Okay, fishies, I've been playing games longer than probably most of you. This is an awesome game. No, it's PERFECT! "The story IS the game", remember and this one entirely draws you in as the game progresses. Many puzzles to solve and the game is lengthy so you get your money's worth--don't worrry abouttt itttt! .Please don't mind my NewJersey accent. YOU are Kiera--quirky, good sense of humor, brave, funny, intelligent and can solve the puzzles--ZIP-- no one else can-- necessary to solve this dark, age-old "family curse"! YES, it's a little 'ole ADVENTURE game. Hey! You's gonna love it! Try it! Buy it! "But, I only like Hidden Object Games" Really?. Have you noticed most HOGS involve picking up objects or clues to solve interwoven puzzles and mini-games? SURPRISE--It's an ADVENTURE GAME! This is UNCOMPLICATED and FUN, Yeah, Mama Mia has played complicated Adventure-type, mind-boggling Games and felt toatlly UNEMPOWERED: "NIBIRU", "SAFECRACKER," "MYST," "RIVEN," "LORD OF THE RINGS-BME." Ghost Ship Studios, Inc. thought of everything and put together a do-able, genuine, fun, exciting, entertaining and challenging GAME PLAYING EXPERIENCE! This Joisey Goil would like to see a SEQUEL! So, let's SHOW A LITTLE BFG LOVE! Mama Mia Hugs and Joisey Goil Kisses to Tim Scheiman, Shawn Seil & GHOST SHIP STUDIOS, INC.----BRAVO!------BRAVO!------ Mama Mia Jersey Girl USA

I recently replayed this game (after the sequel came out) so thought I'd write a review. Replaying confirms that it is indeed an excellent puzzle game of the sort you have to figure out how to use the various objects you find to solve puzzles that take you forward. And these puzzles are challenging! However, there is always something which will give you a good hint -- you just have to find that something! The story is told as a kind of episodic flashback "this is what happened". From the game-play point of view this enables it to be broken up into segments, so there's none of the great amount of walking back and forth you get in other games; you have to solve the 'level' and then you move on. I really like the way that the story slowly unfolds, with many questions along the way. The only thing I thought very slightly detracted were some of the visuals. Not the scenes themselves but the portrayal of people when they are talking to each other. But highly recommended.

As my title says, this was a surreally wonderful adventure game with no hidden object scenes to interfere with your line of thought. This was a tightly crafted, puzzle- crammed delight that pushed you to the very edge of your wits. My hat is off to the developers for pulling off such an "illusional feat" without the use of character interaction. I'd love to see a sequel or a prequel. This gem is worth every nickel! Bravo!

One of the best adventures I have come across Main character Kiera receives a mysterious letter that leads her to Blackwater asylum. While there, she will try to find information about her family. What she didn?t know is that while trying to reveal mysteries from her past, she will find herself in far more dangerous situation that she ever expected. The game itself is very well done. Interesting plot. Creepy atmosphere and beautiful graphics, low music in the background contributed to the whole experience. There was no voice overs . You have optional tutorial and detailed instructions. Also there are no hidden object scenes but puzzles in the game are definitely good enough to keep you playing. You have hint and skip buttons. No map. Also Kiera has a camera so you can take pictures of any clue during the game. Definitely worth playing, and if you are a true adventure game addict I honestly recommend trying it out.

This game was such a breath of fresh air. Sometimes I hit a wall with the HOGs, and just need something a little different. The Witch's Prison fixed that dilemma. The story was awesome and felt as if it could transfer to film. Most game stories just can't do that, as they are either too hokey or just unstructured. The story here is best summed up as a supernatural-themed-government-conspiracy, which are my faves so I was immediately hooked. There's a nice blend of tongue-in-cheek humor and creepiness. The game even pokes fun at the HOG genre: You get to play a mini hidden object scene after hacking the antagonist's computer. Got a good chuckle out of that. My guess is the developers--as gamers themselves--probably craved an adventure that doesn't take itself too serious, and allows room for realism and humor. I found that some of the dialogue were things I would have likely said to myself in real life if put in that situation as well. The writers achieved a perfect balance of humor with horror, and neither element goes so far as to take away from the other. The graphics were good for being seemingly hand-drawn. I'm one of those who likes crisp, life-like but completely computer generated graphics and live actors, but surprisingly this game was lovely to look at with a comic/storybook feel to it. The sound effects were lacking at times. We are so used to every single action in our games making some sort of noise so when I found a puzzle that was totally silent, I checked to make sure I didn't accidentally mute my earbuds. The music was appropriate, fitting, and unobtrusive; just a little bit of a floating piano melody that felt a little nostalgic. The puzzles...well...I'll just say there were a few that made me feel like a complete ding-dong. I'm not into the strategy based puzzles were you have to think 5 moves ahead--they just make my head scramble. In this game there is a puzzle for every type of thinker though, so chances are you will find the one that suits your abilities and gives you comp

