The Excavation of Hob's Barrow

Last updated
The Excavation of Hob's Barrow
The Excavation of Hob's Barrow cover.jpg
Developer(s) Cloak and Dagger Games [1]
Publisher(s) Wadjet Eye Games
Designer(s) Shaun Aitcheson [2]
Artist(s) John Inch [3]
Writer(s) Shaun Aitcheson and Laurie MH [4]
Composer(s)
  • The Machine. The Demon.
Engine Adventure Game Studio [5]
Platform(s)
Release
  • WW: September 28, 2022
Genre(s) Adventure
Mode(s) Single-player

The Excavation of Hob's Barrow is a folk horror point-and-click adventure game developed by Cloak and Dagger Games and published by Wadjet Eye Games in 2022. Players attempt to solve a mystery in rural England during the Victorian era.

Contents

Gameplay

Players control Thomasina Bateman, a Victorian antiquary who has been invited to the fictional village of Bewlay to excavate a tumulus. Upon arrival, she is discouraged from this pursuit by the unwelcoming local villagers. Leonard Shoulder, the man who invited her, is initially nowhere to be found. Players can gain the villagers' favor by performing tasks for them, which take the form of puzzles. The graphics are stylized pixel art and occasionally include close-ups that are more detailed. As she investigates further, Bateman encounters various folk horror plots in the village. [6] The story is narrated by Bateman several years after the events of the game have taken place. [7]

Development

Developed by Shaun Aitcheson, John Inch and Laurie MH of Cloak and Dagger Games, [8] it was published by Wadjet Eye Games for Linux, Mac, and Windows on September 28, 2022, and for Switch on January 25, 2023. [9]

For much of the development period the game was known as INCANTAMENTUM. [10]

Hob Hurst's House, a Bronze Age barrow on Beeley Moor near Bakewell in Derbyshire, was cited as an inspiration for the game by its writer Shaun Aitcheson. [11]

Reception

The Excavation of Hob's Barrow received "generably favorable reviews" according to Metacritic. [12] [13] PC Gamer described it as "a splendid adventure that's well paced, excellently voiced, and doesn't outstay its welcome." [6] Commenting on the atmosphere of dread, Rock Paper Shotgun said it feels like "a beautifully dank, damp, gloomy folk horror". [7] Eurogamer 's reviewer said the game stuck stuck in my mind after completing it, and he enjoyed thinking deeper about its plot and themes. [15] NPR strongly recommended it to "anyone who loves mysteries or story-focused games". [17] Adventure Gamers called it "an outstanding horror game", praising the story, art, voice acting, and puzzles. [14]

It was nominated for PC Gamer's game of the year for 2022. [18] At Adventure Gamers, it won best drama writing, [19] best story, [20] and best traditional adventure. [21] It was nominated for best adventure game [22] and best voice acting. [23]

Samantha Béart was long listed for a BAFTA Games Award in the category of "Performer in a Leading Role" for their role as Thomasina Bateman. [24] Subsequently, Béart received a BAFTA Breakthrough award for their performance as Bateman. [25]

Related Research Articles

The BAFTA Games Awards or British Academy Games Awards are an annual British awards ceremony honouring "outstanding creative achievement" in the video game industry. First presented in 2004 following the restructuring of the BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards, the awards are presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).

<i>Discworld Noir</i> 1999 video game

Discworld Noir is a 1999 adventure game developed by Perfect Entertainment and published by GT Interactive. The game is set in Terry Pratchett's satirical Discworld universe, and follows its first and only private investigator as he is given a case leading him into the deadly and occult underbelly of the Discworld's largest city.

<i>Sanitarium</i> (video game) 1998 video game

Sanitarium is a psychological horror point-and-click adventure video game that was originally released for Microsoft Windows. It was developed by DreamForge Intertainment and published by ASC Games in 1998. It was a commercial success, with sales of around 300,000 units. In 2015, it was ported to iOS and Android devices.

