There are two types of game that involve story telling. One is the kind where the story is feebly wrapped around the gameplay as an afterthought, and has us leaping for the "Skip" button. The other is the kind where the story is the true core of the gameplay, and it entrances us as it unfolds and propels the game along, pulling us deep into a world of fiction as a book or movie might. Campfire Legends - The Hookman is one such seamless and captivating game.

The introduction to the game is a scene that is familiar to most of us, with a group of young women sitting around a campfire telling scary stories. Straight away the game taps into that familiar feeling of hearing unsettling tales whilst out alone in the dark, and gets you unnerved right from the beginning. One young woman begins to tell the story of "The Hookman", a menacing one handed murderer from their own home town. The screen pans to the eerie night sky, travels back in time to the night Christine (the main character) headed to her parents woodland cabin for what was supposed to be a romantic weekend with her boyfriend, and the game gets underway.

Gameplay that makes sense and sucks you in

The game begins with some clear guidance to let you get a clear understanding of the HUD and gameplay very quickly. You learn that the game isn't just a random list of hidden object you need to locate, but instead is a "Goal" driven game in a similar style to quests in an RPG. At any given time you have a goal you are working towards, and the objects you need to find are required in order to achieve your goal. 

This is where the game really shines. There is not one single task in this game that doesn't have a reason for completion. All the objects you have to find are needed for good reason, and those reasons are always tied directly into the story. In turn, objects are never hidden in illogical locations, unlike the random slapping of pictures wherever they fit that is common in HO games. Objects are always in places that make sense, either hidden by a mess, scattered around or locked away. For example, and without giving too much away, your goal may be to fix something that is broken. In order to do this, you need to find all the required parts and tools, which might be inside something, behind something or just tucked away somewhere in the scene. Nothing ever seems out of place and everything fits with the story, which helps to make this an incredibly immersive game.

 

Room to move and explore

Adding further to this is that despite the game being 2D, it has an open feel to it due to the fact you can click various arrows to move from area to area giving the illusion of three dimensionality. There are also some rooms & areas that are wider than the screen area, allowing you to pan from left to right to explore the entire scene. Some areas can be zoomed in on for closer inspection, and the cursor will change to a magnifying glass if this is the case. This all helps to build the sense of continuity and freedom of motion, again making the experience less 'plastic' and more real.

Another interesting elements is that various "Goals" you are given throughout the game take you back over rooms and areas you have been through before. As the game progresses, you realize that there is a "memory" game type element, whereby if you pay attention to everything you see in a scene, you can easily go back and find items later when they are needed.

An essentially perfect interface, object and hint system

Hints in the game, which are not needed too often given the game's soundly logical gameplay, come via little Fireflies which you collect as you move about from area to area. Using a Firefly will either tell you what area you need to go to, or if you are already in the right area, will fly off and circle around the object you need to find. Fireflies replenish themselves as you move around the game, so you don't run out very quickly, and if you do it's just a matter of waiting until one pops up again somewhere. You can stock up a maximum of five Fireflies, which are stored in the bottom right corner of your HUD.

To the left of your Fireflies is a horizontal list of the objects you need to find for your current goal/s. Having the objects listed horizontally along the bottom is always better than the common vertical list on the left hand side, as it is much easier on the eye to glance up and down from the list to the scene rather than from side to side. Additionally, the objects are pictures rather than words, and the names of the items only appear when you hover over them. This makes it as easy as it could possibly be to understand exactly what you should be looking for, and get on with the fun of trying to find them. As you find objects they are added to your inventory of "Items", to be used later on to achieve your current "Goal".

Artwork and extra atmosphere

The artwork is nothing short of exquisite, with just the right balance of realism and artistic interpretation. One of the standout elements of the way the game is drawn are the skewed angles of the rooms, buildings and contents therein. The make you feel a little off center, in a really fitting way, as though it were how you might see things if you really were freaking out that "The Hookman" was out to get you.

There are some really nice "scare tactic" touches like shadows sweeping past gaps in the walls or windows, accompanied with horror movie style music, or random creepy noises like creaking floors to build up the tension. There are some other choice moments that got me well & truly and made me jump out of my skin, but I won't spoil the surprise. Let's just say I'm sure there were some developers cackling wickedly to themselves when they made parts of this game.

Gripes

No game is perfect, and there is always a thing or two you don't like about any given game. That's not to take anything away from the game, but it's always nice to know what little downers there might be in a game, so that when you encounter them it's likely they won't bother you at all.

• Sometimes the objects you need to find can be quite far from your current location, which can make it difficult to guess where to look without using a hint. 
• Sometimes, you might be just on the edge of finishing up a goal and right as you are about to finish you get hit with one more thing you have to find. In some cases it creates a bit of an "arg" moment, with the extra object to find being more of a pain than a pleasure.
• Some of the in game puzzles are quite tricky, and there is no skip button. I checked a video solution for one puzzle, which I could have possibly figured out if I invested the time, but I opted to move on in the game. If you don't like to spend time figuring out the more testing puzzles, be prepared to refer to a walkthrough or video solution.
• The ending comes a bit abruptly, clearly leading into the second game of what is to be a trilogy. That's all good and I'll look forward to playing the next games, but it did leave me feeling a bit up in the air.

Biggest strengths

• Seamless, logical gameplay that makes complete sense.
• Easily the scariest Hidden Object Game I've ever played, actually making me jump at some points, which is very rare for this kind of game.
• An essentially perfect interface and goal system that never leaves you wondering what you should be doing.
• Excellent visuals with fantastic well placed cutscenes.
• Superb use of sound effects at just the right moment to scare you and add to the atmosphere.
• Placement of hidden objects that really fit the scene, so you can use both a keen eye and common sense to help you find what you need.
• Multiple enjoyable puzzles placed throughout.

Wrapping up

Campfire Legends - The Hookman is a very popular game right now, and it's for good reason. A game with this much atmosphere and the ability to pull you right in is extremely rare, particularly in the casual games area, and even more so amongst Hidden Object Games. This game really stands out amongst its peers on all levels, in terms of gameplay, storytelling, visuals, sound and overall enjoyment.

A word of warning, this game may not be a good choice for younger kids, as it might freak them out a little bit. I would say it's fine for teens, but for under twelves perhaps make a judgement call depending on how easily spooked a particular child might be. For everyone else though, it's all fun and games.

Where to get it

As for where to pick up a copy, I personally get all my games via GameHouse, as I can get them with a 65% discount along with my membership there. You can actually play this game for free to get a taste for it and decide if you want to grab it or not. To play free and try it out, click here.

OVERALL RATING

I loved this game, it had me sucked in from go to whoa. It's very hard to find any reason to fault this game, but just in case I ever find a title where I have zero gripes whatsoever:

I give it 11 out of 12 monkeys [Rating:11/12]

Click here to play Campfire Legends - The Hookman

Tags: campfire legend, scariest hidden object game, the scariest hidden object game