as I don't think you can understand the protagonist making the decisions she made once she had all the information she got. The plot is more sophisticated but this really does remind me of an old Sierra game, for good and bad. The bad is this is every bit of as ugly at times as one of those early games and there was one moon-logic fetch quest that was simply unbelievable. To get to character A you need to give character B item C. To get C you have to get items D and E for character F, and to get items D and E you have to get items G, H, I, and J and get a girl to juggle. I'm not exaggerating. Most of the game wasn't like that but there's a reason they stopped making chain quests like that. Still, was a fun five hours although I doubt I'll be back for a replay.
A great PNC, had lots of fun with this. Voice acting and art all good, a mix of obvious and tricky puzzles. Recommended.
Does a wonderful job of being unsettling, the art direction is amazing, the voice acting is really good and lets you sink in. My only complaint is that some of the puzzles arent very well explained and i end up having to search the whole town.
As others have pointed out, the story gets slightly predictable but at no point did that take me out of enjoying it.
great game
[h1][b]🎮 Reseña de The Excavation of Hob's Barrow[/b][/h1]
[h2]Resumen del Juego[/h2]
The Excavation of Hob's Barrow es una aventura de apuntar y clic con sabor a “pueblito británico donde todos te sonríen… mientras esconden un cadáver bajo la alfombra”. Controlas a una protagonista femenina metida en una investigación que huele a misterio, drama y ese terror tenebroso que no necesita jumpscares baratos: le basta con mirarte fijo y decirte “no deberías estar aquí”.
La propuesta es clásica y orgullosa de serlo: explorar, hablar, juntar pistas, resolver rompecabezas y dejar que la historia te apriete la garganta con suspenso. En lo visual se va por lo retro/pixelado, pero con intención cinematográfica: no es “viejo por pobre”, es “viejo por mala leche estética”.
La primera impresión es clara: esto no viene a hacerte sentir poderoso; viene a hacerte sentir incómodo. Y lo logra… con una calma que da rabia, como esa gente que te dice “tranquilo” cuando claramente NO hay motivo para estar tranquilo.
[h2]Lo Siniestro y lo No Tan Siniestro[/h2]
Lo Bueno:
✅ 🧩 Rompecabezas e investigación bien alineados con el ritmo de aventura (no se sienten pegados con cinta)
✅ 🎭 Protagonista femenina con peso narrativo: no es adorno ni “la elegida” por decreto
✅ 🌫️ Ambientación atmosférica y tenebrosa: el terror se cocina a fuego lento y se disfruta incómodo
✅ 🎬 Enfoque narrativo fuerte (misterio + drama + suspenso) que se siente “de autor” sin dormirse
✅ 🏆 40 logros: para el completista que necesita validación oficial por leer cada nota y tocar cada cosa
Lo No Tan Bueno:
❌ 🎮 Compatibilidad parcial con mando: o sea, “sí… pero no me reclames si se siente raro”
❌ 🔁 Rejugabilidad limitada: una vez que sabes el misterio, el barrow ya no muerde igual
❌ 🧍 Un jugador únicamente: perfecto si odias a la gente… o si la gente te odia a ti
❌ 🧩 Si no te gusta el apuntar y clic, aquí no hay “modo acción” para salvarte 😬
[h2]Tabla de Evaluación[/h2]
[table]
[tr][th]Aspecto[/th][th]Puntuación (0-10)[/th][th]Comentario[/th][/tr]
[tr][td]Jugabilidad[/td][td]7[/td][td]Clásica y efectiva: clic, explorar, pensar… y sufrir.[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Dificultad / IA[/td][td]7[/td][td]Retos de lógica decentes; no hay IA que “arruine”, pero tampoco te pasea.[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Contenido[/td][td]7[/td][td]Suficiente para una aventura narrativa; va al grano.[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Gráficos / Video[/td][td]8[/td][td]Pixelado con intención: retro, expresivo y con buen encuadre.[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Historia[/td][td]8[/td][td]Misterio con garra: drama y terror bien amarrados.[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Ambientación[/td][td]9[/td][td]De lo mejor: incómodo, denso y muy bien construido.[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Efectos (VFX)[/td][td]7[/td][td]Cumplen sin fuegos artificiales; aquí manda el tono.[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Música[/td][td]8[/td][td]Acompaña con tensión elegante; sabe cuándo callarse.[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Voces[/td][td]7[/td][td]Comentario disponible y buen soporte narrativo; hacen el trabajo.[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Diversidad[/td][td]6[/td][td]Protagonista femenina suma, pero no es un festival de enfoques.[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Rendimiento[/td][td]8[/td][td]Indie bien portado: estable y sin drama técnico notable.[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Rejugabilidad[/td][td]6[/td][td]La magia está en no saber; al repetir, baja el impacto.[/td][/tr]
[tr][td][b]Total Puntuaciones (Muy Bueno)[/b][/td][td][b]7.4[/b][/td][td]Aventura narrativa sólida: te atrapa, te incomoda y te deja pensando.[/td][/tr]
[/table]
[h2]Conclusión (Muy Bueno)[/h2]
The Excavation of Hob's Barrow es de esas aventuras que no gritan para asustar: te susurran. Y duele más. Si te gusta el misterio con investigación, rompecabezas bien puestos y una atmósfera que se te pega como humedad, aquí tienes un viaje compacto y con colmillo.
