I'm one of the weirdos who loves these games but won't play them myself, so I'm glad the algorithm finally did something decent by recommending me your channel. Hoping to see more of these in the future, cheers.

Everything about this game makes me so sad that it's abandonware and I'll largely forgotten. The writing, the voice acting, and especially the animation are all gorgeous and you can see all the love of the genre that went into it. Thank you for showcasing a game that myself and others would never have known about otherwise!

As an animation buff, all the claymation jumpscares just fill me with delight cuz of how well crafted the puppets are, ggg I LOVE PUPPETS

Love Poe stories, and love that this game won the community vote. I was not familiar with the story “Berenice”, but as soon as the narrator of the second story started talking about how he did not want to be seen as mad I knew it was “The Tell-Tale Heart”. This story was my introduction to Poe via reading it in high school, and it’s so iconic. Hoping this game covers “Masque of the Red Death”, which is my favorite!

@laracroft003

3 ай бұрын

ALSO I wanted to add that I love how this game uses the medium of video games to its advantage. The original stories are limited to one character’s perspective, but by freely switching between the main character’s pov and the secondary character’s, we can see what it is like for the victims of these gruesome tales. Absolutely amazing!

@vote4holt

3 ай бұрын

Yeah jumping around like that is pretty damn awesome - I want to play TellTale heart again but in the perspective of the killer. That’s the Poe story I read which I remember best, really damn good.

@vote4holt

3 ай бұрын

I’m definitely gonna go read Berenice now- need the full lore

This game gives me the same feeling that the scariest episodes of Courage the Cowardly Dog gave me at age 7,,,,bouta go return the slab

@vote4holt

3 ай бұрын

you’re not perfect

Just recently discovered your channel after watching your scratches videos and then a Nancy Drew. Now Edgar Allan Poe? Consider me subscribed!

@vote4holt

3 ай бұрын

As much as I love a good ND playthrough I’ve been itching to play something new - this game is approaching 30 years old and it’s holding up fantastic for me

@Riccardo_Mori

2 ай бұрын

I arrived here through the same path. It didn't take long before hitting Subscribe!

@llMarvelous

Ай бұрын

@@vote4holtОсмелюсь предположить, что ты не ожидал русскоговорящих подписчиков, but here we are, safe and sound )) Also, me watching obscure 90s game based on work of Edgar Allan Poe? But you bought my subscription for life with your Grim Fandango playtrough, I even left very emotional [uncomfortably so] comment on last part, coz i was amazed and amused by it as much as you did P.S. Если нужна помощь/поддержка в изучении русского языка - you are welcome ;)

oog, *Berenice* was one of the very first Poe stories I read unabridged. As soon as they said her name I could *feel* the sympathetic toothache. ggggggg the painting is such a clever way to sneakily explain what happened without spoiling it.

i can't believe this slander.. orange is the BEST color! anyway, this game is sooo cool. you're awesome for showcasing this game!

@vote4holt

3 ай бұрын

Honestly,,,, my hatred of orange comes back to the DMV. The DMV where I live has the longest lines and the orangest walls- terrific combo

@amelieh9499

3 ай бұрын

@@vote4holt that's so valid haha

Greetings from leanto #27! After the wonderful shoutout you gave me in your last video, I feel obligated to report that although I just returned from wandering through an old cemetery (with lots of cool wrought-iron fences), I had no other major archeaological quests this weekend. Had my brother in law along with me until this morning, so it was more of a classic camping trip of fishing and campfires. I'll try to plan something suitably eerie for my next solo trip🪦

16:20 "...with my attention riveted to some frivolous devices in the margin of a book" Took me a minute but I got there

@vote4holt

3 ай бұрын

I read Berenice last night - that is more or less an exact excerpt from it, too.

“Hey wait a second why is a fish in here?” Asking the right questions now

How fitting is it that an Edgar Allan Poe based game is an “abandonware” Its poetic and brings melancholy

You definitely should read some more Poe! Also, I can’t recommend Victor LaValle enough if you love Lovecraft. His two most well regarded works are The Ballad of Black Tom and The Changeling, but essentially, he is considered the modern successor of the Lovecraftian empire with many of his works building on the same themes and elements minus all the racism. Believe me, I love Lovecraft as much as the next person, but as someone who is mixed, any plot lines revolving the Innsmouthers hits me a certain kind of way.

So I looked up "Berenice" since it was one of the Poe stories. I didn't get it at first, (SPOILERS) I legit thought the guy either killed his cousin and took her teeth or dug her up after she died to do so...The game made me realize it was WAY worse. Imagine thinking your life was saved by your beloved only for him to be there to actually end it. All cause he got hyper-focused on your teeth. Kinda reminds me of the "Tell-Tale Heart" since the protag's (probably fake) excuse for killing the old man was he really hated one of the guy's eyes.

