5 Days a Stranger

The Good
I could ramble on about it for quite some time. The graphics are not groundbreaking, but quite nice. The setting reminded me more than a bit of "Maniac Mansion", to which it can be compared with some justice: "5 Days a Stranger" may not be as rich or imaginative, but it wins by miles in the atmosphere department.

The characters. Trilby is the kind of character I would have wanted to marry when I was younger. His witty remarks and unshakeable style are high points of the game. The other characters are more or less well-developed, certainly no one-adjective stereotypes, but even so they pale slightly next to Trilby. The dialogue is generally good to very good.

The greatest kudos, however, goes to the atmosphere. To bring up "Maniac Mansion" again, there is a similar finely-balanced mixture of humour and horror in both games. However, "Maniac Mansion" (in my opinion) is a comedy game with horror/science fiction elements; "5 Days a Stranger" is a horror game with some humour. I am not going to call it comic relief, because most of the time, the acerbic wit actually serves to sharpen the sense of fear. There are some scenes (notably when Trilby is locked in the shed) where comedy and horror seem to weld together into a fragile, but very sharp, edge. I really didn't know whether to laugh or feel sick. I intend this as high praise. The whodunit plot kept me at the edge of my seat, whatever my problems with the backstory (see below). I swear I was hardly up to going upstairs in the dark afterwards.

The music is not an original work, but it is well used, and the sound effects are quite good.

I must also mention the excellent ending sequence.

The Bad
Some niggles: it's very short, puzzles are nothing special, it can be hard to figure out what to do next, objects turn up in rooms when the plot demands them. That's out of the way. My main problem is with the plot, meaning some spoilers.

I enjoyed the "possessed killer" part of the plot, and liked the idea of the house that lets no-one out. However, the backstory of the DeFoe family felt strangely hackneyed for an otherwise inventive game. I guess no-one but me is to blame for the fact that "Anchorhead", my favourite text adventure (1997, if I remember correctly) also features a mansion vacated by a madman who shot himself and his family, as well as a hideous backstory involving a freak twin brother. It's not as if the plot was original back then.

Unoriginality aside, some parts of the plot didn't seem to connect. I'm not quite sure what the idol had to do with the ghost - OK, that might have been me missing some text. But what the heck was with Trilby's car?

The Bottom Line
While "5 Days a Stranger" is not perfect, its strengths well outweigh its flaws. With a charmingly sarcastic (anti-)hero, a throat-clenching plot, and atmosphere like few other games, it should be solidly recommended. The golden age of adventure games never ended.

The Good
I still don't know what this AGS system is, but what ever it is, it gives a great new breath of life to adventure games...even though it's only a "freeware game".

Only a freeware game? Egad, this game would totally put some commercial game developers in their place and in shame. Honestly, the last freeware game that was worth noting was Beneath a Steel Sky, but this game isn't close in comparison to that game, it sure hell is better than a lot of crappy adventure games out there...

So what's so great about the game? Hmm...I dunno, there's a lot of little things I've noticed about the game that really reminded me of the good ol'days of classic adventure game. What's that you ask? I answer= Soul.

And soul it is. I've noticed that in the start of the game...the intro. A beautiful song, and smooth animation with all the right moves, and a deep beautiful poet-like opening story. Ahhh....whoever wrote this has the gift, I thought to myself.

The gameplay is standard, more of a Lucasfilm approach than a Sierra one. Nothing really out of the ordinary about the gameplay.

The story however, although nothing "genius-like" was enough to get you curious enough to continue playing. There is an eerie like atmosphere in the game, and more than once there have been some heart-popping scenes that frightened the beejesus out of me. Since I'm a chicken when it comes to horror and honestly would stay away from it like the plague...the game wasn't horror enough to shut your eyes closed, but enough to keep the eerie mood going. Eventually the when the mystery get's resolved, it was a really great revelation...although the ending needed some work....big time.

One last note. THE MUSIC! Is one of the most beautiful compositions out-there. Since it's a freeware game I don't know if it's actually a "real composition" or just a rip-off from some other composition and turned into midi. But, IF and only IF it's a real composition made by an actual composer....Note to developers=GET THIS GUY A JOB IF YOUR LIFE DEPENDED ON IT! Boy, it was really beautiful music. Can't say it any better. Even if it were a "fake", they really chose a great background music for it.

The Bad
The gameplay itself is pretty mediocre, fortunately there are only a few puzzles to solve "per day", of which will bring the story further with a cutscene...without the cutscenes, it would really get boring.

Last note, the ending was kinda cheezy. With a great intro this game gave, I expected the ending would be a little better. Although the epilogue (plus great music) helped big time to balance the bad stuff...

