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As we all know, I’m not the person you call when you have a horror game in front of you. Hell, forget my number completely. But not even I can resist horror when it’s packaged into a combination of mystery, macabre, beautiful environments and interesting storytelling. That’s how they get you.
When I sat down with Allogloom, a fairy tale created by Galactic Ghosty, who is a solo developer, I wasn’t really sure what I was expecting. I’ve touched up some horror-ish games previously, such as Little Nightmares and Reanimal, but none of them were point-and-click adventures, but the usual thing.
What I got was a game that hit the sweet spot for me - something that is kind of flirting with horror but it doesn’t throw it in your face - and gives you a point-and-click adventure that’s strange, beautiful, and worth your time.
A town full of secrets
The story follows Nora, our protagonist, who is growing up in a town called Gruesome Grove, where her family has been living for generations; her mother and her grandmother grew up there. And let me tell you, nothing is normal about that town.
It never stood a chance in being a normal town, since it’s a place where flesh-eating moths are not a treat, but a deity, and where annually there is a festival called the Blessed Festivities, which exists to earn their blessing. Anyone who is dead, or dares to leave, gets eaten by the moths. The townspeople perform their rituals, keep their head down, and call whatever this is, a good life. This isn’t a place where you get to ask many questions, and even if they wanted to, they wouldn't know where to start. There is a lot of mystery surrounding everything here.
Nora never seemed like that kind of person, she stood out. Something that she probably got from her mother. She is someone who notices things, who asks questions even if the outcomes might be a bit uncomfortable. And if you were living in Gruesome Grove and push came to shove, you’d want answers too.
During one of the regular Blessed Festivities, Nora’s brother got abducted by an awful monster, so now these questions she previously had became even more urgent. She needed to find out what was going on, and fast, if she wanted to find and hopefully save her brother. The one person that might’ve helped her with this, her mother, is nowhere to be found either, as he has been missing for a while. Nobody knew what happened to her, and honestly, I don't think anyone was even trying to untangle the mystery of her disappearance.
The search for her brother - which is something personal - soon turns into something much bigger, and considerably scarier than one bad night in a weird town. Nora now wants to find out where her mother and brother are, what do the cryptic notes mean, and what the hell is going on.
The story moves across eight chapters and six connected worlds, and the more Nora explores, the weirder Gruesome Grove gets.
Good things come to those who click
The gameplay loop in Allogloom is relaxing, clean, and rather easy to get into. The game never rushes you, and you always have time to explore and look around before you move on. Backtracking is also not an issue and pretty smooth, I never saw it as a chore.
You’re basically looking around, clicking, and collecting, as some items you can put in your backpack. The things from the backpack you can combine and use later. It sounds simple because it is simple, and that is not a criticism. I’d rather have a game that is simple and respects my time than a game that is unnecessarily complicated just for the sake of it.
Nora will lead you through different screens, where you’ll be able to interact with different objects, chat with other characters, and solve puzzles if you want to proceed. The puzzles aren’t too complex, and you’ll find your way through, with some puzzles even offering alternative solutions depending on how you approach them. There is a sense of exploration here, and you’ll get that feeling of being rewarded if you’re paying attention and looking at corners where you maybe shouldn’t. During your exploration, you'll find different cryptic notes and messages; some are talking about the moths and their rituals, some are people's personal experiences, and some are clues that you can use.
The game also has the “Object Highlighter”, which you can toggle on and off, to act as a subtle hint system. While I didn’t always need it, I appreciated having this just to avoid aimlessly clicking around when I’m stuck.
While it can feel a bit overwhelming at the start, as the game opens up and you kind of figure out what to do, you start noticing how much there is to look at, to read through, click, and collect. Once you settle into this rhythm, it can easily turn into one of those games where you boot it up and suddenly an hour passes by in a minute.
Every pixel painted with care
Allogloom is one of the prettiest indie games I’ve played in a while; it’s very distinct and stands out. The backgrounds and the characters have been hand-painted, and you can see the love and care that has been put into it all.
The shadows and the muted colours are all telling a story and letting you know you are in a weird and more or less unwelcoming place; it’s nothing like the bright and cheerful fairy tales that you might expect. I don't think I saw one happy colour in this entire game.
The animations are beautiful as well. The way these characters look and move shows passion behind them, especially in the small details that you can find everywhere as you’re exploring. The world is meticulously crafted and full of details.
The sounds and music are on point and fit the game's theme, but I did notice that the music sometimes stops, as if it doesn’t loop completely, leaving us with weird silent moments. I’m unsure whether this is a bug or something else, and although you kind of get used to it, it’s still noticeable. The lack of voice acting is a shame; it’s not a game-breaking thing, but I believe that a game as interesting as this would look even better with voice acting.
The game runs smoothly, but I did notice that a few times some assets simply disappeared from the room I was in. That is the only downside performance-wise that I can name; everything else was fine.
Short, sweet, deeply unsettling
Allogloom is the kind of game that sneaks up on you; you don’t really expect this kind of environment, storytelling and gameplay. It's important that you pay attention right from the start, as this isn't a game where you should skip through dialogue and just rush through it; it's important to soak it all up and get lost in the gameplay and the story. It's more than worth it.
There are no big premises or flashy cutscenes; the game basically gives you a backpack and trusts that you’ll be able to find your way out. And with all of that, the moths, weird monsters and characters - the game gets under your skin.
While the game has its flaws, none of it is enough to undo everything that Allogloom gets right, and it gets a lot of things right. It does end too quickly, though, but you can’t fault a game for being so good you lose track of time, can you now? I found myself wanting more from the game, more clicking and more exploring.
For a game made by one person, it’s a beautiful work of art. And just in time for spooky season, to boot it up with some tea and a blanket, preferably in the evening just to set the mood properly.
For anyone who is drawn to stories that are somewhere between a fairy tale and a nightmare, this one is for you, and absolutely worth your time.
The Good
Hand-painted visuals- A story that starts simple and evolves
- A clean and relaxed gameplay loop
- Beautiful environments packed with details
- Interesting characters
The Bad
The music doesn't loop- Minor asset issues
- No voice acting
- Might be considered short
