Hugo's House of Horrors

The Good
What's there to like about this? This is actually a very good question. The 'production values' of this game (if they were called that at the time) are apparently fairly low, and pale in comparison to the many excellent adventure games released by Sierra, Lucasarts, and other, smaller companies. But for all this, Hugo's house of horrors has that certain charm to it. It's difficult to explain, but if you play the game for a short while, even for half an hour, you'll probably remember the game for life.

That's what it's got going for it. Not the puzzles (they're actually very easy, most of the time) or the dialogue (I think you can write every description or bit of dialogue in the game on two sheets of paper, really), or the graphics, which are fairly crude, even by 1990 standards. But it's these supposedly negative points, along with that little charm to it, that just makes it so appealing and memorable. That's all I can say, it's that abstract and that complex an issue, but there you have it.

The Bad
I can't say there's much I didn't like about the game since the negative points that I mentioned earlier all just give the game it's appeal. But if there is a point that I really didn't like (and has no redeeming value) is the trivia questions and riddles asked by a certain character at one point in the game. When I was a kid they were what stopped me from finishing it, and as an adult, I find them very annoying and meaningless, and they don't add a single bit to the game's value or fun factor at all.

The Bottom Line
Consider this game a sort of B-movie. It's sub-par compared to the other, more mainstream games of the era, but it just has that special something that makes you wanna play it and causes it to be a cult classic. Just like the many B-movies out there that have small, but dedicated followings (or people who view them ritualistically at certain times), this is the same thing for adventure games of the era.

One thumb up, just one one... and a wink.