@vote4holt

Ай бұрын

Bro I went and read Berenice too after this first episode and oh my God it’s so horrific it’s even worse than what you’ve just said - Egaeus doesn’t even kill Berenice, he literally knocks her teeth out with the shovel and leaves her, “bloody, breathing, still alive”… that’s somehow worse, probably my favorite story in this game - in part 3 I played the story from Egaeus POV and it’s horrific

@randomotakunerd

Ай бұрын

@@vote4holt OH GOD, thanks for telling me, though! Also, I'm really curious if Poe had Claustrophobia. Watching your second part and remembering other tales...The guy really liked the idea of small spaces and suffering lol

Aaaaa I am so so so so happy this play through is finally here!!! Loved EVERYTHING about this, (besides the slandering of the color orange). You figured out the cursor system much earlier than I did, and I'm so excited to watch as you unravel this game and its strangeness. A full hour, I feel spoiled! I'm glad you appreciate how weird this game is, and the godforsaken mirrors. Wtf. The voice acting is soooo nice on my ears on the music and the style and AAGAHHH THIS GAME!!! I just think it's SOOO cool and I'm so happy you're going through it! I can't wait to see you play more!!

I love your video essays and gameplay videos, as within the mainstream games you're able to find such hidden underrated games that I haven't ever heard about and their stories are so unique its mindblowing. Thanks for your content and continue to make more videos just like this.

It's nice to stumble across an old school gaming channel on KZread, it's nostalgic and a lot of the channels I watched as a teen on early KZread are either dead or very different now

Man since you did the scratches video ive been craving this kind of video love your work man keep up the good work

I recently came across your Scrtches essay and am now binging all of your videos, and everything I have watched so far is thoughroughly enjoyable! Since you mentioned that you want to get more into the influences of Lovecraft, as a fellow Lovecraft junkie I highly recommend HP Lovecraft literary podcast. These guys have combed through all of Lovecrafts' bibliography and many of his influences (Poe and Blackwood are heavily featured) and successors.

With the Tell Tale Heart story at least, you might have gotten more story if you'd switched back to the original character (or just not left his perspective?). The original story is from his POV, and he's the one, uh, doing... *things* in the work.

@vote4holt

3 ай бұрын

I read Telltale back in the 7th grade but my memories of it are damn CRISP - when I sit down to play part 2 the first thing I’m going to do is boot up Telltale and see if we can’t see how it plays out from the author’s POV😈

I saw dungeon chill talk about this game awhile back and I think it's neat that each story is shown from both the killers perspective and the victims.

Really cool to see you follow up the great Scratches series with more games like this! I'd usually use the term "Mystlike" but "7th Guestlike" might be more appropriate here? Some other recommendations you might be into: "Sublustrum (Outcry)" - Extremely atmospheric with a strange and dark story. It's from a few years after Scratches and I can definitely see the influence, though the story goes in a completely different direction. "Amber: Journeys Beyond" - Another classic haunted house game, but with a distinctly different vibe from the 7th Guest and the like, more modern paranormal investigator spooky than creepy Victorian house spooky. "Zork: Nemesis" - If you're a little familiar with the Zork series than you'll probably know this is the odd one out. Creepy, atmospheric and extremely macarbe in places. "Bad Day on the Midway" - By the same short-lived publisher as The Dark Eye, with the same sort of focus as a showcase for multimedia art rather than a traditional game. David Lynch almost directed a series based on it in the 90s.

@vote4holt

3 ай бұрын

So excited to have these recommendations. Amber: Journey’s Beyond definitely sounds the most like my interests, but Bad Day on the Midway is interesting too - a friend of mine has been taking me down the David Lynch rabbit hole lately; knowing that the game had Lynch’s attention is all the more intriguing. Thanks again for the comment

@kittenmittenkitten

3 ай бұрын

@@vote4holt No problem, keep up the great work!

I watched another playthough of this a while back and still think about "Berenice." It's absolutely haunting. Anyway, super excited that you're playing this! I'd love to hear your thought on this: given how these stories deal with existential terror of the human condition, how do you feel about the Wavery Academy being practically structured around Edgar Allan Poe?

@vote4holt

3 ай бұрын

Waverly being structured around Poe is about my favorite thing about that game - brilliant idea, I like how it wasn’t necessarily a scary Nancy Drew but still revolves around Poe lore. Really I just wish that they placed a bigger emphasis on him in that game, it feels like he isn’t truly relevant til the end at times

I'm so glad i found your channel! coming here after finishing the scratches videos. thanks for the hard work, dedication and professionalism you put in to bring us this content!