Ahora, seamos controversiales: que haya 16 jugadores activos no significa que sea malo; significa que este tipo de aventura no es el buffet libre de dopamina que consume la mayoría. Es más bien un platillo fuerte: el que lo prueba, lo recomienda. Y con 2127 recomendaciones totales, queda claro que la comunidad que lo jugó no vino a “más o menos”; vino a aplaudir el mal rato (en el buen sentido).
Si quieres acción, reflejos y explosiones, vete a otra cueva. Si quieres una historia oscura, retro y atmosférica, esta excavación sí vale la pena.
[h3]Recomendación de Compra (Recomendado)[/h3]
Puntuación Total: 7.4/10
Número de jugadores activos al momento de hacer esta review: 16
Descuento máximo registrado: -55%
Veredicto: [i]Recomendado: una aventura tenebrosa con historia fuerte y atmósfera de primera, aunque con rejugabilidad moderada y mando a medias.[/i]
Si te gustan las aventuras de apuntar y clic con terror lento, misterio y rompecabezas, cómpralo cuando tengas ganas de sentirte observado por un pueblito entero que “no sabe nada”… demasiado perfectamente.
It doesn't do anything special, but if you like the genre it's servicial. Not very long, without moon logic and with a somewhat interesting story.
Good
[i]"The mind is capable of manifesting frightful things, Miss Bateman"[/i]
Замечательная игра с вязкой атмосферой британской глубинки. Она великолепно передаёт ощущение тайны - этакой загадки, которую от тебя все скрывают и ты по крупице собираешь информацию, что бы выстроить все в целостную картину. При этом в повествовании делаться акцент на жуткие образы (не всегда оправданные), фольклор и недосказанности. Ожидал Point-and-click адвенчуру на пару вечеров, а по итогу в захлеб играл до самого конца - столь сильно было желание во всем этом разобраться.
У игры 2 неоспоримых плюса. Качественная озвучка каждой реплики в игре, с приятными голосами и диалектными речевыми особенностями. Вслушиваться в то, как здесь говорят местные, было отдельным удовольствием и озвучка качественно улучшает игру в разы. Визуально игра выглядит отлично: дешевый и крупный пиксель-арт прорисован в деталях, а некоторые арты предметов и образов выглядят очень добротно. Впрочем, отдельные действия героини будут скрываться затемнением экрана в угоду бюджетности проекта, но это не в коем случае не рушит общую атмосферу. Музыкальное сопровождение оформлено в виде эмбиента с цикличными электронными звуками, эпизодическим появлением гитары и странного вокала - именно оно создает тягучую атмосферу, которая хорошо соответствует захолустному городку Bewlay. Іncantamentum, New Day, Serenity Now, Fata Morgana - все эти композиции привлекают необычайным звучанием и оригинальностью.
Единственным препятствием к игре остается отсутствие хотя бы текстовой локализации, поэтому проходил вместе с программой-переводчиком. Геймплейно это классическая адвенчура с множеством современных улучшений, по типу быстрого перемещения для упрощения бэктрекинга и зажатия пробела для просмотра всех интерактивных объектов в поле зрения - довольно спорная штука, делает исследование мира не столь удовлетворительным, но комфортным. Впрочем, это опция и без нее можно спокойно пройти игру сканируя мышкой каждый пиксель на экране.
