The Witch's House is a free horror RPG maker game created by Fummy and translated into English by VGPerson. It was originally released last October and has recently received an update. I have decided to finish this review just in time for Halloween, which would be as good a time as any to play it in the dark with headphones.
This is one of my absolute favorite RPG Maker games and is, in fact, my second favorite. I do not want to say that it's "under appreciated" or anything like that, but I do think it is overlooked because, at its surface, it looks only like one big jumpscare game. Not to say that the game does not rely on jumpscares to frighten the player because it does. However, there is definitely a story here, and it will slap you in the face by the end of the game. It is just that the story is not overt.
The Witch's House is available only for PC (Windows version 2000, XP, Vista, or 7). I do not know if it works on Windows 8 as I use Windows 7 but feel free to leave a comment if you know!
A few technical things before I launch into the full review. This game is pretty gory as far as such things can be in RPG maker. Death scenes can be graphically violent (ex, you can get stabbed, lose your head, etc). For that reason, I recommend the player be maybe fourteen or so (although Fummy says twelve and up). Children should definitely not play this game. As I already said, there are a LOT of jumpscares. If you are easily prone to being scared, or have any sort of heart condition, I do not recommend this game, as the scares can surprise you and the chase scenes can be very stressful. There is one point later in the game where the scares will keep coming and coming, and that is a definite point where, if you are faint of heart, you are going to have a bad time.
Allow me to admit that when The Witch's House was first translated (into English), I had pretty high expectations after playing through Ib. Ib was scary... sort of (the current version, which is different from the one I played a year ago, is scarier), but The Witch's House was a terrifying, heart-pounding adventure, full of jumpscares and surprises. The game also had a tendency to punish the player for following instinct and curiosity. What I've learned from the game is that if a puzzle seems simple, I have probably done it incorrectly.
The controls are pretty straightforward, standard RPG maker fare. Arrow keys to move, escape key to access the menu (which allows you to use your items and even load from a save file, which is nice), shift to run (one of the most important controls in the game), enter to confirm or interact. Those are the basics, but there are a couple of alternate keys you can use for them as well (listed in the readme). If you have played a previous version of The Witch's House, your save files should carry over.
The story of The Witch's House… well, it is not very clear until the end and, even then, depending on how you play and which ending you get, you may not get the full effect. You awaken as a teenage girl named Viola in the middle of the forest. Viola slashes down a patch of roses and discovers herself in a strange house that tries to kill her. As you progress, you will find many diaries left by a girl named Ellen which hold some back story on the apparent owner of the house. Along the way, Viola is helped along by a black cat who will tell her very little. To escape the murderous house, Viola must find something to destroy the roses blocking her path out of the forest. She is left only with one clue, a note that reads, "Come to my room."
Let's discuss the characters of the game! The truth is, there are not many characters. There are only three main characters that are present in the game. Viola is the main and player character. She is a thirteen year old girl who gets lost in a forest on the way to see a friend. There is also The Cat who is a black cat that Viola meets in the forest. He follows her into the mysterious house and acts as a save point. He does not have a lot of dialogue. The final character is The Witch, who seems to own the mysterious house Viola unknowingly wanders into. You learn about The Witch through various diaries strewn about the house.
The Witch's House is a puzzle based horror game, meaning that puzzles must be solved to progress (รก la Ib). Every puzzle has notes on the walls that hint at what must be done to solve the puzzle. The puzzles in this game are unique and enjoyable. I love that the puzzle (and game) mechanics play with one's expectations. One of my favorite puzzles in the game is the mirror room puzzle, where you must mirror objects in two rooms (incidentally, Mad Father, another RPG maker game, ended up doing something similar). The solutions to some of the puzzles rely on cruelty and gore, which is why I put a warning at the beginning of the post. Make no mistake, these puzzles can be difficult, but a good difficult!
It is important to note that upon completing certain puzzles, the player will be chased by some type of creature, which must be evaded (usually by leaving or entering a new room). If, at any time, the creature catches Viola, it's game over. Chase scenes are usually hinted by a sound or an object changing (breaking, closing, etc.,) These chase scenes tend to be the reason why I classify the puzzles as difficult. Even if you know that they are coming, if you get stuck or something, you will have to restart from your last save point.
As I mentioned in the introduction, the game punishes the player for following instinct. The best example of this is the very first puzzle of the game. Spoilers for the first puzzle, highlight if you do not mind it being spoiled: There is a dark room with a stain in the center and a note on the north wall. During my first playthrough, I thought I could walk straight to the note and, as soon as I tried, the walls closed in and killed me. That was when I knew that I was going to love this game. I love how the puzzles are never as simple as they may seem.
The difficulty of The Witch's House is somewhat difficult to place. I would say it is anything from average to difficult. For a first time player, it is going to be challenging because the chases can come as a surprise and cause instant death. For this reason, I recommend saving often during the first time playing. Solving a puzzle incorrectly can also sometimes be instant death. Using items incorrectly or using them period can, you guessed it, also cause instant death. There are many ways to die in this game is what I am saying, and if you do not know the triggers, then the game can be incredibly difficult. (Even if you do know the triggers, it is still pretty easy to die.)
The music used in The Witch’s House is very good, and I do like it a lot. The problem is, I think, that often the sounds fade into the background. There is a lot of good, atmospheric music, but it is not until I listen to the files separately that I realizes just how great everything is. Not to say there are no memorable songs in the game; there certainly are. The title theme, the music box song(s), and the piano music stuck with me the first time I heard them. The chase music is likewise excellent, it really gets your heart going and adds to the fear and anxiety of the situation.
