Haunted Bloodlines is a terrifying and unsettling adventure that includes all the ingredients for the most classic horror story.
Are you a fan of those horror video games with the atmosphere of the first Resident Evil, where you try to survive inside large, well-furnished buildings steeped in pure terror, where a simple corridor could become a battlefield or, at the very least, a long escape route? In Haunted Bloodlines, we felt this kind of “terror,” all accompanied by effective jump scares and eerie specters instead of relentless zombies.
We tried version 0.11 of this psychological horror developed by Horrified Triangles and Iphigames—the latter you might remember from the intriguing Skaramazuzu—and although there are undoubtedly improvements to be made, it seemed well-structured and effective in terms of atmosphere and clever tricks to make us jump out of our seats.
But let’s proceed in order…
A Large Haunted Mansion
As I have already mentioned, Haunted Bloodlines contains all the ingredients for a classic horror story that, although it repeats the genre’s standards and stereotypes, when well-executed, always constitutes a great pleasure for enthusiasts.
So, as per tradition, we will be dealing with supernatural entities, in this case, presences that we might call specters or ghosts, whose purpose will be to eliminate us, specifically to either kill us or drive us out of the haunted location.
The haunted location in question is a large mansion, a classic villa full of old paintings and wallpaper, with numerous rooms arranged along narrow and labyrinthine corridors on multiple floors.
The character we play, in the first person, is the heir to this immense source of trouble. We are in England, and upon his father’s death, Samuel Wilson, our protagonist, discovers through a will that he has inherited this old family mansion. An old mansion of a family full of mysteries and unsettling developments that we will have to uncover.
Samuel will find himself wandering through these corridors adorned with paintings and doors, mostly closed, and during the exploration, he will gradually gain access to suspended places, where various clues will help us understand the mysterious backstory of his family.
The means by which we can make these journeys is a pocket watch. Once we set the correct time, discovered by solving a puzzle, we will find ourselves in a different time from our own and witness scenes like that of a simple family meal. A family composed of a father—Daniel—a mother—Medea—and two children—Little John and Maya. The game introduces another mysterious figure, a visitor, whose identity remains unknown in this early version.
Once back in the present time, we will have new paths and new clues, and we will find ourselves passing, in a loop, through the same corridors and rooms that change in more or less obvious details.
The puzzles are not too difficult, but they still require some thought, and gradually lead us, through children’s drawings or other objects, to understand who is behind a particular presence, with feminine features, who seems to be Medea, the mother of the two children.She writes a letter to her husband during the time we are traveling, expressing her worries about their financial situation since she is expecting another child.
What could have led this woman to transform into the terrifying creature that inhabits the old Wilson mansion?
Run and Hide!
What can we do to survive?
Very little, in reality. Basically, run or hide, or both. From the moment the paranormal phenomena manifest, our mental health begins to deteriorate, eventually leading us to literally die of madness.
We can check our mental state through the part of the interface where the silhouette of a bust—representing us and our health status—gradually becomes enveloped in increasingly intense blood-red clouds.
The only way to restore our sanity is to stay near a light source, which is what the numerous switches scattered throughout the building are for, including those in recesses like the bedroom closet.
The light serves to “heal” us, but sometimes it can be a source of danger, attracting the evil entity that is pursuing us. You must have patience and a cool head but also the courage to escape right under the nose of the ruthless threat, which, when it manages to lay hands on us, brutally hangs us from a rope, complete with an almost heart-stopping jump scare, that, even though you know it’s coming, gets you every time.
The jump scares are quite frequent; however, there is not an outright overuse of them. They occur when we die, but also when paranormal phenomena manifest, putting us in a more shaken and anxious state, but above all, on guard.
We Are Still in Beta Testing
This first version that Horrified Triangles and Iphigames have released to the public undeniably has some problems, starting with the loading times, which are really very long, and the lack of frame fluidity.
You can currently play Haunted Bloodlines on PC, and the developers recommend using the Xbox controller. However, it’s this very controller that doesn’t work. It fared a little better with the PS4 controller.
The music is not particularly impactful from a qualitative standpoint; it does what it’s supposed to do, neither infamously nor praiseworthily. But when we have to linger in the same place a bit longer to solve a puzzle, it becomes particularly annoying.
Another obvious problem is the graphics. For the most part, the style is spot on. It’s a realistic 3D, not too original, but decently executed. However, the shadows are still more than just sketched—I hope—and they significantly undermine the illusion of realism in the scenes.
The developers executed the game’s mechanics well, even though they are not overly complex, but they need to resolve another problem: the doors.
The game’s design opens and closes the doors according to realistic logic, but in cases like this, where you find yourself fleeing quickly from an impending threat, the doors can trap you between the door and the wall because they only open in one direction.
In survival horror video games, where escaping is one of the first options, doors, gates, etc., usually open in both directions. Of course, this isn’t very realistic, but in these cases, making an exception is necessary.
In about an hour of gameplay and at a point in development that still requires attention to detail—which is more than normal at this stage—you can’t expect to have a complete idea of what Haunted Bloodlines will be, but the premises are really good, and the game is engaging and interesting.
Conclusions
Ghosts, creepy children drawing creepy pictures, a luxurious haunted mansion, mysteries to solve, and more; there seems to be plenty of meat on the fire that will satisfy the palate of nostalgic enthusiasts and genre lovers, myself included.
Therefore, I am very curious to discover the whole story of this cursed bloodline and what psychological developments it entails.
Horrified Triangles and Iphigames still haven’t set a date or period for the full release of Haunted Bloodlines, but they are taking their time to make it the best it can be. Given the premises, I expect an excellent horror video game to release some healthy adrenaline.
If you’d like, you can try the demo freely on Steam.
I’m an Italian artist who came late to the gaming world but fell in love with it right away. I’m not the best gamer, and I choose titles that appeal to my personal preferences, but I can appreciate the graphics content and artistic solutions above all, even as I learn about all the fascinating game development features.
