Echoes of Madness - The Hawthorne Case

⠀

As a huge fan of H.P. Lovecraft, I am pretty glad that I played this game. The graphics are done in a *very* good 16-bit style that just tickled my fancy, and the game is extremely easy to play. I will make one complaint: I thought that it was way too short. It only took me 6 minutes to finish the game, and though I liked it all, a little bit more fleshing out of the story would have gone a long way here, even just a little bit more description or a few more interactable objects would have helped. I will also say this about the ending... it's done in a very Lovecraftian style, he only had a couple of different ending types: vaguely "resolved", or abrupt and final. This game went with the latter, so take that for what you will. I am 100% glad that I checked this one out, and it's free, so if you just want a quick little shot of Lovecraftian horror, give this one a go.

*Echoes of Madness - The Hawthorne Case* is like if a noir film and a supernatural mystery had a baby, and that baby was raised by a pack of witty squirrels! You step into the shoes of Detective Norman, a guy whose job description might as well be “professional problem solver with a knack for running into creepy situations.” Your mission? Find a missing girl named Felicia. Sounds simple enough, right? Wrong! The moment you start digging, you realize you’ve stumbled into a mystery so tangled that even Sherlock Holmes would throw up his hands and say, “I’m out!” There are supernatural twists that will have you questioning whether you’re in a detective story or a really weird dream where your coffee cup keeps talking back. The dialogue is snappy, and the characters are as colorful as a box of crayons that fell into a blender. You’ll be laughing out loud at some of the ridiculous situations Norman finds himself in, like trying to interrogate a ghost who only responds with bad puns. If you love solving mysteries with a side of humor and a splash of the supernatural, *Echoes of Madness* is the perfect game for you! Just make sure to keep your detective hat on—things are about to get…

Pretty decent short game. Could make a great book.