If I had to describe my gamer career, I would describe myself as a "horror game connoisseur." I've played everything from Resident Evil to Dead Space to Amnesia to Limbo to Condemned. Home? I've played it. Dark Fall? I've played that too. I'm telling you all this because I want you to understand what I mean when I say:

THIS IS THE SCARIEST GAME I'VE EVER PLAYED.

Yes, I know. I can hear the snorts of doubt. Scariest? Really? There's no blood, no gore, and only one body. But this was the game, above all other games, that scared the crap out of me. This was the one game that made me actually fall out of my chair screaming. This is a game that is not about cheap thrills or gore porn, it is a game that is about all of the qualities that make for great horror. Atmosphere, build-up, soundtrack, all are done great.

That said, there is one caveat I must make: USE A WALKTHROUGH WHEN PLAYING THIS GAME. Seriously, just do it. This is a game about experience over gameplay. Trust me, using a walkthrough won't make you miss anything. The horrors will be just as good with out all of the unnecessary searching. Trust me. I know this seems to run contrary to the "purity of video games" but in this one instance it works.

This is a narrative rich, atmospheric, psychological horror game.

Sept 2022: Updated to ask if anyone has played the alternate ending? In the old version (the non-digital) requires that you doing something cunning that Agustin thought no one would figure out so he implemented a short-cut in the digital versions

You will compare all others in the genre to this game.

The story:
You are a writer that moves into the empty Blackwood mansion to continue writing your novel.
Or is it empty?
This is one of the many questions you will ask yourself.

It is a huge house with many outdoor areas; every area has something to explore that adds to the story.

There is a lot of reading here that tells the tale of the former inhabitants. Don’t miss a bit of it and you will be rewarded with a story that builds in suspense and slowly, logically unfolds.

Wait until dark, be prepared to lose some sleep and click “play”.

The puzzles are not random; you are given all the info you need to solve the mysteries here, but you must read everything!


With hints enabled Jerry will give you more information when you call. Also, you can track your progress by looking at the time of the grandfather clock. When it has changed, you've reached a milestone.

Gameplay/Fixes:
This is a traditional point and click game.
Note that it is an older game and some players with WIN10 may have wonky mouse or movement problems. The mouse speed is too fast or you are bouncing/spinning around:

Use the XP compatibility troubleshooter selecting XP svc pack three.

• Camera speed slow
  
• Slideshow off
  
• Alternate control disabled
  
• NVIDIA control panel:
  
• Change “Vertical Sync" setting from "Application Controlled" to "Off"

The game does not run in Widescreen with 16:9 resolution. It is configured to 1024 x 768 with an aspect ratio of 4:3, so there will be black bars surrounding the image on your standard 1920 x 1080 screens. Editing the SCREAM.CFG file to custom resolutions (Height and Width) is NOT recommended as it can cause major issues.

The Function keys are assigned by the game, You must re-bind the F12 key to F3, F6, or F11 to take a screenshot in Steam:

F1--HINTS ON/OFF The hints lie in Michael's dialogue. When turned on he will tell you more information.
F2--SURROUND MUSIC ON/OFF
F3--
F4--LOOK DOWN
F5--SAVE GAME
F6--
F7--LOAD GAME
F8--LOOK UP
F9--CAMERA SPEED SLOW/NORMAL/FAST
F10--TEXT SPEED SLOW/NORMAL/FAST
F11--
F12--GAMMA CORRECTION LOW/NORMAL/HIGH/DISABLED
ESC Key: Exit to Main menu to load, save, go to settings. Also skips cut-scenes, intro and credits.

Manually quick-save at anytime with the F5 key. Message me if you need information on getting a Steam Key.
Join us here: https://discord.gg/fJfuRVv

Extremely atmospheric, which was a surprise because it's an point-and-click game. Amazing soundtrack and well made environment. Being able to look 360 degrees around you is nice. Puzzles might be frustrating at times but overall it's a nice experience.

Richly atmospheric. Classic game. Unravel the mystery before it unravels you. Try playing in the dark, alone. Highly recommended.

Thanks to Civvie for pointing this game out, truth be told it was laying dormant in my Steam library forever and I wouldn't have finally installed it if it weren't for him. I'm not the biggest fan of these type of games but the atmosphere is top notch and keeps you playing. It's a shame it's no longer available on here.

