Sometimes the scariest thing isn’t what the future holds, it’s what you know is haunting you in the present. Haunted Bloodlines places that thought front & center by having you walk through a creepy haunted house. However, the real threat is a complete loss of sanity, where a mysterious figure claims you for yourself. As you walk through the house, you must make your way to the end if you want to survive.
Haunted Bloodlines does a great job of turning up the fear factor with its creepy atmosphere. Every sound, image, and visual makes you subconsciously dread going forward because it taps into your fear. Reaching low sanity and seeing the result also hammers in the fear that you could experience it more than once. Unfortunately it’s not easy to figure out how to complete the puzzles or find out what you must do. But when the game is fully fleshed out, you can feel the true terror and dread creep in.
Haunted Bloodlines has a free demo that is available on PC.
The beginning of your horror-filled journey.
Story – Haunted House, Ghost Girl
There isn’t much of a story unlike other titles such as Soulslinger: Envoy of Death. You are stuck in a house and must get out. There’s a female ghost pursuing you and it isn’t something you want. Solving puzzles helps you get closer to an exit or perhaps dispel the horrors of the house. But there isn’t much exposition and you are thrown into the deep end with little explanation of your circumstances.
As this is a demo, a strong story isn’t something you see now. There’s definitely a backstory as to why you find yourself in a creepy house or why a spirit is trying to kill you. But you won’t find much exposition that explains anything. The main thing you must know is that something is going to kill you if you can’t keep your sanity up. Either finish the puzzles quickly or die trying, which is the demo’s appeal.
This ghost wants you dead and comes when your sanity is low.
Gameplay – Simple Puzzles with a Time Limit
Haunted Bloodlines is a first-person horror experience similar to The Mortuary Assistant. You navigate a house and explore different rooms, searching for clues and hints. As you explore, you might notice that a symbol in the bottom-left corner slowly gains a red bloodstain. This is your Sanity meter that tells you how much sanity you have (or don’t have). Spend too much time in darkness or forget to take medicine and the ghost claims you.
The tasks you perform aren’t some crazy ritual or something sinister. You are trying to make sense of the world you are in, such as organising a bookshelf. It’s the threat that you are taking too long that creates the horror. At first, it’s not that bad but then you experience your first complete loss of sanity. Then you realise how bad it is to stall and take your time. As you struggle to figure out what you must do, the clock is ticking and your sanity drops.
This hallway looks ordinary but something creepy is at the end.
It’s a sufficient mix of horror that makes you dread playing unless you are watching through someone else’s eyes. You also rush and panic because you don’t want to see the ghost claim you in a scary manner. The whole experience comes together to be unforgettable and bone-chilling. The only problem is that the directions can be somewhat vague and it’s not clear what you should do.
Puzzle Difficulty – Fumbling in the Darkness
Part of the appeal of Haunted Bloodlines is that you are fumbling around and struggling to find the right solution. That’s not inherently bad because you must feel the pressure and the fear yourself. What is somewhat frustrating is that it’s not always clear what you must do. You are often given somewhat vague instructions and hoping that you have the correct interpretation.
On one hand, this is a deliberate move to make you fumble around and get scared once or twice. It’s not fun if you have the solution spelled out immediately. On the other, this also makes it uninviting for players who are new to horror or easily startled. If you are the type of player who doesn’t like struggling to find a solution, this can be more frustrating than scary.
Even the simplest items could hide a nasty surprise.
Audio & Visual – Everything is Scary
Even though there’s few outright supernatural elements, Haunted Bloodlines makes everything scary with the lighting. Sounds also play after you pass objects or whenever something unnatural is playing. Not to mention when the ghost pops up, it appears suddenly and the screen goes dark.
There isn’t much noise or audio in the game but that’s a design choice. When noise does play, it’s usually not a good thing. You are either solving a puzzle and moving things around or something’s happening without you. The sparse noises heighten the fear factor, making you twitch at the slightest noise.
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- Even areas that look peaceful could be scary.
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- That door was boarded up for a good reason.
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- Your flashlight helps but also runs on batteries.
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- Turning off the light switch is never a good idea.
Haunted Bloodlines was previewed on Steam with a code provided by Hidden Triangles.
