Developer: Spooky Doorway
Platform: PC (Reviewed)
Genre: Adventure
Publisher: Raw Fury
The Séance of Blake Manor is a supernatural detective mystery game developed by Spooky Doorway and published by Raw Fury. The game blends investigative storytelling with time-based mechanics and Irish mythology to create an experience that feels both eerie and stimulating.
Set in Ireland, 1987, The Séance of Blake Manor invites players into a world drenched in mystery, folklore and the supernatural. You play as Declan Ward, a private investigator who has been summoned to the hauntingly beautiful Blake Manor on Ireland’s west coast. You need to uncover the truth behind the disappearance of Evenlyn Deane. The Séance of Blake Manor is filled with a slow-burning detective tale filled with secrets, Irish mythology and spiritualism. Every conversation, clue, and hypothesis will lead you closer to uncovering the mystery of Evelyn Deane.
The game’s mechanics are where The Séance of Blake Manor truly shines. This game, after all, is an investigative detective mystery that mixes time management, deduction and exploration. Each action you take, whether that be examining an object, talking to a resident, or exploring a new room, will consume in-game time, and time is precious. The time mechanics add tension and strategy. You can only do so much before the clock strikes the next hour (but do not worry, you have the whole day ahead). Working hourly allows the players to attend events/talks that are being held at the Manor to familiarise themselves with other residents and learn more about the narrative.
Once you have collected enough evidence/clues, you can form hypotheses using specific words and present them to residents to test your deductions. One of my favourite aspects of this game has to be the UI. The UI deserves so much praise as it is interactive, informative and intuitive, helping players manage evidence, notes and timetables without feeling overwhelmed. You will get to a point in the game where a lot of mysteries and clues will be piled up, but the UI does not make you stress one bit. As The Séance of Blake Manor relies on players interacting with characters, being able to track their reschedules and set reminders for key events allows you to plan your movements accordingly to avoid getting caught or missing out on vital interactions.
Besides just the casual clue collecting, where you observe or discuss with residents, the game does include some puzzles that blend perfectly. For instance, you will come across safes that need to be unlocked with weird sequences, codes that you will find in due time (just a matter of investigating). There was a point at the beginning of the game where you needed to find Evelyn’s letter before the manager caught you, and I found out that you can, in fact, fail in this game. However, do not let that get to the best of you, as this will allow you to look at scenarios with a different perspective (after several failures in that specific moment, I had finally noticed the open window as my escape route).
The Séance of Blake Manor has expressive visuals. It has a comic book-like art style with 3D and 2D effects blended effortlessly, almost making some locations feel like a pop-up book. I did find that the visuals resembled Escape Academy with the atmospheric tone of The Blue Prince. Every frame feels like it is hand-drawn, soaked with realism, vibrant and detailed aspects, keeping this visual style fresh. The manor itself is vast, full of secrets, with each area worth exploring. I thought the addition of voice acting was top-notch. The main dialogues between the characters (besides discussing evidence) were all voice-acted, which broke the pattern of endlessly needing to read text. Each character has a unique personality that shines through their dialogue, elevating the storytelling. You can tell that a lot of care went into matching the voices to their personalities, which made each interaction feel meaningful, especially with the diversity of the cast.
The Séance of Blake Manor follows the rhythm of ‘the deeper you go, the more layers of mystery you will uncover’, and this does not fall short one bit. Blake Manor is filled with intricate puzzles, branching conversations and tons of evidence to collect. The map gradually populates as you explore, marking rooms and residents that help you keep track of people even more.
Now I would say that at times the amount of information can feel overwhelming. There is a lot of reading, though I am glad the evidence management is automatic (once again, I will say that the UI is splendid). You will get to the point in the game where you will start to learn clues about the real culprit, and by finding facts about each character, you can start eliminating suspects.
The Séance of Blake Manor has a strong educational element, where the more you progress, you will unlock an essential area, like the library, where you can learn more about certain topics. As this game revolves around Irish history, mythology and other topics that may not be familiar to players, the library is a great way to gain additional knowledge. It is quite fascinating how seamlessly the developers added real-world lore into the supernatural narrative.
After several hours of gameplay with The Séance of Blake Manor, I am extremely impressed. Beyond just being a game, The Séance of Blake Manor is an experience that rewards curiosity and observation. The developers poured their hearts into crafting a world that feels immersive and authentic. What is quite nice about the mystery deductions is that they are a lot easier to decode if you follow along with the story. A great balance between complex yet satisfying, where even if you get stuck, it is part of the fun.
I also love how each resident feels distinct, with their own secrets, motives and conflicts. Watching their interactions and digging into their pasts made me even more invested. You can easily get several hours of gameplay time in this game, allowing for replayability if you missed out on any cases. I will say that sometimes the amount of reading and information was a lot, and as someone who wanted to discuss every bit of evidence, it took away from the relevant clues. Either way, the writing is sharp, and the lore is so rich that I did not mind as much. I would say there was one major point in the game where I genuinely got stuck when it came to the ‘Ms Deane’s Room’ mystery, and researching a specific arch took much longer than it should have.
The Séance of Blake Manor has to be one of the most captivating detective games I have played recently. It perfectly blends mystery-solving and time-based strategy, with intriguing storytelling wrapped with Gothic Irish charm. Every corner of the manor has a story to tell, and every minute spent feels worthwhile.
The Séance of Blake Manor captures the essence of classic detective storytelling while seamlessly incorporating Irish folklore and supernatural elements. As you investigate, gather clues, and uncover the mysteries surrounding Evelyn Deane’s disappearance, you will find yourself drawn deeper into the eerie atmosphere of Blake Manor. Step into Declan Ward’s shoes, and prepare to experience a captivating supernatural mystery. So, be sure to check out The Séance of Blake Manor!
Overall: 9.5/10
This is S & S. We are world game explorers. We play games. We have played over 10,000+ games! We travel, we write reviews AND we play more games!!!!
