Things that Happened in Houghtonbridge
Dee Cooke
Adventuron
It’s unfair in a way, I suppose, but a good game raises the player’s expectations. Flaws that might go unnoticed in another game stand out. They are hard to ignore. 75% of Things that Happened in Houghtonbridge is like this. The story is a bit of a slow burn in a good way. An eccentric aunt goes missing, and her absence grows more and more suspicious as her niece (a bit of a busybody, I suppose) searches her things, reads her diary, and otherwise pokes around her home. For a long while, it isn’t clear what specifically is wrong, but it’s a pleasing sort of ambiguity.
The majority of THH is puzzle-free. Or, at least, there are no puzzles of the “brain teaser” variety. The player solves problems, but they largely function as a way to build suspense and properly pace the story. This proves effective. Once the protagonist arrived at Beverly’s (the aunt’s) home, the slow drip of clues was enough to pull me through the story.
A majority portion of THH is satisfyingly implemented. Descriptions for mentioned nouns are a given, and they are generally interesting. The dialog system is menu-based, and responses are generally well-considered and infused with the speaker’s character. A surprising exception to the author’s attention to detail is the handling of exits. One very busy room had what felt like a lot of exits that were only described by their direction. In a game of this quality, I expect to see phrases like “You can see your aunt’s study through an open door to the east,” or somesuch.
Things feel a bit different in the last 25% of THH. There is a large exposition dump followed by a brief set piece confrontation with the only recently-introduced villain. Given the care with which the rest of the game is paced, I wondered if perhaps there simply wasn’t time to end THH as it begun. Obviously, this only becomes a question because everything else feels so carefully and thoughtfully implemented. Perhaps if the early game did more to establish the villain, the conclusion wouldn’t feel so out of place. I also wondered how the protagonist could be so clueless regarding the peril that her friend Brianna was obviously in.
There is a walkthrough provided, though it is command-by-command and will likely give away more than a player will like [*update: it has been pointed out there there are in-game hints, as well]. I personally didn’t need help with puzzles, but I would have appreciated some information about the various possible endings.
I imagine this is an Adventuron thing, but I expect to be able to make a transcript of any text game I play, especially if I find myself reviewing it. If there is a way, it isn’t via a ‘Script’ or ‘Transcript’ command. This absence was felt especially strongly because the “look” command clears the screen. [update: mystery solved! see below]
Would I recommend Things that Happened in Houghtonbridge? Certainly. I liked the concept, I liked the protagonist, I liked the setting. The implementation was thorough, and the game world was well-realized. While I was disappointed by the conclusion, I admit that this is because the rest of the game promises great things. It’s certainly a better class of disappointment than most.