The Blackstone Chronicles is a psychological thriller/adventure from veteran adventure game developer Legend Entertainment. You play Oliver Metcalf, son of the deceased director of the old Blackstone Asylum, now being refurbished as a museum. Malcolm Metcalf, your father, was always disappointed that you didn't follow in his footsteps - although he influenced you in other, darker ways. When your son mysteriously disappears, supposedly kidnapped by your dead father, you're lured into the asylum to solve a series of mysteries, all in the name of learning more about the asylum and your father's dealings as director over 40 years ago.
Author John Saul is a novelist that has created a series of very popular thriller novels. The history of the Blackstone Asylum is a rich one that transforms well into an adventure game. As a storyteller, Saul manages to create an aura of horror that doesn't rely on gore to get his point across. Using disturbing descriptions of uncomfortable situations, he forces the reader/player to use their imagination - far more disturbing than physical images.
Graphically, the game is presented through a series of still images that you move between. Each transition is accompanied by a short video-like sequence that links the areas. These transitions may be viewed in either high or low resolution depending on the power of your system. The game ships on only two CDs, one for the high-resolution art, and one for low. Once the game is installed, you put the proper CD into your PC, and there is no disk swapping to annoy you. The images are of incredibly high photorealistic quality. It may not be a full 3D rendered environment, but works very well for this game.
The sound is one of the highest points in the game. The voice acting is one of the single best I've ever heard. Nearly all of the voice actors do an incredible job of portraying their character and expressing a wide range of emotions. One of the "ghost" characters transforms from a positive-sounding upbeat young girl then slowly tends towards severe depression as her plight is revealed. It is an amazing job, and that's only one example. The overall voice acting is top notch, with only one exception - an overacted Jack Nicholson impression that just didn't fit into the game properly. It's not the actor's fault, he did a fine job, it's just that the "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" reference is too prominent and tries to add a touch of humor that is overplayed and unnecessary. The incidental music is of top quality. The score for this game could have been featured in a Hollywood film production. It's rare that music, sound, and voice acting are this prominent in a PC game, but this is perhaps the best overall job I've experienced.
As a game, the Blackstone Chronicles works extremely well. It is the type of story that urges you to pursue further to find out exactly what is going on - to see what will happen next. Your anticipation rises each time you discover how to open a new door, knowing that some form of horror or tortured soul lies behind it. As Oliver Metcalf, you are forced to explore the asylum and uncover its secrets. All of this must be accomplished "before dawn", or your dead father will exert his influence over your child, molding him into his own image - something he failed to do to you in your youth. Throughout the game, you are unable to figure out whether this is really happening or you're actually losing your mind.
Exploring the building, you continually have encounters with disembodied voices, remnants of the patients or employees of the facility. Your father's voice is your guide, always pushing you to uncover more, to discover exactly what went on in this place years before. These "ghosts" tell you their side of the story which, along with the records of the facility, give you some background into the psyche of these individuals. Just when you think you know what happened to a particular person, you find yourself doubting that opinion and questioning what really happened. Most of the time, you'll be left to make your own decision - with both sides of the story making sense in some way. More than likely a combination of these is closer to the mark.
The fictional Blackstone Asylum was in full operation in the 1950s, a time when treatment for mental illness was still much in its infancy. Methods of treatment that seem cruel today were in full effect and believed to be valid treatments. This is where much of the psychological horror appears within the game. Descriptions of "treatments" or surgical techniques do not need to be seen in order to disturb you, what you imagine will be far worse. Even pleasant-sounding treatments, like baths and steam treatments take a downward turn as you hear of patients being locked in baths of freezing cold water, or imprisoned in steam boxes so hot that the patient was left so weak they had to be carried back to their room. Less pleasant treatments, like shock and fever therapy fare much worse as there is no way to make these sound good in the first place.
Gameplay is very typical adventure game fare. You travel throughout the building, clicking on hotspots and collecting inventory. These objects are used to further your progress in the game. What is different is the level of verbalization used to convey the storyline. It's a very "wordy" game, much of your time is taken having conversations or reading about the asylum's background. This is not a bad thing, it's a very carefully crafted story that lacks any real filler. Much of what you see or hear gives you the background you need to solve the puzzles. Speaking of the puzzles, most of them are very fair, bordering on easy. This is a game that beginner or moderate level adventurers will appreciate. Some of the puzzles have their solutions spelled out a bit too directly - something obvious blurted out after you've already come to the proper conclusion.
In addition to the normal exploration of the building, there are certain points that you will be forced into a "timed puzzle" situation. At these points, you're usually trapped in a piece of equipment and have a very limited time to escape. Normally I dislike this type of puzzle, but it's handled very well in this case. You're never forced into one of these situations until you have all of the items you will need to escape. If you fail, you are not forced to reload a saved game, you are given a choice of reloading, being placed at the point just before the timed puzzle was triggered, or given the solution outright. I found only one game-stopping situation, and I'm not sure if it was done on purpose or if it is a bug. Towards the end of the game, you are put into a room and cannot get out again. It is possible to not have an inventory item that you need to progress. While there is no reason you shouldn't be able to exit the room to get the item, for some reason the exit is not available. The rest of the game is very player-friendly, so I assume this was a bug.
The Blackstone Chronicles is a very welcome traditional adventure game. The past year has not seen the release of many games of this type, and of those there were few really good ones. This game has an excellent story, decent puzzles, and ties it all together with wonderful voices and music.