The graphics in the original were not, in my opinion, too special. The original had a couple of unique animations but nothing terribly special. Fummy added a mess of new animations in 1.07 including door opening animations, object moving animations, and more. It is all subtle, but I think it adds a unique, cute factor that the game was previously lacking. The graphics have also been cleaned up a lot in 1.07, which I will go over in detail in a separate post, but the graphics are very clean looking. Some of the textures have also been switched out, for the better. One of my favorite examples:
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| The no-distraction hallway |
Some very minor complaints I have are about the instructions, which I feel are a bit strange. In the opening of the game, the player does not find out the instructions until after walking around to get the first key item. By that point, the player would have had to figure out the controls. However, this problem is easily solved because the controls are listed in the Readme, which is important to read before playing a game anyway. Very similar to this, the player can read a book in the library about how to open doors, which is a good idea but, by that point, the player would have had to know this already. I do admit that it could be a good thing to remember from that point onward, however. My complaints about the game, as you can see, are pretty minor. Not a lot sticks out to me as bad, and I clearly love a lot about this game.
I think this game also has a pretty high replay value. There is so much to see in this game, even just subtle changes. Things that I did not notice when I first played I found when replaying it recently. If you backtrack or explore an area after completing a puzzle, things will change and there will be different text. Be sure to explore at your own risk, however, as certain areas you return to may kill you. By backtracking after completing a puzzle, there are a lot of subtle changes, including subtle horror. One of my favorite "subtle scares" happens if you return to the mirror puzzle room later in the game and interact with the frog.
The The Witch’s House has about “four” different endings. Really, there are two real endings, a secret ending, and an "addendum."
- The first, or the easiest ending, is achieved by escaping from the house after the final "battle."
- The more difficult ending is the “true” ending where you must grab a secret item before escaping from the house. This changes the first ending dramatically and makes the entire game all the more horrifying in hindsight.
- The "addendum" to the endings is the most difficult to achieve. To get this ending, you must not save or talk to the black cat throughout the entire game with one exception. Slight spoilers in how to get this: In the no distractions hallway, if you have not spoken to the black cat, you can talk to it here and look at the books, diaries, and notes which give the player much background information about the game and your player character. This addendum really comes into play at the end of the game, right before the “final boss.” If you talk to the cat before this room, you gain even more knowledge about the cat, the house, and the player character. I do not recommend going for this addendum during your first play through unless you are very confident as you are not allowed to save and if you get killed at any point (easy enough to accomplish), you will have to restart the entire game.
- The newest ending that came to be in version 1.07 is such a secret that Fummy does not even acknowledge its existence. To get the ending, wait on the first screen without doing anything for an hour (the window must be your active window as well!) Ultimately, this ending is not, in my opinion, really worth it. I will be discussing it in detail in my post about the new version of the game. At its surface, it seems like a pointless ending, but once you examine the meta of it, it makes much more sense.
The Witch's House is not a long game; it takes about an hour or so to complete (of course, depending on how much you look around and not taking into account deaths and all) though Fummy estimates in the readme two to three hours, so I suppose it just depends on the player!
Over all, I would say The Witch's House is neutral on the feminist front. You do play as a female character, but you never interact with the other female character. In only one ending of the game does the game technically, in my opinion, pass the Bechdel Test. I suppose in most instances of the game, it does sort of pass the Bechdel Test, but only in one ending is it obvious. Major spoilers for the game: You actually do interact with the other female character, Ellen, in the true ending (the stuff that happens in the bedroom is not really interacting) but it is not positive, and the relationship is not a good one. Ellen taunts Viola, but... I wouldn't say this takes away from whether or not the game is feminist friendly, to be honest. It is difficult to say if there is any queer representation because there is no romantic subplot. I will not make a call on racial representation, and here is why. I try not to ever, as a white person, make calls on anime/manga character. For more reading on this subject, I recommend this article.
The game is definitely not anti-feminist, and I do love that you get to play as a female character because that feels like such a rare opportunity still in this day and age, but it does not do much that makes it feminist. However, I think it is a safe choice for any feminists or anyone who is concerned about offensive content (I mean, there is the whole cruelty and death stuff, but).
Overall, I would rate the game about a 3.5. Here's the final breakdown:
Plot: Four stars. I love the story and the characters, but most of the story is subtle and does not come into play until the end of the game.
Graphics: Three and a half, I suppose. Nothing too special. There are some unique animations.
Sound/music: Three. Not a whole lot of variety in the songs and the songs tend to sort of fade into the background in most cases.
Difficulty: Probably about a four. The game can be incredibly difficult, especially when going for the no-save "addendum" ending.
Ability to replay: Three. You probably only need to replay the game twice to achieve all of the endings. There are a lot of subtle details to witness, but those don't necessarily require replaying the game, especially if you are not interested in such things.
I do truly love and enjoy this game. It is certainly my second favorite RPG maker game for its unique (horrifying) puzzles, story, and over all gameplay mechanics. I think it is a really strong game and the "true" ending is one of the best endings I have ever seen in any video game.
You can download the English version of The Witch's House here.
The original (Japanese) website is here. If you go to this website, you'll see that Fummy is going to be releasing a book based on Ellen's story, a prequel to The Witch's House.