The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow — рельсовая игра, и чаще всего действия для активации сюжетного скрипта очевидны, а там глядишь, и постоянные кат-сцены приведут тебя к точке назначения. Живые персонажи и целый городок для изучения - вот что делает игру особенной. Каждый день я начинал с азартом исследователя, чтобы заглянуть под каждый камешек и опросить каждого консервативно настроенного местного, даже самого ворчливого из них. 2/3 прохождения из этого и будут состоять: поиск квестовых предметов и выполнения простеньких поручений, в процессе которых мы узнаём больше о местных дикарях, верованиях и стереотипах. Финал же характеризуется чередой логичных, интуитивно понятных головоломок, решения для которых игроку дают почти в начале - главное увидеть между строк скрытый посыл и правильно им воспользоваться. Именно поэтому эти пазлы не только не ломают динамику повествования, но и очень удовлетворительны при их разгадке.
Финал истории открытый и необычный, так как ломает классическую сюжетную логику, заставляя пересматривать свои ожидания. Поэтому, игре сильно не хватает альтернативной концовки для полноты картины, с другой стороны подобный финал редко встретишь и он имеет право на существование.
[i]"If I've learned anything in this life, it's that some stones are best left unturned"[/i]
Спасибо разработчикам за бесплатную раздачу, у них получилась замечательная игрушка.
I don't usually play these kind of games. To be honest, I don't even remember purchasing this game. I'm wondering if it was part of a bundle or something? Doesn't really matter because this game is really good. As of right now, I only have 5.5 hrs of gameplay and I'm lowkey obsessed. I love the storyline, and the different characters/personalities. I also love the main character. She's got a lot of good qualities, but she's also got qualities I don't like, which I think is important for good well-rounded characters. I really like this game, and when I finish this game I'm definitely going to check out more games from this developer. Great job, guys! Thank you for the great game!
Dark adventure game.
Charming characters with phenomenal voice acting and a really cool mystery so far.
Muy buen juego
This is a terrific horror game, and the best folk horror game I have played. The events in the game never failed to surprise me. The story, voice acting and sound are excellent, and the graphics are vivid and evocative. Well worth purchasing if you like horror, puzzle games, and games that make you think and feel, or even if you are busy and looking for a game you can play for several minutes at a time. You will enjoy it this way too.
great!
The art is fantastic, and I am enjoying the story! It is slow paced so far, but I don't mind, because you get to admire all of the little details in the art and setting.
A well crafted mystery-thriller in an uninviting, cozy, and seemingly sleepy little village that you’ll quickly know by heart. Wonderfully written, memorable, charming characters who (almost) all want you to bugger off and very manageable bite-sized puzzles. 19th century, lofcraftian, victorian vibes. Rain, moorland, folklore, countryside England. Fitting sound design and music and an even better unique vibrant and somehow also bleak visual style and art direction.
A game that knows what it is and what it wants to achieve. For me it succeeded in all categories without unnecessarily stretching playtime, nor overstaying its welcome. No endless quest logs, no bloat, no hogwash. A fun horror novel of a game, that makes you untangle a dark secret. Capital!
Everything here..the way people speak and behave, the forest, the moorland, the church, the houses..had a great sense of place and (screen)time enough to have grown on me quite a bit over the 8+ hours I enjoyed it. There is some good humour to be found in it too, yet until the end it never loses its darkness, its mystery. “What’s life without a little mystery, Miss Bateman?”
My verdict: A wonderfully cozy mystery thriller for a weekend.
Ta-ra!
An enjoyable story, slowly winding into the dark and supernatural. If you're looking for an interesting story with enjoyable puzzles, this is a brilliant example.
Buena Aventura Grafica. Para pasarte unas horas recordando la verdadera esencia de las mismas.
The voice acting is top quality, featuring the voice of Samantha Béart (Karlach) as the main character, yet every single character and line of dialog is voiced well.
The story didn't get as grim and horrifying as I had hoped or as the build-up throughout the game led me to believe, but it was still a nice little adventure.