Something I absolutely adore about 90's games, of all genres, but it works so well in horror, is the absense of ambient music in perfect places which just feels so unnatural and eerie. The fact that there will be music and sound, but not in all places. And when that comfort of the music stops, it's so jarring. But this game takes it to a new level. There is no background music, so each sound effect is jarring.

Dang! Was hoping this would be a series! Excited to see pt. 2!

I remember another youtuber streaming this a while back for halloween and I loved it. Good to see there's coverage of it here!

This game is so cool and I’ve never heard about it before. I hope you keep playing, I would love to see how it unfolds.

Vote4holt new video WE ALL CHEERED 🗣️🗣️🗣️🔥

Realized I’ve been watching your ND content for years and never saw your face until now 😂 the face and voice def match! 😊

@vote4holt

3 ай бұрын

lmao I am more often than not told that my brother and I look nothing like we sound like -- fun to hear the inverse for a change

Hell yeah can't wait to see more of this

The fact this channel has only 12K subs seems like a crime!!

If you're a big fan of Lovecraft, I'd highly suggest a 90's point and click game - Call of Cthulhu: Shadow of the Comet. Its on GOG and I think Steam. Very immersive and becomes gradually eerie. It's kind of a mash-up of a few of his more popular stories.

oh man I remeber this game, never played it myself but stumbled across a playthrough of it at around 2 in the morning many many years ago. Watched the whole thing and then had some pretty surreal dreams afterwards. I found a rom of it but could never get it to work so I kind of just forgot about it, except it just keeps popping up every few years and reminding me of its extance. Really wish this wasnt abandonware the voice acting is amazing and I love the style of it.

oh my god I LOVE Edgar Allan Poe, AND claymation, I need to play this game!

@vote4holt

3 ай бұрын

To be fair I think it’s stop-motion, not clay - still just as freaky :}

@uhhhlex__

3 ай бұрын

​@vote4holt also! the first story, the painting of the pliers is in reference to the one who digs Beatrice up, he goes and pulls her teeth out with dental tools! easter egg i suppose? in story two (IDK if this counts as a spoiler for you, but I tried to not go further than you've seen, and just explain what you HAVE seen so far, sorry in advance if this is spoiling things for you!!) tell tale heart, is about the man, the first one you play as, living with the older man with the eye, and I believe taking care of him? essentially, the one you first play as, is becoming more and more unnerved by the older man and his eye, and eventually decides to murder him (him coming in with the lantern in the night), and in the original story, the narrarator (the first guy you play as, sorry he doesn't have a name!) is trying to convince the reader he's sane while recounting the murder he commits to the reader. (further reading this might be a spoiler i have no idea what the game will be showing you!) and he dismembers him in the bathroom, and hids his heart in the floor boards of the house and eventually starts hearing a repetitive thumping coming from the heart (which isn't real hes just losing his mind basically) and there's more but idk if the game will eventually show you more so I don't want to spoil anything you haven't SEEN yet!

Very interesting game, I wouldn't say scary however the people seem to be able to produce some jumpscares lol. I'm not very familiar with Poe at all so this has intrigued me, maybe I should start reading some of his works! I found your channel through this video so hi! Looking forward to seeing more of this game and more from your channel!

@vote4holt

3 ай бұрын

What an odd upload to find as my first! Good to know the algorithm is showing me to new people -- if you liked this you may also like my playthrough of Scratches, or at least the extensive two-parter video essay I made on the game. Released that a little over a month ago and has quickly become the new direction my channel has taken. Link here if you're interested kzread.info/dash/bejne/paqMr6SBg8y5eNY.html

@miamyos

3 ай бұрын

@@vote4holt Thanks for the answer! Yes the algorithm seems to work well, I love listening to creepypastas and watching playthroughs of horror games and other game genres, when your video of this game popped up it seemed cool and it is! Already started watching your Scratches playthrough since you mentioned that you liked it so much and I can definitely see why!

I still have my copy of this game and it is truly a treasure! The game has stuck with me after all these years and I consider it one of the best.

@vote4holt

3 ай бұрын

I definitely see what Agustin was talking about- so surprised by how well it runs for how old it is.

This is the most fascinating game I've seen in a long time.

@vote4holt

3 ай бұрын

It is really growing on me - I read Berenice last night and it made me want to go back and replay the first chapter. I might.