<i>Clock Tower</i> (1995 video game) 1995 video game

Clock Tower is a point-and-click survival horror video game developed and published by Human Entertainment for the Super Famicom in 1995. It is the first installment in the Clock Tower series. The story follows orphan Jennifer Simpson soon after she is adopted by the Barrows family along with other orphaned girls. Shortly after arriving at the Barrows family manor, one of the other children is killed by a stalker called Scissorman. Jennifer must then explore the Barrows Mansion to find a way to escape while evading Scissorman, leading to one of the game's multiple endings. Clock Tower utilizes a point and click interface with the player controlling a cursor to direct Jennifer's actions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hob Hurst's House</span> Bronze Age barrow in Derbyshire, England

Hob Hurst's House is a Bronze Age barrow on Beeley Moor near Bakewell in Derbyshire. It is unique in that instead of the normal round shape, Hob Hurst's barrow is rectangular. Originally made with 13 stones, only five remain today.

Dave Gilbert is an American designer of independent adventure games using Adventure Game Studio. He began creating home-made, freeware games, and went professional in 2006, founding Wadjet Eye Games and releasing commercially The Shivah and The Blackwell Legacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armor Games</span> American video game publisher

Armor Games is an American video game publisher and free web gaming portal. The website hosts over a thousand HTML5 browser games. Based in Irvine, California, the site was founded in 2004 by Daniel McNeely.

Amanita Design is a Czech independent video game developing company founded in 2003 by Jakub Dvorský and headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic. The company has created award-winning games including Machinarium, the Samorost series and Botanicula, as well as educational and advertising minigames and animations, all using Adobe Flash. Clients include BBC, Nike and The Polyphonic Spree. Since Pilgrims (2019) and Creaks (2020), the company has been using Unity to develop its games. Amanita Design currently operates in several smaller teams, each developing a game of their own. One of them is the upcoming cardboard-built adventure Phonopolis.

<i>Gemini Rue</i> 2011 video game

Gemini Rue is a cyberpunk graphic adventure game made by Joshua Nuernberger, and published by Wadjet Eye Games. The game uses a point and click interface to interact with the environment to solve puzzles and communicate with characters. A port for iOS devices was released on April 11, 2013.

<i>Puzzle Bots</i> 2010 video game

Puzzle Bots is a graphic adventure developed by Ivy Games and published by Wadjet Eye Games. The game uses a point and click interface to interact with the environment, solve puzzles, and communicate with characters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simogo</span> Swedish video game developer

Simogo is a Swedish independent video game developer based in Malmö. The company was founded in 2010 and is best known for creating games for mobile devices, including Year Walk and Device 6. Its name comes from the name of its founders Simon (SIM), and Gordon (GO); the 'O' from the Swedish word "och" meaning "and".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Haxan Cloak</span> British musician (born 1985)

Bobby Krlic, known by his stage name The Haxan Cloak, is a British composer, artist, music producer and musician.

<i>Technobabylon</i> 2015 video game

Technobabylon is a cyberpunk adventure game developed by Technocrat Games and published by Wadjet Eye Games for Microsoft Windows, iOS, Linux, and macOS. Originally intended as a series of 10 free episodic games, of which three were released, it was released as a full game on 21 May 2015. The game's story covers 10 chapters and focuses on three characters who live in the future city of Newton which is governed by an autonomous AI administrator, each of whom is faced with a complex matter, but soon find themselves caught up in a conspiracy surrounding the city's AI, including murder and hidden truths about its creation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wales Interactive</span> Welsh video game publisher

Wales Interactive Limited is a Welsh independent video game developer and publisher established in 2011 and based in Penarth, Wales. The studio, best known for Sker Ritual, Maid of Sker, The Bunker, Five Dates and The Complex, have published over 30 video game titles for PC, mobile and video game consoles. They are a multi award winning studio with accolades including BAFTA Cymru Games Award 2012 and 2018, Appster's Award for Best Indie Game Developer 2014, GREAT Face of British Business Winner 2015, South Wales Business of the Year 2014 and 2016, and Wales Technology Award Winner 2017 and 2018. The studio supports a variety of gaming platforms including PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, Nintendo Switch, and Microsoft Windows as well as virtual reality devices including HTC Vive, Oculus Quest 2 and PlayStation VR. Wales Interactive develop and publish their own original intellectual property as well as third-party titles. Wales Interactive was part of the mid-2010s revival of the genre of FMV games.

<i>Barrow Hill: Curse of the Ancient Circle</i> 2006 video game by Shadow Tor Studios

Barrow Hill: Curse of the Ancient Circle is a horror adventure game developed by Shadow Tor Studios. Released in 2006, it is set in the site of Barrow Hill, based on real geographical locations in Cornwall, England.

<i>Unavowed</i> 2018 indie point-and-click adventure game

Unavowed is an indie point-and-click adventure game developed and published by Wadjet Eye Games. It was released on August 8, 2018.

