I remember when this game first grabbed my attention. At the time, youtube had a lot of people in the gaming scene now that were only starting to become popular and of coarse horror games became a focal point. This is how it drew my attention... and how this game did as well. One of these youtubers played it long enough to show the way you can literally change how the mansion is laid out, and it was too intriguing for me to watch any further since it was going on my wishlist. I would pick it up later on a steam sale... only for it to sit on my backlog for years... long enough in fact for it to go completely free before I played it. Oh well, my fault there, but don't you miss out. Horror fans, come on in and enjoy.
Story: There really isn't a lot of setup for this game in the plot department. It is a dark and stormy night, and you were caught outside in the thick of it. So when the doors to this old mansion were not locked, you went inside. However, it wouldn't be a good ghost story if things remained that simple, and no sooner do you take few steps through the threshold then the door slams behind you, trapping you inside.
But even though you are are sure this place was abandoned, you are clearly not alone. Someone lit the fire in the library, and that someone clearly doesn't want you here. Survive for as long as it takes to get out alive.
This will be your basic story through the game, although I have to say yours because there is another story here: the story of the manor itself and the Kraven family who once resided in it. This is no normal house, but figuring out the details as to why will be your task as you put together the clues offered to you between those when you are struggling against forces that clearly want yo gone... one way or another. And while this story isn't particularly detailed, it is dark, very well paced and absolutely fitting of the game itself. VERY well done.
8/10
Graphics: Kraven Manor is NOT a new game. In fact it's just a few short months from being 10 years old and as such, you might expect the graphics to age. And they have, but not as much as one might think. Basically you can expect lower resolution bitmaps then most modern games to be used to create the world and some of the geometry is a little more blocky then you might expect with a modern game. But the skill it was used with is exceptional and most of the time, you likely won't even notice for the world put together by them. This game took the tech of the time (Unreal Engine 3) and used it exceptionally well.
Getting away from the technical level of thing, the feel is just spot on. This is a first person horror game about a massive abandoned haunted house and the devs knew how to play that up right. Everything from specs of dust in the air, to cobwebs you will have to travel though to even just areas devoid of life, this house feels like no one has been here for a while. And yet despite this, you will find signs that something is here using the place. Candles where nothing should be or that fireplace mentioned in the story section are clearly lit and active. Even on occasion a few modern lights that just shouldn't be there are and working, giving you just enough light to know you are in trouble.
And that trouble will general take the form of a single antagonist. Don't worry, I'm not spoiling anything, but there is a creepy copper marionette-like statue here as well. It makes itself known in the very first room of the game and will be your only companion in the game. Featureless, but clearly articulate and even seems to show signs of pain in his movements and when he stops, the devs made perfect use of the Uncanny Valley effect with him: too human on is expression to not think something is there, but too inhuman to accept it.
8/10
Sound: You are not going to get much of a soundtrack out of this game. In fact most of the game soundtrack will be singular tones more then actual music, and often drowned out by the ambient noise around you to the point of just being a coloring to it more then anything else. This works exceedingly well just giving a slight touch of unease while letting the world take the helm.
And for such a short game, they did make sure you would hear a lot. From your own footsteps as you crunch through broken glass, to solid thuds as you move rooms around (we will get to that in the gameplay) to even just your own breath if you run too long, the sound effects carry the feel at least as much if not more then the graphics.... and then we get to your company.
You will know when he's around, his copper limbs creaking with the effort he needs to move or the screech of victory as he sinks those metal mitts into your flesh... he is simply disturbing and an absolute joy to bring to this game.
There is no voice work to go with any of this, but that's about the only downside I can give the soundscape to this one.
8/10
Gameplay: As noted in the graphical section, this is a first person horror game, if a relatively simple one. You will explore the mansion, walking and running as you need to solve various puzzles and avoid obstacles. These puzzles take on several forms, from simple object puzzles (they will never make you do anything too complex as you do not have any form of inventory for this game) and real world puzzles to unlock a new path. I know that is a wierd way to put it, but there are several places in the game where you will find your progress stopped until you figure out what you are supposed to do in the room your in. In all of these cases, the room itself will have all the details you need (or you will have been shown the way the puzzle works before hand). However as often as not, you will share the room with the threat of the game, building tensions just that much more.
However, there is one puzzle in this game that is continuous while you play and it's the one that really makes this game stand out. You see this mansion is not a normal mansion (besides being haunted, I mean). The place was designed to be modular in the most extreme way I have ever seen, in game or in real life. In the center of the main hall there is a table with a model of the masion's inner rooms, You will add rooms as you play, but the pieces snap together in specific ways that, once you do, you will hear the house rumble as the rooms move around to reflect the model. It is innovative and something I have not seen in any other game... until the end for something truly epic to finish your little adventure (I finished it in about 2 hours).
8/10
Bugs: Once again we have another game that ran almost flawlessly. I ran into exactly two bugs while playing:
- Framecap kinda lies: Since I run the game on a monitor that maxes out at 60 FPS, I tend to use Vsync or a frame cap to reduce the graphic card output to match this when I play games. With a game like this, it basically goes from making the graphic card kinda work to basically unaware I'm playing anything, doing WONDERS to reduce it's workload while not really effecting me since I cant see the extra frames anyway on this monitor.... well most of the time. This game doesn't have a vsync, but it does have a frame cap of 30 or 60 FPS if you desire... only for me it always ran at 62 FPS... just enough to cause noticeable screen-tearing.
- Softlock? This issue was a bit more serious, as towards the end of the game, I found myself unable to finish one of the puzzles since a door that was supposed to unlock did not. I believe it was because I picked up a secret item well after it could be used, but the result was until I reloaded, I couldn't proceed to finish the game. There are no manual saves in this game, but thankfully the checkpoint system is actually really good here and I basically had to repeat the answer to a single puzzle that doesn't change to get back where I was... so I lost a couple minutes maximum.
Digital Rights Management: Despite this being a free game, it does have DRM in the form of Steam itself. You can not run it independent of the Steam software.
Score: Honestly Kraven manor is a great little game, but little is very much the word. It's simple but incredibly well crafted with an atmosphere to stand up to bigger games with ease. It will show you what it wishes, challenge you to a few puzzles, then leave you on your way, if amazed a game this old can still be this cool about it all. Add to this that the game recently became a free one, and yeah I recommend any horror fan give this one a shot. Enjoy your stay while the storm rages on.
8/10
System Requirements:
- Any CPU with 2.0 Ghz or faster
- 512 MB RAM
- Nvidia 6200/AMD Radeon 9600
- 2 GB hard drive space
- Windows XP SP2, Vista, or 7
System Specs:
- Ryzen 7 (5700X) 3.4 Ghz
- 32 GB RAM
- AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT (8 GB VRAM)
- Windows 11 (64 Bit)
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