Game Thoughts - Blackhaven by Historiated Games

Note: This is a repost from our Tumblr. This game has a bit of a heavy subject, particularly racism.

Honestly, we only got this one because we were looking for free games at the time, and this caught our attention. It took a while for us to actually play this game simply because we didn’t have the hardware for it. Or at least, we felt we didn’t.

I am glad that we were able to play it eventually. I would say that this is a very nice game. - B

What’s It All About?

You play as Kendra Turner, a black college intern in Blackhaven Hall, which commemorates a man who, in the world of the game, was a forgotten founding father of the United States. She was assigned to man the fort during Flag Day, and do certain tasks that needed to be done for the improvement of the place. While she goes through the said tasks, she finds out that the establishment has been hiding a certain secret…

Writing

I really like how the game's story progresses, and I apologize in advance for spoiling things.

The story happens in an alternate US, where there’s an apparently forgotten Founding Father named Thomas Harwood. And this is important to note, since American history (particularly the American Revolution) provides much of the context regarding the main conflict of the story.

I noted earlier that the main character is black, and as “racist” as it may sound, it is also an important part of the story/conflict. As you may well know, slavery was a key point of contention between the North and the South, and who were the slaves? The black people.

At first, Kendra goes through the motions, believing that she was fortunate to get this internship. She was planning to use it as a stepping stone for getting to Greece, in the form of a recommendation. I believe she planned to go through further studies or a job related to her field. I’m not exactly sure.

But that starts to matter less as she goes through the tasks that were assigned to her, and finds out about the dark past and secret that the institution has been hiding from people. And what they’ve been hiding is the fact that there’s a certain black woman and her family who were actually connected to the Harwoods by blood and were supposed to also get part of the money from the company the Harwoods now own.

All because black people were “just slaves” and weren’t even treated as people. If you read some of the documents, you’ll see some of the family members describe black people as something close to animals. It’s disgusting, but we’re sure people have thought that before, and still think it now.

That, and the fact that she was apparently only hired as an intern for “diversity points”, drives Kendra to ultimately give up her dream of getting to Greece (at least for the present time) and help this other black family get what is rightfully theirs as people.

I like how the game shows how the past affects the present, and how the future can be changed for the better based on what we learn of the past. I also like how they show that technology can make it even more possible for people to find out the truth (for example, recent archaeological discoveries, DNA tests, Facebook).

Art

The graphics remind us of those programs where you make 3D models for architecture, and I think it fits, considering architecture plays a large part in Blackhaven Hall. Now, you might say that I consider it “low quality”, but that’s not the case, especially if you remember that it IS a free game. I would consider decent 3D graphics a plus for a free and short game.

What surprises me/us is the fact that most of the text is readable, even when you don't particularly "read" them. But then again, reading is a huge chunk of the gameplay, and it wouldn’t have so much impact if people didn’t read that much. And it’s part of the reason why I like this game in particular.

Speaking of text, there’s also the option of including subtitles, which is nice for those who have auditory processing issues.

However, there are some typos, but that’s alright. At least it doesn’t distract much from the story.

Audio

Audio is a little unusual, in the sense that there’s barely any background music. Most of the time, you will hear ambient sounds, like air conditioning, footsteps, and the leaves rustling in the wind. I do like that they put some attention to it, like how the sound of footsteps changes when you transition between glass and stone.

There’s also some dialogue, but most of it is spoken thoughts by Kendra, as well as the guide for the audio tour of the mansion. The only exception would be actual conversations between Kendra and her mom, as well as Kendra and a surviving member of the family she wanted to help.

It’s not to say that there’s NO background music, as there’s some that plays when important events happen. And I think that’s reasonable. After all, this is not one of those TV shows, where you have loud background music all the time.

Gameplay

Controls are pretty much what you would expect (WASD for movement, right-click for selecting things/actions), although there are some keys used that somewhat throw me off, like the use of R for exiting a zoom-in. Thankfully, there’s always a guide at the top left corner of the screen.

And speaking of guides, I find it nice that the experience is guided enough that you know where to go and what to do, and you’re not left having to backtrack too much for clues/hints. There’s also some leeway for exploration, especially with the gallery and audio tour parts.

During the document scanning part, I’ve had a small fear that I would forget something, but fortunately, Kendra comments if, say, you need to complete the reading before scanning. I haven’t tested whether she will comment something if you forget to scan and try to go to the next page, though.

I would recommend that you play it in full screen, though, since the mouse controls kind of have a hard time on windowed mode.

Also, don’t bother scrolling during the email portions using the mouse since it's too slow. You’re better off using W and S for it.

And also, during the document scanning, even if it doesn’t say so in the guide, you can zoom in on text with F.

Overall

If you want something that’s free, fairly short, and has a very good and socially relevant story, I would recommend this game. Just be warned that there’s a lot of discussion on racism, so if you’re not into that, well, you’re warned. Also, this needs a bit of brainwork, so make sure you pay full attention while you play.

The devs estimate it at around two hours of play, but it will extend to around 3 or 4 if you’re reading intently, depending on your speed.

You may get it on Steam. Also, there's an upcoming sequel for it called Cassius. If we could afford it, I think we'll get it as well.