Only Stauf knows the rules
I missed the original release of The 7th Guest by a few years, not playing it myself until 1997. Being released in 1993, the game had a reputation for its ham-fisted (we really need to go back to that idea guys) FMV performances but it told a solid haunted house story with some wickedly hard puzzles. The first remake of the game is actually from 2023 and it was done in VR; this is just that game with tweaks to make it playable with controller and sadly a lack of the old FMV performances which have been re-recorded.
MSRP: $19.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, PC
Price I’d Pay: $19.99
One dark and stormy night six visitors are invited to toymaker Henry Stauf’s mansion with the promise of riches; the catch is they will have to unravel his fiendish devices. Fast forward and the player is arriving at that same mansion via a rickety boat, the atmosphere even gloomier if possible. The years haven’t been kind to the mansion and players will witness the ghostly events that unfolded from that night, all leading up to the identity of the titular seventh guest. With the remake the moments with the ghosts still possess the same quality as the original; meaning they are still just as campy as before.
The 7th Guest is still just as creepy as I recall, as I stalked the hallways of Stauf mansion in first person. The remakes visuals are sharper and full of detail, as such the game just oozes atmosphere which really pulls players into its creepy world. However, there are some visual bugs, especially when it comes to the FMV playing in certain spots. It’s a slight thing and doesn’t detract from the overall enjoyment of the experience though. Gameplay revolves around solving many puzzles in the mansions, this usually is rotating some item or putting things in the correct order.
My complaints about the original stem wholly from its puzzle designs, more than a few of them were overly frustrating. I can say though that the remake has reworked almost all of them and they each feel fair in a way the originals never did. There is even a way to get solutions to the puzzles outright, by finding hidden coins around the mansion to bypass them. And while I do enjoy new FMV bits I wish that there was a way that players could also experience the old ones. You know, kind of like some of the remakes let you switch between the original graphics and the new ones? I don’t know how that would work with FMV but it would be neat, those old scenes have become something of legend and should be in this game.
All in all, The 7th Guest Remake is a finely crafted send up to the original, retaining much of the charm that made it the hokey game that it was. If you have never stepped foot into Stauf mansion there hasn’t been a better time. But for those who have been coming for years there is lots of new stuff here for you to enjoy; from the way the spirit lamp will interact with paintings and other objects to the redone FMV sections, The 7th Guest Remake is a great way to revisit one of gaming’s weirder, horror classics.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
