The Mansion of Hidden Souls

"Looks can be deceiving..."

When I first saw this game on the shelf, it looked very promising. The graphics looked pretty cool, and besides, you get to explore a mansion! Since I enjoy puzzle games like Myst and Cyberia, I figured I couldn't go wrong. On top of all that, there were "hidden souls" in the mansion! So exciting!

I couldn't have been more wrong...

Graphics: 5/10
Let's start on the upside. The graphics were nice for the sega saturn. Not too pixelated, at least nothing I could complain about. Of course when you zoom in on objects, you get a different story. Plus the "characters" in this game were pretty grainy. All in all, mediocre at best.

Storyline: 1/10
I think someone might have had an idea when the game first entered development, maybe. Something about half-dead people living as butterflies in a mansion. It's impossible to understand what's going on. Don't even bother trying.

Gameplay: 1/10
Your movement is so heavily limited to whatever the boundaries the game sets. If it is not intended for you to look at an object, well the game just won't let you. You end up just roaming from room to room in a first person perspective. Can't figure out what to do next? That's ok, just go to all the rooms for the 50th time and see if this time, something happens. The game reduces to this level immediately since the characters (floating heads) don't help you much.

Sound: 2/10
Ok, the music is kind of cool when you enter the different rooms. KIND OF...and the tick tock of the clock does get annoying after 2 minutes. All in all, repetitive and lame.

Replayability: 1/10
The game is so easy, since to beat it all you have to do is explore each room over and over again until a floating head decides to talk to you. The end makes no sense, although it is a nice change of pace. All in all, you've seen the ending, it won't be different next time, so don't bother playing it again. Sell it back to the used game store for the 50 cents they'll give you. Trust me, it will be more useful that way. Let someone else make the same foolish mistake of purchasing the game. At least you can laugh at their suffering...haha.

Overall: 1/10
Graphics are decent, but don't outweigh the lack of story and limited gameplay. A stupid ending that makes no sense and annoying music sums up a worthless game. Don't be fooled by the display like I was.

Reviewer's Score: 2/10, Originally Posted: 08/15/06