Absolutely loved this game!!! It is billed as a Hidden Object Game but there were no tiresome junk scenes, just lots and lots of exploring of scary environments, searching for missing parts/keys/tiles etc. in order to solve puzzles. A few of the puzzles are similar to ones I've seen before but many are quite novel. None of them are particularly hard, but some were tricky and exercised the little grey cells a bit. If you can't work out what you're meant to be doing, the HINT button provides some guidance but doesn't give you the answer. There's also a SKIP button to use if a puzzle defeats you. The graphics are well drawn and the music is superb. I particularly enjoyed the ending. Some games end rather abruptly, as though the developers have run out of budget and ideas and are glad to finish it; this one ended with interesting and surprising cut scenes and stirring music. It appears this game was developed by a small company, and if so, it is particularly impressive. I'll be looking for more.

One of the best games I've played in a long time: great storyline, touches of humor, challenging and varied puzzles. Loved the lack of Hidden Object scenes. The pace was about perfect. The responses when using items or searching were unique and fun - a lot of work and forethought must have gone into them. The only thing I'd change at all is the controls. Sometimes, it was a minor pain to back out of a puzzle I didn't have the materials to complete yet. Truly that's an afterthought compared to the great quality of the game itself.

I'm SO sick of trying to find games that SAY they are "adventure" or "strategy" and really they're just glorified hidden object games. There are WAY TOO MANY of those...they ARE NOT FUN. I want more games like THIS! Makes you think, problem solve, search...actually engage in the game. Really great game, NOT a glorified hidden object. NO hidden object at all. It was great. MORE GAMES LIKE THIS PLEASE!!!!

Own and played entire game. Was hoping the story would center around Caretaker Quinn and Mr. Creeps (met at the Groundkeeper's Cabin), because they were mysterious and really creepy. Quinn disappeared for several chapters. No further mention of Mr. Creeps, his replacement or the creepy show. Maybe there could be a prequel featuring them. Still was a creepy atmosphere. Liked being able to control the speed of dialogue. Be sure to read all the notes, especially those with several pages. You will need the clues later. Need to be very good at deciphering riddles to progress through the game. Riddles are everywhere. Camera pictures of notable riddles helped some - I liked how the pictures disappeared when no longer needed. Instructions for puzzles were minimal; a few were easy to figure out while a few others drew on experience with similar puzzles in other games. The frequency of the puzzles and time it took to solve riddles broke the creepy atmosphere somewhat. Overall good production values and length - 5 stars if the atmosphere wasn?t broken so often by the time required to figure out the numerous riddles. The ?back? feature could have worked better. Rate at 4.5 stars ? rounded up because it?s more than a 4 star game.

You have GOT to try this game. It is what I would call a sleeper. This has one of the best stories I have played in a while. The story is very good and consistent throughout. This is truly an adventure game. There are NO HOG?s! THANK YOU dev.?s!!! Sometimes you read a review that states the game was "so scary" it made the player jump. I?ve played those ?scary? games, never happened. I laugh to say it did here, and not because the game is scary. You work on some of those puzzles and get so far into thought, that when it ?clicked? into place, I really did jump (my husband laughed). The puzzles are excellent, some I had never seen before, they range from difficult to perplexing, but all do-able. The game is very intuitive so you pretty much don?t get lost or wonder what to do next, and if you do (very unlikely) you can use your hint button or consult the walkthrough provided by BF (you guys are the best). There is no going back and forth or around in circles. You work in a small area ?chapter? and can?t advance until you accomplish all tasks. The writers have a sense of humor that was enjoyable; they don?t talk down to you as some, and never tell you that?s silly, or worse. The only disappointment I experienced was the lack of music and voice overs (which I think can make any game better). Some games have too much music and it gets in the way of playing, here I had to check my volume thinking I had turned it down too far, or muted in the options. Nope. At times there was no sound at all, disappointing. The other let down was the graphics. While they were ok, they could have been much better. It could have been a fabulous game if the graphics, voice over and music had been better.