As of September 2014, Kraven Manor is no longer free to download and is only available as a purchase from Steam. This review has been updated to reflect that.]
A dark mysterious house on a stormy night... what could possibly go wrong? Originally released as a freeware beta and now available on Steam, Demon Wagon Studios' harrowing indie horror adventure has you stumbling into the cold comfort of Kraven Manor one night. You may be out of the rain, but you've run straight into the dark heart of one man's obsession, and you'll find out that the whole house is against you... unless you can manage to turn it against itself. Move with [WASD], holding left [shift] to sprint, and use the mouse to look around or interact. Hitting [F] toggles your flashlight on and off. The key point to exploring is to find more scale models of rooms hidden throughout the manor and bring them to the entryway. There, you find out that this place has one seriously unique floor plan... you can place and rearrange the places any way you like (as long as they have a valid connecting doorway to the main areas) and doing so literally changes the layout of the house around you, opening the way to new areas and changing pathways so you can reach previously inaccessible places. But keep your eyes peeled as you explore. You're not alone, and something doesn't appreciate you prying into the house's past and its secrets, and the more you know, the harder it's going to try to stop you. If prompted, hit the onscreen keys whenever assaulted, because in addition to light, the antagonistic force in the house is weak against button mashing. The game works on a checkpoint system, so should you meet a gruesome end, you'll just start over again at the last point you passed.
Analysis: With its superb use of lighting and ambient sound, Kraven Manor possesses some of the best atmosphere around. Although the premise may have a bit of the whiff of the Winchester Mansion around it, the actual story, revealed in bits and pieces through notes and clippings, almost feels like an afterthought. I'd say explaining away your creepy antagonist ruins the fear, but, well, I'd be lying because the "chase" sequences are used with devastating effectiveness. The game is fantastic about keeping you on your toes and making your spine crawl, and you'll dread every flicker of your flashlight. While there are quite a few jump scares, a lot of what's frightening is more the sense of anticipation that mercilessly ramps up the more you explore. I found myself channelling Lana Kane more and more every time I found a trail of blood where one previously hadn't been, or heard a sound behind me... Nnnnnnoooooooooope. It makes up for the journal entries being as bland and dry as a dust devil's gasp in the desert, when any legitimate game protagonist's scrawl would consist entirely of, "Oh geez, oh geez, oh geez, oh my goodn-WHAT WAS WHAT?!... oh geez, oh geez..."
Though shuffling the house's layout around is a clever touch, it felt like a gimmick until the second time you were given access to the library. Which is, incidentally, right around the time it feels like the game actually gains some teeth beyond simple frights and storytelling. The antagonist's appearances become a lot more menacing and tricky, incorporating puzzles and darkness into a way that forces you to think on your feet. The enemy's mechanic feels somewhat like SCP - Containment Breach's SCP-173, but more sinister and unpredictable. Trying to keep an eye on it when you think it should be on the other side of the room, only to round a shelf and find it right in front of you with arms outstretched in stillness is the sort of thing that makes you jump out of your skin. The air of menace the game manages to produce is really remarkable.
As of September 2014, Kraven Manor saw a full release into a paid game available exclusively through Steam. Players already familiar with the freeware release might not find anything substantially different here, with the focus on polish and bug squashing. The most notable addition is Nightmare Mode, which gives your flashlight a limited battery, but if you were expecting or hoping for new content and an overall bigger game, you might be disappointed since Kraven Manor is still likely only going to take most players an hour or so to finish. As a result, the $9.99USD price tag, which can be a lot of money for some players who game on a budget, might be a bit much factoring in the lack of replay value. Kraven Manor remains, however, a gorgeous, creative game that's filled with moments of subtle horror and brilliantly executed jump scares, and one can only hope we see even more from its talented team somewhere down the road.
Windows:
Get the full version (Steam))
Mac OS X:
Not available.
Try Boot Camp or Parallels or CrossOver Games.
Walkthrough Guide
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Kraven Manor Walkthrough
Beginning
Follow the hints given, especially 'F' to activate your flashlight.
Head to the left (follow the streams) and enter the lower library.
Go toward the right and to the desk.
Pick up the Wine Cellar Model.
Return to the entryway.