<i>The Blackwell Epiphany</i> 2014 video game

The Blackwell Epiphany is a 2014 graphic adventure game developed and published by Wadjet Eye Games. It is the fifth and final game in the Blackwell series.

Folk horror is a subgenre of horror film and horror fiction that uses elements of folklore to invoke fear and foreboding. Typical elements include a rural setting, isolation, and themes of superstition, folk religion, paganism, sacrifice and the dark aspects of nature. Although related to supernatural horror film, folk horror usually focuses on the beliefs and actions of people rather than the supernatural, and often deals with naïve outsiders coming up against these. The British films Blood on Satan's Claw (1971), The Wicker Man (1973) and Witchfinder General (1968) are regarded as pioneers of the genre, while The Witch (2015) and Midsommar (2019) sparked renewed interest in folk horror. Southeast Asian cinema also commonly features folk horror.

<i>A Date in the Park</i> 2014 video game

A Date in the Park is a 2014 video game by British independent developer Cloak and Dagger Games. Described by the developer as a "short and mysterious free point and click adventure game", the game is based in Portugal and uses digitized photography of Tapada das Necessidades, a park in Lisbon, for background imagery. The developer stated the game was a side-project and "little experimental game" pending work on a larger project Legend of Hand and was developed over a three-month period. Following positive reception of the game, the developers placed the game on Steam Greenlight, leading to its release on Steam in 2016, and received recognition at the Adventure Game Studio Awards 2014.

References

  1. ↑ "The Excavation of Hobs Barrow". Weebly . Retrieved 2024-04-22.
  2. ↑ "The Excavation of Hob's Barrow". IMDB.
  3. ↑ "The Excavation of Hob's Barrow Credits". IMDB.
  4. ↑ "The Excavation of Hob's Barrow". IMDB.
  5. ↑ Meyer, Lee (2022-11-07). "An Interview With The Excavation of Hob's Barrow Designer Shaun Aitcheson". DreadXP . Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  6. 1 2 3 Evenden, Ian (2022-10-03). "The Excavation of Hob's Barrow review". PC Gamer . Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  7. 1 2 Bell, Alice (2022-09-28). "The Excavation Of Hob's Barrow review: an emotive and doomy folk horror adventure". Rock Paper Shotgun . Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  8. ↑ "Cloak and Dagger Games". Weebly . Retrieved 2024-04-22.
  9. ↑ "The Excavation of Hob's Barrow". Gamepressure . Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  10. ↑ "Announcing INCANTAMENTUM". Game Boomers.
  11. ↑ "Getting to the Roots of Folk Horror with Visionary Horror Game Developers". The Escapist. 20 June 2023.
  12. 1 2 "The Excavation of Hob's Barrow". Metacritic . Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  13. 1 2 "The Excavation of Hob's Barrow (Switch)". Metacritic . Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  14. 1 2 Parkin, Erik (2022-09-28). "Review for The Excavation of Hob's Barrow". Adventure Gamers . Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  15. 1 2 Donlan, Christian (2022-09-28). "The Excavation of Hob's Barrow review - an adventure game with depth". Eurogamer . Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  16. ↑ "The Excavation of Hob's Barrow - Recensione". IGN. 2022-09-28. Retrieved 2023-08-02.
  17. ↑ Karuni, Alba (2023-03-03). "NPR staff review the best new games and some you may have missed". NPR . Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  18. ↑ Lahti, Evan (2022-12-12). "PC Gamer's GOTY 2022 and end-of-year award nominees". PC Gamer . Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  19. ↑ "Best Writing – Drama: The Excavation of Hob's Barrow". Adventure Gamers . 2023-02-24. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  20. ↑ "Best Story: The Excavation of Hob's Barrow". Adventure Gamers . 2023-02-24. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  21. ↑ "Best Traditional Adventure: The Excavation of Hob's Barrow". Adventure Gamers . 2023-02-24. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  22. ↑ "Best Adventure of 2022: Return to Monkey Island". Adventure Gamers . 2023-02-24. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  23. ↑ "Best Acting (Voice or Live Action): Return to Monkey Island". Adventure Gamers . 2023-02-24. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  24. ↑ "Samantha Béart - Trivia". IMDB.
  25. ↑ "Celebrating 10 years of BAFTA Breakthrough: 2023 global cohort announced today". BAFTA.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.