Barrow Hill (video game series)

Barrow Hill
Developer(s) Shadow Tor Studios
Publisher(s) Shadow Tor Studios
Lighthouse Interactive
Got Game Entertainment
Akella
Platform(s) PC
Release April 16, 2006 (From Shadow Tor Studios)
September 1, 2006 (US)
October 6, 2006 (EU)
Genre(s) First-person adventure
Mode(s) Single player

Barrow Hill is a horror adventure game series consisting of two titles. Barrow Hill: Curse of the Ancient Circle created in 2006 by independent developers Matt Clark & Shadow Tor Studios. Barrow Hill: The Dark Path was released in 2016.

Plot

The game is set in the site of Barrow Hill, which is based on real geographical locations in Cornwall, England. Forced to spend a sinister night there, you will investigate what is happening to the local people and why an archeological dig, led by professor Conrad Morse, has created so much unrest and hostility among the local community. During your exploration you will discover the local legends and superstitions, while using modern electronic devices like PDAs, GPS and metal detectors to unfold the mystery.

Gameplay

It is played as a classic first person "point and click" adventure, with the world being represented by pre-rendered, animated screens. The adventure is based on a non linear structure, that gives the player a lot of freedom in exploring the environment and collecting clues, letting him solve the game at his or her own pace.

Critical reception

Barrow Hill: Curse of the Ancient Circle

Barrow Hill has received generally very positive reviews among specialized magazines and adventure game sites, praising the creepy atmosphere, the quality of both audiovisual aspects and the logical game structure. The game puzzles are considered to be very well integrated with the story and the environment, never seeming like artificial obstacles to the player.[1] [2] Some general videogame publications were less impressed. Eurogamer.net gave the game a 5/10 stating "While the storyline blooms from the initial boredom into something more intriguing, it fizzles disappointingly as the game comes to its rather abrupt end."[3] Gamespot.com was less charitable, giving the game a 2.6/10 and stating "...Barrow Hill: Curse of the Ancient Circle is about as engaging and terrifying as a wait in a doctor's office."[4] GameRankings.com, which averages reviews from various game review sites, gave the game a composite score of 68.85 percent out of a possible 100 as of April 11, 2017.[5]

Barrow Hill: The Dark Path

Adventure Gamers enjoyed the tense atmosphere and intuitive puzzles.[6] Cog Connected negatively compared the game to The Blair Witch Project.[7] CG Magazine thought the game unintentionally served as a parody of 90's era Myst-clone adventure games.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Tom King (May 22, 2006). "Review: Barrow Hill". Adventure Gamers. Archived from the original on April 24, 2012. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Barrow Hill Review". Just Adventure. Archived from the original on October 10, 2011. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  3. ↑ Darren Allen (November 18, 2006). "Barrow Hill". Eurogamer. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  4. ↑ Brett Todd (August 24, 2006). "Barrow Hill: Curse of the Ancient Circle Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on November 23, 2012. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Barrow Hill: Curse of the Ancient Circle". GameRankings. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Barrow Hill: The Dark Path Review". Adventure Gamers. Retrieved 2017-12-30.
  7. ↑ "Barrow Hill: The Dark Path Review - A Little Too Much Blair Witch". COGconnected. Retrieved 2017-12-30.
  8. ↑ "Barrow Hill: The Dark Path Review - A Little Too Much Blair Witch". COGconnected. Retrieved 2017-12-30.


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