House of 1000 Doors is a beautiful hidden-object adventure game developed by Alawar that invites you to explore the world of Spiritism. You play a novelist with an interest in the paranormal world, who receives an invitation to a spiritism session. There you learn about a haunted mansion that 'materializes' in any place of the world appearing and vanishing quickly, being visible only to those with a special sensitivity. A spirit reveals to you the exact place and time the mansion will appear, so you prepare yourself to enter the house and discover the secret behind it.
The game is entirely based on the search of hidden objects and proposes several ways to obtain them. You can pick up items as you walk around the mansion and also from hidden-object scenes. Through changes in the cursor, the game will tell you when there is an object to collect or something to pay special attention to. Most of the time, you will be looking for special keys to open locked doors, handles for an old device, and numbers for a secret password. The mansion will open up numerous rooms as you move on, presenting more puzzles and situations to solve, and even portals that can transport you to another time.
Hidden-object scenes are marked by sparkles and besides the typical items on the list you will find objects in red which require a bit more than a click; you may need to use and combine objects to obtain others, look inside drawers and cases, under cushions, etc.
Besides the main puzzles, the mansion has other challenges in store, you will also need to find items called 'beyond objects', which can be anywhere in the mansion and their gimmick is that they are constantly changing shape. Also, you will be collecting portraits to complete a family tree, which should reveal the full story of the mansion and secrets of the family. Mini games are also present, usually logic puzzles that require you to assemble pictures, connect wires, and other inventive variations. Solving them will also grant you useful elements for your search.
Hints, on the other hand, can be used inside HOG scenes and in all the game locations, in the last case, they will suggest your next move. One thing I particularly liked is that the game has an interactive map that allows you to jump to any location of the house with a single click and shows you the rooms where there are pending tasks. This feature makes going through the game easier as it avoids the tedious backtracking that often occurs in huge games like this.
The visual design in this game is impeccable, with lots of attention to detail and beautifully rendered environments. Music accompanies every part of the story accordingly with an original soundtrack. With lots of places to explore and objects to collect, House of 1000 Doors is a game that will catch you up with its intriguing story and beautiful visuals.
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