The prevalent theme of taphophobia (being buried alive) has two causes - one, specific to Poe, was that he himself had catalepsy. It could give him seizures and lock his body into a catatonic state not dissimilar to rigor mortis before such things were well understood, giving him deep fears of his own death and the possibility of being mistaken for dead and buried alive. Two, more broadly, it was simply more plausible at the time; without modern morgues or healthcare, comatose victims were more likely to be mistaken for dead, and burials were held very quickly anywhere temperatures wouldn't allow for the preservation of the body for long. In some areas, a corpse exposed to the elements can be reduced to a skeleton in as little as 10 days, and bloating naturally happens in 3-5, so before AC and modern embalming methods and whatnot funerals were held in less than a week to avoid any unnecessary trauma during the viewing or burial. Combine that with how the media fixated on and exaggerated reports and horror stories of that very situation, with most graveyards and crypts set apart from living spaces for both practical and health reasons, as well as the cholera epidemic and Poe's own work finding an audience and you get the very peak of taphophobia in history - and safety coffins. They were never proved effective, but their existence proves the prevalence and intensity of the fears at the time.

@vote4holt

Ай бұрын

I never knew that about Poe and Catalepsy, that is freaky and awesome. Can definitely understand the panic of suddenly becoming paralyzed and thinking “hey if I can’t get out of this state people will think I’m dead and bury me alive.”

Apologies for the double comment, but if you like the stop motion/claymation look, I highly recommend looking up a game called Harold Halibut. It's due to come out this year, but so far, there's been a lot of buzz around it. I believe there is a demo available too. Also, since you mentioned you are learning Russian, would you ever consider covering games like STALKER or Pathologic? The former is an FPS and while I absolute loathe shooters, I actually did enjoy STALKER quite a bit due to the atmosphere and themes. Pathologic is a whole other beast though, but it is a game experiencing.

@vote4holt

3 ай бұрын

I’ve got a good friend who’s been going through a STALKER phase (so much so we watched the movie together - wasn’t that a fun time) so I’d be open to trying the games (despite my channel being centered around point and click mystery games I can’t even lie: I love a good shooter). Pathologic is legit one of the most fascinating games I’ve ever seen that I feel I have nothing new to say about. HbomberGuy made an excellent video on it that more or less covers anything you could ever want to know about it, so whenever people ask for coverage of that game I usually point them in his direction - buuuuut maybe someday I’ll pick it back up and find something I didn’t see before 👁️👁️

@vote4holt

3 ай бұрын

Oh, but to answer your question I think it would be an extremely fun experience if I were to try playing a Russian horror game and attempting to interpret it for an English audience in real time - but I probably need a few more lessons at least before my Russian is that good 💀

@yaobikuni1349

3 ай бұрын

@@vote4holt Apologies! I should have been a lot clearer about what I meant. While I would die for a live translation of these two iconic games, it might be a bit much to ask a busy college student such as yourself. I was more hoping for a playthrough of the translated versions, but I imagine that someone familiar with the language would be able to add some great insight into those worlds as there are still a lot of untranslated signs and ephemera everywhere. That said, please don't feel pressured to ever play any of these games unless you have an actual desire. I am love with your channel as is, and I am finding tremendous joy in going through your content. I will definitely check out the Hbomberguy Pathologic video since you so kIndly recommended it. Lastly, very glad to hear you already like STALKER. It was a bit of hard sell for me originally because of all the shooty shoot stuff, but I am glad I gave them a chance eventually. And yes, Russian films are in a league of their own. I'm not a connoseiur by any means, but I've watched enough to get a sense of their sensibilities. They're excellent but definitely very emotionally and philosophically heavy.

Arh, Cordes really made you play this! Great!

@vote4holt

Ай бұрын

So glad I did. This is probably the most pleasant horror game I have ever seen - even when it’s being horrific it just sounds and looks so cool

Never heard of this game before this video and I'm super interested about it now, very creepy!

i love your stuff, new fan

@vote4holt

26 күн бұрын

Thanks bestie

Can anyone tell me which two of Poe’s stories were being adapted in this video? Would like to give them a read. I am also working on a new video essay of similar length to Scratches Parts 1 and 2 but it will take a good deal of time to get right - so in the meantime I’ll be playing a new game or two blind as I always have :) The game is not without some jank, but I’m amazed that I’ve played as much as I have without a single hint of progression block. I’m especially impressed considering the game is seemingly nonlinear- more episodes before the end of the week

@martod

3 ай бұрын

“Berenice” and “The tell tale heart”. The third story you get to see aside from the poetry is “the Cask of Amontillado”. Also, William S Burroughs voiced the painter and narrated the poems.

