Nintendo Switch – Goetia #155

Sometimes I do miss point and click stories…

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Goetia – Nintendo Switch – Released: 4/26/18– $9.99

Short Review (Review copy provided by Forever Entertainment)

2D Point and Click Adventures are a strange genre in my opinion. Most of the ones I played were slap stick comedy like Sam and Max or any of the early Telltale games. Goetia is unique because I don’t remember the last time I played a horror/mystery style one. Maybe it was because I didn’t grow up playing this genre in the early days so I don’t have a history of playing different Point and Click Adventures. Goetia sets the mood early as your character wakes up near a grave stone and you need to piece back what happened to you. The mansion is creepy, dimly lit, and layers of dust are piled on everything in the mansion. One of the issues I did have is this game should be recommended to be played while handheld because the cursor will feel really slow. Having the ability to really touch and go makes all the difference. Getting your face up and close to the Switch with earbuds in really immersing yourself in the game. I would give this game an 9 out of 10!

This icon is great kind of reminds me of Castlevania:

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Story

Abigail Blackwood is dead… and has been for 40 years. You wake up by your grave to find out that the town and mansion is completely abandoned. When you go into the mansion you find that nothing is as it seems. Things have been left untouched, no one is around, wall show sign of aging, and dust appears on every object. She has no memory of what happened after she fell out of her window and let our her final scream. Abigail has to make her way through the mansion and uncover the secrets of what happened. She has to trace her steps and piece together what has happened to her family in this mansion filled with over 100 rooms.

Gameplay

This is a point and click adventure game so if have played anything like this, you will be right at home if not, I’ll explain. A point and click adventure game is a cursor based game where you will click on many objects that give you typically a few options of interacting. In Goetia when you click an object you will be able to get a better idea of what it is, an option to interact with it, or being able to take it with you. Throughout the game you will need to figure out puzzles to progress the story. Story is mainly told by reading what an object is or reading the journal. Most items you will not be able to do anything with as they are just for scenery. Other objects you will need to pick up and use in other places to unlock new areas. That is the bulk of what you will do in this game so like I say with other games this is a “Do you want this item?” sort of game. You will find yourself not knowing what to do with things so you will try to brute force objects until one works.

Personal Experience

I am at a weird spot for this game because it is solid but the length was something that was unexpected. I spent around 10 hours playing the game when I finished it. Goetia shocked me with this because I typically judge a game by how long it takes to beat it so taking almost exactly the price was a great purchase to me. I wanted to keep playing it and when I was done it felt as though I wanted more out of it. I know the developer hasn’t produced a ton of games but I am really excited to see what they produce next.

Final Thoughts

Goetia does feel really slow but does an excellent job at creating an environment for the player to explore while still giving a sense of mystery. Abigail’s mystery kept me wanting to know more about what happened after her death. It would be interesting to see another game in the future with the same amount of polish. The biggest issue is the cursor since I wanted to play this while docked at points but it is too slow so it is best to play mainly undocked. I would give this game a 9 out of 10! Goetia sticks the laying but leans a bit when standing, it presents a solid story with a creepy environment until the very end.

My Gameplay Footage:

Trailer:

End Credits

I really enjoyed this game just wish the Switch had mouse support since that would make this game near perfect. I did notice this game is on our platforms so it would be interesting to play this game again using a mouse and keyboard on the big screen. Remember that I do have a giveaway going on over at the Nintendo Subreddit for a digital copy of Elena Temple so check that out! Remember as always let me know how the review was, what games you are currently playing, and what game would you like to see reviewed next time!