The Bottom Line
It's free, it's a great game and it'll give you a smile on your face when you finish the game and a warm feeling when you listen to the music. The only thing stopping you from getting this game is your internet connection...:p

I hope there will be more adventure games like this...

The Good
With the last of the DeFoe family dead, the ancestral manor is sealed off from the world while the law determines what should happen to the estate. Tipped off by his fence, Trilby the infamous cat burglar decides to investigate DeFoe Manor and see if there is anything worth taking. Entering a second floor window with the use of grolly, his umbrella-disguised grappling hook, Trilby doesn't find anything of interest. When he leaves, though, he finds the window he entered is sealed shut. Suddenly Trilby hears footsteps in the supposedly deserted manor, footsteps coming closer to the door.

5 Days a Stranger is an adventure game created with the AGS software. The interface hearkens back to the days of SCUMM: controlling a sprite-based character by pointing and clicking on hotspots around a 2D set. Trilby, the player's character, soon learns that he is one of five strangers trapped in the DeFoe Manor. Even though these five individuals found five different ways into the manor, there is no apparent exit. Doors and windows are sealed, a surrounding wall extends deep into the earth, impenetrable terrain makes vaulting over the wall impossible and, needless to say, there is no means of communication with the outside world.

Each stranger has their own theory on what's happening. One person points out that they are obviously on a reality show. Others think that whoever occupies the manor must be lonely. Someone else thinks that the supernatural is afoot. Regardless of the reason behind their imprisonment, the four other strangers have been there for a few days and have taken a "we'll wait for rescue" attitude. This changes when one of them goes missing on Trilby's first night and later turns up dead.

As mentioned above, players control Trilby by clicking on hotspots. Players click on an appropriate verb icon: feet for "walk to", a hand for "use", a word balloon for "talk to", and then click on the appropriate item or person. Trilby also collects inventory which is accessed through right-clicking. In the inventory screen, Trilby can read articles, examine items, or combine them.

DeFoe Manor isn't overwhelming, but there are many rooms to explore and every room has items which can be examined closer. Trilby can converse with his fellow occupants and typically has a decent conversation with them each time he finds them. The occupants are noteworthy for having different personalities: there's a BBC newsreader who was working on a documentary about the DeFoes and is convinced there's a mystery to crack, a local school kid who entered the house on a dare and now hero-worships Trilby, a skittish man who goes by the name of AJ, and a treasure hunter who doesn't see Trilby as an equal, but does see him as competition.

While many accolades have been heaped on 5 Days, and it certainly deserves the awards it won for its use of AGS, in terms of graphics, use of sound, and puzzle design it simply doesn't match what's coming out commercially or match the innovation found in the independent games being released. I'm not taking away from Ben Croshaw's creation, but if you approach this game expecting anything beyond a terrific single-person produced adventure game you'll be disappointed.

Having said that, 5 Days a Stranger is a terrific adventure game. There's really no logical reason for five strangers to be trapped in a house, but once you get them there, you can have a lot of fun with them. On the first night Trilby has a horrific nightmare with a twist that isn't much of a surprise. However, the other inhabitants had the same dream and Croshaw adds another twist which is surprising. There are other dream sequences which punctuate the game and these blend in so well that you forgive the convention because they are so effective. I also appreciated that Croshaw wasn't afraid to be wordy, transmitting important parts of the story through conversation, books, and television broadcasts.

The Bad
Aside from being unable to leave DeFoe Manor, there really doesn’t seem to be any way to survive in it. The only available source of water is a heavily chlorinated pool and the only thing in the kitchen is an ungodly amount of salt. Meanwhile some of the characters have been there well before the game’s five day span. I’m not even sure where they are sleeping; thankfully Trilby has snagged a couch. Back to the absurdity of not being able to leave the manor, it might be a fun side game trying to think of obvious ways to escape.

The game’s main villain is The Welder: a hulking figure wearing a leather apron, a welding mask, and wielding a butcher’s knife. Aside from being an effective villain, you have to wonder where the accessories came from—especially since The Welder’s origin story doesn’t show any metalworking connection. Also, the name seems a bit off—kind of like calling Jason, The Goalie.

The Bottom Line
5 Days a Stranger is a fun adventure game with a spooky atmosphere and a few real jolts. In design, it’s very similar to classic LucasArts or Sierra style adventure games. Clocking in around five hours, it has a respectable length especially since the game itself has a download size of 1 Mb. Is it as good as current commercial ware? No. But Ben “Yahtzee” Croshaw shows real talent and makes excellent use of the AGS software. This is definitely worth checking out.