A Lively Haunt

A pleasing horror-themed take on classic Sierra adventure games. Graphics and sound are perfect throwbacks, right down to the walking animations, and the puzzles are enjoyable (besides one particular music-themed puzzle that I found tedious -- but the game gives you an option to skip any "skill based" puzzles you want) It has one tech issue the developer has in fact acknowledged, but I believe needs more work to resolve. Namely, the game sometimes fails to identify keyboard inputs. This is apparently a side effect of the dual keyboard support. The issue happened to me, and my fix was to log off and back on to my windows profile before starting the game. Another workaround the developer recommended was to use an external keyboard instead of a laptop one. All of these workarounds are a pain in the neck, and I hope someday the issue can be resolved completely.

This game brought me back to when i was a kid and played Sierras old AGI games. I love the concept that you can switch between two characters and use them to help each other out. I myself had no luck in convincing my girl to play this with me, and so can happily inform you that it works great playing alone as well!

A nice little adventure game that reminded me of Uninvited for the NES. There are a couple of overly difficult skill-based sequences, but they can thankfully be skipped with a toggle in the options. Most of the puzzles are solvable enough to trip you up for a moment and then make you feel clever when you figure them out, but a few are obtuse and need a glance at the official walkthrough to get past. Overall, good work for a single dev!

I love the concept and the setting, but someone has to be the "bad guy" I suppose, so here I go: This game is meant to be a 2-player experience. Your partner is required to plug in an additional keyboard. If you want to play solo, you can just switch between the two characters with "Tab". However, my keyboard has the issue mentioned in the description. I can't type anything, so basically I can't play the game. The solutions range from replugging to deleting the keyboard(s) in device manager. (?) I've tried them all + other options I googled. Nothing. I don't think this is acceptable. Not for a finished product with this retail price. I'm sure the guy spent a lot of time and heart to make it. But then, instead of solving this issue he just left a description. Given that the game barely has five reviews, how bad must this issue be that they already had to add a troubleshooting section? Would it have been impossible to modify that 2-keyboard extension or bypass it for people who want to play solo? Just a bizzare decision to leave it like this. It's like making a tasty cake with perfect frosting, but instead of a cherry on top you dump a lump of coal. One should take more pride i…

A Lively Haunt, developed and published by Kevin McConnell, is a deliberately old-school adventure that fully commits to the design sensibilities of classic text parser games. Rather than modernizing the genre, it embraces its roots almost completely, combining simple pixel visuals with a command-based input system that requires players to type out their actions. This choice defines the entire experience, shaping both its strengths and its limitations in equal measure. The setup is straightforward but effective. What begins as an ordinary roadside mishap quickly shifts into something more unsettling, leading the player into a mysterious estate filled with supernatural elements. From there, the game unfolds through exploration and puzzle-solving, with the story revealed gradually through descriptions, environmental clues, and player interaction. The narrative itself is intentionally sparse, relying more on atmosphere and implication than direct storytelling. This creates a sense of mystery, but it also means that much of the engagement depends on the player’s willingness to interpret and piece together what is happening. Gameplay revolves around the text parser, which requires pla…

Really good & fun text parser game. Great co-op experience.