@luisfrank2734

3 ай бұрын

@@martod Let's not forget "premature Burial", "Lenore" (referenced in the character of Henry, it seems) and The raven in the large painting at the beginning... don't know which other ones could be referenced

Yep another game that looks super up my alley.

Another good Poe adaptation is “Fall of the House of Usher” by Mike Flanagan. Highly recommend!

Admit it: You only guessed West Virginia because of the cousin love, right? (Good channel, new sub, enjoyed everything so far)

If you like Lovecraft stuff, you should try eternal darkness sanity's requiem .

ooooh excited for this one

please go through the stories you've played before to see if they're different. this playthrough already has me hooked!

@vote4holt

3 ай бұрын

That’ll be the first thing I do when I sit down to record ep 2

@pommeporte

3 ай бұрын

@@vote4holt can't wait!!!

If you’re ever interested in something more… let’s say comedic, I’d absolutely love a Mystery of the Druids playthrough. MandaloreGaming’s video about it is quite possibly my favorite KZread video of all time (and I think would be a good inspo video for your channel).

@vote4holt

3 ай бұрын

I have heard people seriously bash that game, but from the perspective of playing it for a laugh I might just be down

A suggestion for when you're looking for a game is Disco Elysium, since you brought up that you didn't know what phrenology was. There's a character who's a little too obsessed with it, to put without spoiling.

@doodlebrain6594

2 ай бұрын

Disco Elysium is so so so good and I highly reccomend it

I'd have to look but I recall something about more common occurrences of people being prematurely buried back then? Dreadful.

@SuperCakeKing

3 ай бұрын

it was more common its a motif in poes work because mr edgar was a scaredy cat

Terrifying to play as a kid in 1996

Oooh, nice!

Let‘s go ❤️

I was hoping for another video like your scratches one. Not a let's play. I hope going forward you make more videos on these older PC games in the style of scratches.

@vote4holt

3 ай бұрын

I can’t say I’ll make a video on The Dark Eye like I did on Scratches; but I assure you I have a roster of video essays lined up and am working on the next one as we speak. All in due time 😖

@Nick_Coleman

3 ай бұрын

@@vote4holt Hell yeah. Glad to know. Sorry not a fan of let's plays/podcast style let's plays, but your Scratches video + your ability to narrate is what hooked me. I'll keep an eye out for your next one man.

This was interesting but not nearly as engaging as anything ND, scratches or darkness within. I guess I prefer Lovecraft to Poe 🤷🏻‍♀️ Would you consider playing Alone in the Dark? Thanks as always for playing and posting!

@vote4holt

3 ай бұрын

I don’t think I know Alone in the Dark whatsoever but I’d be down to play it! And yeah, I still prefer Lovecraft to Poe. The big difference is that in Poe the author goes insane; but in Lovecraft the author goes insane because an alien god is encouraging him to 💀

Have you played 7th guest?

@vote4holt

3 ай бұрын

I have not - screenshots of it I’ve seen definitely look weird. Is it worth a play?

@Kittana1498

3 ай бұрын

@vote4holt yeah, definitely for that 90s horror game experience, that eerieness like in this game that somehow still cuts through little hokey aspects, to that point where hokey actually plays well into the unsettling feeling of the graphics.

Are you planning on making a patreon? I'd definitely subscribe!

@vote4holt

3 ай бұрын

Can’t say that’s in the cards for now- this is my hobby and I’d like to keep it as such for the time being. I appreciate the sentiment, though!

Okay so phrenology was something that the fascists used in the early 1900s to decide which race was “superior” and the “most beautiful.” H man himself had an appreciation of the aryan skulls the most, despite them not having any bearing on a persons psyche. It was eugenics at its finest and by finest, I mean terribly prejudiced.

@vote4holt

3 ай бұрын

What an odd choice of menu screen 👁️👁️ I kinda fuck with it as a horror aesthetic though

@ALLCAPSKELL

3 ай бұрын

@@vote4holt as something medically outdated, I agree. That shit was horrific. Old medical procedures and beliefs are genuinely awful.

Wooooooo🎉

Good lord he’s handsome 😭

I will say the controls feel rather frustrating. The story and game is interesting but that doesn’t mean much if you don’t know what you’re doing

Quote the Raven,

Why would you learn russian after all they're doing to Ukraine and everyone else?

@vote4holt

20 күн бұрын

@@littlepumpkinp personal interest- I began before the invasion anyhow

I wish more games used such animation.

@vote4holt

20 күн бұрын

I wonder if it would actually be affordable today -- my understanding of what stop-motion costs to animate is that after the figures and sets are built it really justs costs time -- a lot of it, though.