Our exploration of Lovecraftian games continues with Anchorhead.  (Read part 1, The Secret World, if you missed it.)

I grew up in the 80s (that’s the NINETEEN eighties, Logan!), and I spent much of my time on my Commodore 64, programming and playing interactive fiction games.  Interactive fiction games are text-based; imagine reading a book, but YOU are the main character and you decide how the story goes, and you’ll have a good idea of how IF works.

Text… no graphics.  Sounds boring, right?

Wrong.

To this day, I enjoy IF games more than video games.  Getting lost in a great story where I’m the main character is a wonderful experience.  In the 80s, I played games like Fahrenheit 451 (I have fond memories of that one), Nine Princes in Amber, Dragonworld, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, and more.  I even played The Lurking Horror, one of the best Lovecraftian games ever created; and until now, I thought it was the ONLY Lovecraftian interactive fiction game.

Happily, that’s not the case.  You see, interactive fiction games are still being created, even though they are no longer mainstream.  One such game is Anchorhead, and you can play it right in your browser without downloading anything.  It begins with an H.P. Lovecraft quote, and then:

November, 1997.

You take a deep breath of salty air as the first raindrops begin to spatter the pavement, and the swollen, slate-colored clouds that blanket the sky mutter ominous portents amongst themselves over the little coastal town of Anchorhead.

Squinting up into the glowering storm, you wonder how everything managed to happen so fast. The strange phone call over a month ago, from a lawyer claiming to represent the estate of some distant branch of Michael’s family, was bewildering enough in itself… but then the sudden whirlwind of planning and decisions, legal details and travel arrangements, the packing up and shipping away of your entire home, your entire life…

Now suddenly here you are, after driving for the past two days straight, over a thousand miles away from the familiar warmth of Texas, getting ready to move into the ancestral mansion of a clan of relatives so far removed that not even Michael has ever heard of them. And you’ve only been married since June and none of this was any of your idea in the first place, and already it’s starting to rain.

These days, you often find yourself feeling confused and uprooted.

You shake yourself and force the melancholy thoughts from your head, trying to focus on the errand at hand. You’re to meet with the real estate agent and pick up the keys to your new house while Michael runs across town to take care of some paperwork at the university. He’ll be back to pick you up in a few minutes, and then the two of you can begin the long, precarious process of settling in.

A sullen belch emanates from the clouds, and the rain starts coming down harder — fat, cold drops smacking loudly against the cobblestones. Shouldn’t it be snowing in New England at this time of year? With a sigh, you open your umbrella.

Welcome to Anchorhead…

I’ve already started playing it, and I’m impressed.  And it has great reviews:

Play it if: you’ve always wanted to think of interactive fiction as a true literary genre, for this is a terrifying and emotional tale worthy of its Lovecraftian origins.  Don’t play it if: you have an allergy to great storytelling and demand complex puzzles instead, for this game undoubtedly focuses on narrative rather than intellectual challenge – not that this is a bad thing.  Wow. I’d heard this was good, but…wow.  Anchorhead simply blew me away, and I’ll tell you why:

Because it scared me.

I’ve read a lot of horror fiction and played a lot of horror-themed video games, but this is the first game to truly frighten me. Gentry’s writing is nothing short of astounding in this game, showing top-notch effort and a deft hand in bringing all the necessary elements of a good horror story to life: an atmospheric setting, a dark secret from the past, the confrontation of the unknown…with a dash of some Lovecraft trademarks thrown in for good measure. And finally, of course, the fact that you actually care about what’s happening.

And:

Anchorhead, indeed, is more than a game. It’s another reality, a second life, just waiting to be explored, with all its secrets and dark history. It is truly easy to get immersed in the experience, and by the end of day two I felt like I’ve been a part of this town forever. The story is fascinating and unfolds at an exactly the right pace, letting you slowly amount more and more knowledge about the past events and what’s going on.

Did I mention?  It’s free.

Go here to play Anchorhead.  Comment below and let me know how you like it.  If you’re new to interactive fiction, here’s a handy beginner’s guide.