Torreoscura

Author: Bieno Marti Released: 2021

torreoscura is a Spanish graphic text adventure created by Bieno Marti and was written using the Gilsoft ‘Quill’ adventure system. Originally released last summer for the Commodore 64, the game has more recently been translated into English and released for several other systems including the Amstrad CPC, PCW, Oric, MS-DOS and ZX Spectrum

Bored with your mundane life you’ve decided a change is needed and as fate would have it you have just received a mysterious letter from your old school friend Marc, inviting you to the remote town of Torreoscura, a place you’ve never heard of before but decide would be the ideal vacation spot. The game begins with you arriving at the town’s small airport but with your friend Marc nowhere to be found, you decide to head off into town and check into the hostel you’ll be staying at which is where this two-part horror style adventure begins.

While the main storyline is well written I did find that I had a fair idea of what was going on pretty quickly and had worked out where the story was headed come the second part of the game. With that in mind I’ll leave the main story for now as I don’t want to ruin it for you all. What is immediately noticeable are the excellent and well-drawn monochrome graphics which complement the atmosphere of the game greatly. Also noticeable is the slow and eerie in game soundtrack that plays throughout which once again complements the game well.

The two parts of the game aren’t huge in terms of locations but there’s enough to make it feel a lot bigger than it actually is.

Puzzles are all fairly logical with a few tricky ones thrown in for good measure. There’s nothing I would say that’s impossible but there are a few ‘red herrings’ among the objects and to add to this you can only carry up to three objects at a time, meaning it’s good to drop an item once it has fulfilled its purpose.

I thoroughly enjoyed playing through Torreoscura and overall found it a good challenge. Too many adventures these days I feel are far too easy but Bieno and his team, for me at least, have got the balance just right here. My only minor gripe was the ending which I felt was a bit forced and I feel it would have been better if there were some sort of alternative option available as well. Apart from this however I can find no other fault with the game, and I’d happily recommend this quality horror adventure to anyone.

Torreoscura is available as a free digital download and comes with an excellent and well put together PDF manual which explains the back story and how to play the game.

Atmosphere 88%

Interaction 89%

Lasting Interest 80%

Value for Money 97%

Overall 88%