“The Addicott Manor” is a choice-based horror story about exploring a haunted mansion.

Gameplay: After a short introduction, the game consists of exploring the manor through a series of simple decision points. There are numerous dead ends and red herrings, though, with few clues beforehand. The gameplay is similar to that of a “Choose Your Own Adventure” book or games like Shadowgate, though, with trial-and-error play required to progress. As in those games, part of the appeal is in reading through the different death scenes; even if it’s hard to predict which options will be safe, those scenes are interesting, and there’s no significant penalty for dying. (Some of the other, non-fatal traps do have lingering consequences, though.) 5/10.

Mechanics: The game does involve a bit of state, most notably in some of the manor’s traps disabling or remove certain items in your inventory. It’s largely about exploration, though, and surviving despite the random traps and obstacles that befall the protagonist. 4/10.

Presentation: The options at a decision point were often (especially toward the beginning of the game) just listed in running text, rather than being displayed more prominently or even just in a separate list. At least on my browser, the last option button was flushed right while the others were on the left. There were some typos and odd phrasing in the text (“Are there any jewelry in the manor?”). I didn’t find the game particularly scary or disturbing, despite some of the death scenes, but it wasn’t played for laughs either. 3/10.

You might be interested in this game if: You fondly remember gothic or horror “Choose Your Own Adventure” books.

Score: 4