Scratches is a peculiar game (or, mayhaps, I'm simply unfamiliar with the genre). The pacing of this game is quite slow, especially for such a short game (completed under 7 hours, though with some time to think through game sessions - and, embarrasingly, a few glances in a walkthrough).
As I stated, the game builds up slowly, yet it's not, by any means, a drawback! The story unfolds marvelously, and the creepy plot got under my skin very quickly.
The story itself is the brightest part of the game. Sadly, it's the only stellar aspect.
Graphics are... well, adequate. Decent enough and very mood-building (if there's even such a phrase).
The sounds and music are eerie and decent, but nothing more.
The gameplay itself is lacklustre and clunky. I swear that all the times I had to take a glance into a walkthrough, was because some flaw within the game, like an unintuitive way of using (clicking) on something, or the way that the game fails at informing clearly and visibly, what is interactable, and what is not.

Nevertheless, the vibe of Scratches is simply amazing! It grasped me and pulled into the mystery from the first minute... keeping on my toes to the very end.
Is the game great? No, it isn't. The story behind is, though!
Even though it's a very diferent game from, let's say, Amnesia, it's far scarier than it. Oh, certainly I got scared more than while playing the Machine for Pigs.

The answer, my pumpkins, is simple. You are the one scaring yourself, as Scratches digs deeply into your imagination and lets you fear not what finds you... but what *you* will find out next.

Thumbs up!

I enjoyed this game. Old style point and click spooky story. I had to use a guide as the tasks were very obscure sometimes and I just wanted to keep the story going.

Seriously a dark and creepy game. Everybody should play this. It does have some difficult puzzles in it. But if you use common sense, you'll be able to figure most of them out.

Absolutely recommended and will explain why there is so much expectation about the upcoming Asylum. A traditional old-school point 'n' click adventure with horror elements and a lot of mood. Very short for a lot of gamers standards but exactly the right length for me. If you need to trim down your backlog start here as there even is a nice walkthrough guide posted right here on Steam if you get stuck! Worth trying, full of british accents and cliches but, like I said, very nice ambience.

It's hard to write an objective review when you're facing a game that does some things astoundingly well while failing considerably in some other aspects. I guess that from the game's own description and all the other reviews you already know what this game is about; but is it worth your time?

Where does it shine?

Atmosphere: definitely where the game is at it's best; the visuals, although low resolution and noticeably old, hold up very well and the whole place feels astonishingly real. While the exteriors could use some work, nothing in the house seems either forced or overdone, and the whole scenery is meticulously arranged. Add that to some very well placed sound effects and music (when it works...see below) and this game is able to provide an ambience up to par with games like Amnesia. Which is saying a lot, given it's an old school point and click.

Writing: while I have a mixed opinion on the story itself (I liked it, but I wouldn't say it's particularly mind-blowing) one of the things I loved the most while playing was reading all the documents along the way. The writing style feels pleasantly Lovecraftian and adds a lot to both the atmosphere and to your curiosity.

Suspense: that is to say, don't expect the amazing atmosphere to be spoiled by cheesy jump scares,

Where does it fail?

Technical aspects: I had a huge amount of trouble getting this game to work. At first it didn't even open, and only after some time lurking forums and attempting some rather weird solutions (creating a config file the installation forgot to...what the hell?!) did I get it to run. But then, I found out the resolution was locked at 1024x768, the game stuttered heavily and the audio was constantly being interrupted. Even had some problems where important conversations were skipped in their entirety for no reason. Of course, you may be lucky and end up having none of these problems. Hell, even if you do have all these problems and more, the game only moves at your own pace, so it's perfectly playable.

Difficulty: What the hell. Seriously, what the hell. If there's one thing I hate that this game does CONSTANTLY is assuming you magically know what to do next. I've played a considerable amount of adventure games and this is seriously the first that left me completely speechless at finding the solution of something - and not because it was genius. Every time you progress you're left with the same question: what now? And the answer doesn't change, either, it always involves re-exploring the whole house from top to bottom for some sweet spot that wasn't there before. So, unless you have your whole life to spare, don't even bother and just follow a guide if you want to leave with your sanity.

In conclusion, if you've already played and enjoyed games such as Dark Fall and (my personal favorite) Anchorhead, then you're certainly going to enjoy Scratches, even if it isn't the brightest of the bunch. If, instead, you're coming from games such as Amnesia, I'd advise you to try both those games first and check if the slow-placed-absurd-puzzles horror style is for you.