Burnhouse Lane PC Review 8/10 "Super Gory Purgatory" 🔎 @harvestergames #IndieGame #GameDev

There aren’t many games that have allowed me to play as a chain-smoking woman, a cat and a living mannequin, but then there are lots of ways in which Burnhouse Lane is unusual.

At its core, this experience (I hesitate to call it a game) is a puzzle action horror, with the visual style of a graphic novel. It’s hauntingly beautiful, with even the mundane settings (including a farmhouse and a kebab shop) being painted in sepia tones or pastel reds to give them an otherworldly effect.

Having only a passing awareness of Rem Michalski’s (AKA Harvester Games) previous output was probably a good thing. The less I know about a horror or mystery film before I see it, the better. And I think the same applies here, as there is no way you could predict what you’ll see or hear as you progress.

Given what I experienced down Burnhouse Lane, I imagine this game will have pulled in Rem’s eager followers from his previous works, as there are thematic and stylistic connections between them. I certainly feel the urge to delve into his older works after this visit to the Michalski universe.

The story starts with Angie Weather, recently bereaved and terminally ill herself, trying, without success, to kill herself. Soon after she accepts a caring role for an old man in a rural farmhouse, but that proves to be the only vaguely ordinary part of the tale, as soon she finds herself in what I can only describe as some sort of purgatory, where a mysterious cat creature sets you gruesome tasks to win a second chance at life.

And, from there on, the less I say about what’s ahead, the better. It truly is a discovery worth making yourself.

Mechanically, this is a sideways scrolling point-and-click/action game. You pick up objects and use them with others, you have weapons to dispatch the hellish creatures you encounter, and you have conversations with others to learn more (and your choices have an impact on how well this goes).

I liked how objects had multiple uses and most made sense, so you don’t get that situation that sometimes happens in point and clicks where you have to try out ludicrous combinations before eventually and inexplicably combining a hedgehog with a spatula to beat a puzzle.

The controls and movement aren’t the most fluid, even a little jerky at times, but Burnhouse Lane is more about what you see and hear than how you interact with the world. And what you see includes an abundance of severed limbs, torture, evil-doers, and hellscapes with pulsating walls and dripping blood.

I was frequently thrown by what happened next and that unpredictability makes it all the more disconcerting. This is a game with more jarring moments than a marmalade documentary and more jumps than a Van Halen world tour.

SUMMARY

In short, this game is superb. It’s definitely not one for the faint of heart but will appeal to anyone who likes their entertainment on the chilling side.

Fans of other Harvester games will no doubt lap it up, as will anyone who likes a great story and genuine horror. It’s like playing through a graphic novel set in Hell itself, and many of its scenes will stay with you long after you close your computer down and try and sleep…

Burnhouse Lane is available on Steam if you dare.