After you fall, re-activate your flashlight, then pick up the Wine Cellar Model again.
Take it to the model table.
Drag the Wine Cellar Model to an open door to the entryway (doesn't matter which), then exit the model table.
Wine Cellar
Head to the door where you connected the model (you can follow the streams there) and open it.
Wind your way through the cellar.
Approach the bronze statue.
Go toward the writing on the wall, then, when the wall light comes on, pull the lever.
Follow the path that opens and pick up the Bedroom Model.
Take the Bedroom Model to the model table.
Drag the Bedroom Model to an open door to the entryway (doesn't matter which).
Bedroom
Head to the door where you connected the bedroom and open it.
Enter the anteroom, then open the door that closes.
Head into the bedroom, then the closet to the left.
Go to the trunk at the end and open it.
Head back to the bedroom.
Open the door to the anteroom and enter.
Pull the cord to the far right.
Move the nearby picture and pull the chain.
Head into the door that opens.
Pick up the Library Model and exit the room.
Open the door where the picture was and take the Library Model to the model table.
Drag the door by the dark part of the Library Model to an open door to the entryway (you may have to temporarily place another model onto the white tiles).
Library
Head to the door where you connect the library and open it.
Push the false books in the case to the right in the correct order (by trial-and-error).
left (middle row)
right (top row)
middle (bottom row)
Enter the door that opens.
There are four false books in this room that must be pushed in the correct order (by trial-and-error).
(counting the five rows of bookcases from the door out, 1-5)
Case 1, book toward the door
Case 2, book toward the door
Case 5, book away from the door
Case 3, book toward the lower level
Pick up the Token that appears.
Head back to the entryway and take the Token to the slot under the right side of the stairs.
Follow the floating model to the model table.
Examine the model table.
Create a path through the rooms from the entry way to the white room (you can see the correct outline for the rooms).
new room under staircase - lower library
upper library - anteroom
bedroom - cellar
cellar stairs - white room
Going to the White Room
Head under the staircase and go through the newly open doors into the library.
Go to the left area with the globes and portraits.
Read the bloodstained note on the ground.
Now read all the inscriptions on the portraits.
Pick up the Globe and place it in the correct holder.
rightmost (green portrait was the only true one)
Go through the now open door to the anteroom.
Enter the bedroom and pull the lever to the right of the bed.
Head down the stairs that appear and open the door.
Enter the wine cellar and follow the path of the floating light.
Approach the light, then head upstairs.
Read the note on the ground before the closed door.
Head back down the stairs, make note of the symbols beyond the well, then pull the lever.
Toss the bottles (opposite the well) into the well in the proper order (the symbols on the wall will light up appropriately).
(bottles numbered 1-4, left-to-right)
1, 3, 2, 4
Head back upstairs and through the now open door.
Go to the end of that room, open the door, then head through.
White Room
Enter the white room to what looks like an elevator.
Walk through the glass to open a path.
Head through the open path to a room with a broken globe.
Examine the items in the room, then approach the KM seal outside the room.
Enter the next room you have access to.
After examining the stuff, head back out and down the new corridor.
Again, after examining the stuff in the new room, exit and approach the statue.
Run from the statue, follow the blood trail on the floor.
Once to the globe, stand with it between you and the statue.
End Game
Run from the white room to the cellar.
By the 'Get Out' on the wall, pull the lever (by the vertical bricks).
Continue to the next blocking wall.
Pull the lever on the right, the one behind you, then the one on the left.
Go up the stairs and open the door.
Through that doorway, you'll encounter the statue.
Head into the open door and position yourself so the globe is between you and the statue.
After it explodes, now go through the door and head into the anteroom.
Go through the door to the left.
Once the room appears to be shifting, head through the gap that appears.
Run along the path the furniture and books make (you can climb back up a path of books if you fall).
Head through the door at the end and continue into the entryway.
Go upstairs to the end of the walkway and get the statue to shoot at the swinging globe.
Now go to the top of the stairs to get the statue to shoot the globe there.
Finally, get him to shoot the globe by the front door.
Congratulations! You've beat Kraven Manor! Enjoy the final scenes!
Posted by: Kyh
|
May 12, 2013 12:55 PM