SPOILER WARNING: I try not to reveal specifics of Hob’s Barrow in this piece, but to get at what’s special about this game, I’ve had to talk about certain elements of the design that you might not want to know going in.
My favourite moment in The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow came about three hours after I’d finished it. But we’ll get to that in a bit.
The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow reviewPublisher: Wadjet Eye GamesDeveloper: Cloak and Dagger GamesPlatform: Played on PCAvailability: Out today on PC and Mac
From the off, it’s hard not to root for Thomasina Bateman. In an age of steam trains and parasols, she has come to a small village in the north of England to dig up an ancient burial site, regardless of all the obstacles the local patriarchy – and the soggy English weather – can place in her way.
And it’s hard not to root for The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow itself. Here’s a compact yet carefully made point-and-click horror delivered in the classic adventure game style. The interface and inventory are pleasantly streamlined – there’s a button to show all points of interest, and you can even warp to exits with a double-click – but the stately pace of a classic adventure game is adhered to with great reverence.
The less you know about the story going in, the better. Just be aware that there is a barrow that Thomasina wants to dig up, but her first tasks involve getting the local folk to admit that this barrow even exists. And she has to convince some of them to even acknowledge her for starters. How do you go about this stuff? Classic adventure game business, obviously: talking to everyone until there’s nothing left to ask them, picking up anything that isn’t stuck to the floor and keeping an eye on promising locked doors.