Review: The Seance of Blake Manor Invites Players to Investigate

Sometimes, an adventure game feels special as a result of its story and characters. Other times, it comes down to unique gameplay elements or mechanics. In the case of The Seance of Blake Manor, it’s a mixture of both of those concepts coming together for a great mystery. Though it probably won’t actually challenge a player and doesn’t force any major deductions on a person, the atmosphere is great and investigating the home to find hidden insights feels rewarding.

Ahead of Halloween 1897, a major Grand Seance is planned at Blake Manor. Given this is an alternate reality where the otherworldly is real, it could prove quite a promising event. Especially since representatives from major religions and lineages gathered together. However, a concerning event comes first. An heiress with a notable background named Evelyn Deane disappears. Detective Declan Ward is called in to investigate, but time is of the essence and success only comes if you’re manage to piece together insights from careful investigations of all the manor’s residents, employees, and guests. 

While The Seance of Blake Manor is an adventure game that involves collecting clues, possible pieces of evidence, and insights into individuals, it’s more about the investigation than actual deductive reasoning. Time is constantly moving as you explore Blake Manor. As you work through the household, you might be able to happen upon certain events or occurrences that yield insights into individuals, motivations, and the mystery at hand. Finally by collecting that data, answers will basically be provided and things sort of spelled out for you. I like to think of it as a more active visual novel with a little more agency over what is explored and discovered.

As Ward meets people and goes through the home, you can basically pick up and look into things. If you’re in someone’s room or an area, you can investigate locations, search spots, and pick up items that work on your current focus or priority and tie into solving the mysteries. If you check the menu, you can even see things laid out in a clear manner that show details about actions and progress, as well as your records and a timetable. As you find certain points of interest, whether it involves an individual or item, you will then see how many possible observations can be made that might provide evidence or insights into future situations or altercations. 

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Now, I must say at this point that the design choices Spooky Doorway are impeccable. The Seance of Blake Manor looks amazing. It’s a fantastic first-person game for the exploration segments, with everything incredibly clear and visible. You won’t miss important details. Everything flows together. The direction also features a comic book-style design that suits the character design and environments well. Especially when it does come to the more otherworldly elements. It’s super effective.

The gameplay is also a bit solid, but it is important to note that The Seance of Blake Manor is more of an investigation simulator than proper puzzling detective game. You will be looking into mysteries. Some minigames, which end up feeling pretty simple or not too taxing to complete, do come up. The details we learn will solve the mysteries and offer answers into what’s going on. Based on our choices and what we choose to look into and observe, we can alter some events. But it doesn’t feel like a more traditional point-and-click novel where we need to find certain items and must solve every mystery. Things will happen due to time passing. So we are an active individual, but someone looking for a more thoughtful collection of puzzles that really engage the mind might prefer something like Return of the Obra Dinn or Blue Prince.

If you do invest time in it, however, the level of detail into the world-crafting is amazing. Spooky Doorway really seems invested in mythologies and lore when putting together characters and mysteries. There are some intricate relationships and motivations here. By really paying attention to characters through the observations sections and spending time following folks, you can piece together so much. It even helps with making some people seem more suspicious or ruling out others. 

With The Seance of Blake Manor, Spooky Doorway makes investigating every character and mystery incredibly enticing. However, it is important to note that is the priority here. I felt it didn’t challenge me as much mentally. Rather, it invited me to explore and look into as much as possible, perhaps being around for certain moments or checking out specific leads, with rewards for doing so. It feels like a rewarding take on a visual novel-adjacent experience.

The Seance of Blake Manor is available on the Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC.  

The Seance of Blake Manor

With The Seance of Blake Manor, Spooky Doorway makes investigating every character and mystery incredibly enticing. Switch 2 version reviewed. Review copy provided by company for testing purposes.