The Charnel House Trilogy is a 2015 adventure game developed by Owl Cave and published by Mastertronic Group. It comprises three connected stories that involve the supernatural.
| The Charnel House Trilogy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Owl Cave |
| Publisher(s) | Mastertronic Group |
| Platform(s) | Windows |
| Release |
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| Genre(s) | Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Gameplay
editThree short point-and-click adventure games comprise The Charnel House Trilogy: Sepulchre, which was previously released as a standalone game; Inhale, a prequel to Sepulchre; and Exhale, a sequel.[1] Inhale is about Alex Davenport and why she boards a train. Sepulchre is a ghost story about a doctor on the same train. Exhale completes Alex's story. Players interact with the characters and learn more about the characters' motivations.[2] There are few puzzles.[3]
Development
editMastertronic Group released The Charnel House Trilogy for Windows on April 16, 2015.[4]
Reception
editThe Charnel House Trilogy received mixed reviews on Metacritic.[5] Rock Paper Shotgun found Inhale to have too many immersion-breaking inside jokes. Sepulchre, which the reviewer previously enjoyed, felt weaker coming back Inhale. Exhale, to them, felt like a tonal mismatch with its focus on teen horror. However, Rock Paper Shotgun praised the trilogy's art and score.[2] GameSpot criticized Inhale for having "out-of-place humor" and puzzles that did not seem to follow its story. They felt Sepulchre lacked subtlety, but they enjoyed Exhale and Alex's character growth. They concluded that the trilogy has a "mishmash of themes and tones".[3] Adventure Gamers recommended it to "anyone who values atmospheric storytelling over gameplay", though they disliked the ending, which they said felt like a cop-out.[6] RPGFan called it "short but highly repeatable" and recommended it to players who like to think about and try to piece together vague stories.[7] According to Paste, the stories are at their best when they are open-ended and weird, but it is much weaker when it begins providing answers.[8]
References
edit- ^ }Warr, Philippa (2015-02-20). "Tombsday: Owl Cave's Making Charnel House Trilogy". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
- ^ a b Warr, Philippa (2015-04-21). "Wot I Think: The Charnel House Trilogy". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
- ^ a b VanOrd, Kevin (2015-04-20). "The Charnel House Trilogy Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2024-09-16.}
- ^ "The Charnel House Trilogy". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
- ^ "The Charnel House Trilogy". Metacritic. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
- ^ Tekaia, Pascal (2015-04-29). "Review for The Charnel House Trilogy". Adventure Gamers. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
- ^ Lee, Luna (2015-10-31). "The Charnel House Trilogy". RPGFan. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
- ^ Taylor, Brian (2015-04-23). "The Charnel House Trilogy: Dangers on a Train". Paste. Retrieved 2024-09-16.