Scratches: Director's Cut

1. Honelith

   Aug 22, 2016

   9

   An all time great. Loved the duology story, loved the music and the atmosphere is incredible. One of my favourite parts of this game were theAn all time great. Loved the duology story, loved the music and the atmosphere is incredible. One of my favourite parts of this game were the pieces of diary notes you'd find as you explore the house and learn more about its previous owner, it's very well written and engrossing. By the end you'll have experienced one of the best horror games with a gripping story, a likable main character and a well made exploration game which you'll never forget.… Expand

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2. fateappointed

   Feb 3, 2014

   9

   Scratches creates an immersive feeling that creeps along building suspense and at times has you gasping at the edge of your seat, afraid ofScratches creates an immersive feeling that creeps along building suspense and at times has you gasping at the edge of your seat, afraid of what is around the next corner or door. The beautiful ominous environment along with a deep dark haunting story sucks you into this puzzling thriller with lingering chilling fright. Play at night with the lights out, if you dare.
   
   However, this point-and-click adventure game is for people that have more than average patience; those who don’t mind taking time searching, clicking, exploring, reading, studying clues, solving brain-scratching puzzles, and figuring out the mind-bending actions to advance the story line. Many fans of the game admit using an online guide to complete certain game sections – while still enjoying the beautiful haunting suspenseful atmosphere and the creepy engrossing story while having frightful fun in trying to solve a good horror mystery.
   
   This game is not for those who do not have a great deal of patience, get frustrated in taking time trying to figure out how to manipulate things to progress a story, find difficulty immersing themselves in a subtle slow suspenseful environment, and/or have trouble putting themselves in a character's shoes.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
4. Nicotine

   May 1, 2011

   7

   Scratches- Director's cut takes the player back to the day when first person meant point and click puzzle solving. Penumbra and Amnesia thisScratches- Director's cut takes the player back to the day when first person meant point and click puzzle solving. Penumbra and Amnesia this game is not. Gamers who have been around for a long time will remember the days when Lucas Arts made the best brain bending adventure games, Myst stood tall as the king of casual, immersive gameplay, and FPS was relegated almost solely to ID software's largely two-dimensional Wolfenstein and Doom series. Scratches is a throwback to an age where casual gamers wanted to have their brains teased with devious puzzles, rather than the visceral thrill of turning swarms of alien zombie demons into exaggerated bloodstains. Scratches combines the likes of Myst with The Seventh Guest in a short, albeit intriguing, point and click style adventure. The game plays like a slideshow, as was the norm once upon the time, gifting you with puzzles that are likely to make you froth at the mouth, even with the tutorials turned on. The atmosphere is creepy, especially at night, and a lingering sense of dread keeps you engaged, at least at the start. As the game progresses it falls into the same trap F.E.A.R. fell into: the things that are supposed to scare you, can't kill you. Once you realize this, the game loses its fangs and becomes another first person adventure puzzler. And the puzzles are monstrous indeed. Combining a random assortment of items was the thing to do back in the heyday of adventure games, and Scratches takes a queue directly from their book. The answers are not as obvious as they may seem. Deciphering a particularly vague numberlock puzzle drove me to the edge of insanity. Don't feel too ashamed if you find yourself using a walkthrough. Scratches can give even a veteran adventure gamer pause. Like most classic point and click games in the vein of Myst, you don't kill anything, and success is measured by the puzzles you solve to advance the storyline. It's geared towards a thinker who wants a few scares tossed in to add some flavor to the tedium. Measured against games now-a-days, it will seem slow and tiresome for most, and the eight plus hours to beat it (if it's your first time through and you're not using a walkthrough) will seem like forever. However, measured against the games it was designed after, (The Seventh Guest, Myst and it's obnoxious little brother Riven) it holds its own quite well. The Director's cut differs from the original release as it also includes the epilogue mission, which shouldn't take someone who beat the Original Scratches more than an hour to complete. The epilogue, known as "The Last Visit", ties everything together and helps clear up any remaining loose ends, though due to the state of the house, The Last Visit reminded me more of the classic Myst knock off Pyst featuring John Goodman, more than anything else. Scratches is not for everyone. If you find yourself bored with point and click games, this will leave a sour taste in your mouth. However, if you remember Myst fondly, this game may provide a pleasant way to pass the time, and at $10 on Steam, certainly isn't a bad value. Scratches - Director's Cut fits a specific clique of gamers long since thought to be extinct, and is well worth a look if you fall into this category. Everyone else will find Amnesia to be a superior alternative.… Expand

   • 2 of 2 users found this helpful
5. I_Am_Turok

   Apr 23, 2012

   6

   First off, don't bother playing this game without a walkthrough at hand - unless you have a LOT of time to go over the same tracks again andFirst off, don't bother playing this game without a walkthrough at hand - unless you have a LOT of time to go over the same tracks again and again. Having said that, there are some genuine scare-jumping moments during the game, and the atmosphere is great. Play late in the evening, lights dimmed, it's fun. But, it gets -1 for lots of walking about, -1 for some bizarre choices on what you can or cannot pick up, -1 for esoteric puzzles that are more annoying than fun, and -1 for how long it takes without a walkthrough (hats off to those out there who actually wrote one, I used one from margobean.com, what a time saver). Having said that, the music is great, good voices, interesting story for the most part, and the odd scare moment, overall not bad at all for $10 in the point-and-click category.… Expand

   • 2 of 3 users found this helpful
6. spydercanopus

   Apr 29, 2011

   3

   It's impossible without a walkthrough. Linear storyline in an open "world" means lots of wasted time looking stuff over and over. The story,It's impossible without a walkthrough. Linear storyline in an open "world" means lots of wasted time looking stuff over and over. The story, voice acting, and especially the music are good, but this is just a terrible "game". It would be quite entertaining to watch it unfold as some veteran played through it. But the puzzles are too hard. You have to know what to do. I have two dozen items and a hundred interactive points. Mostly the puzzles don't make sense. But the music and sound effects are phenomenal. They are they only redeeming factors to give it two points. And story. That is three.… Expand

   • 2 of 3 users found this helpful
7. dyspeptic

   Sep 11, 2014

   3

   Last Played: Sep 2014
   
   PROS: + Successfully generates a creepy atmosphere at times CONS: - Puzzles are rarely straightforward – “SeasonLast Played: Sep 2014
   
   PROS: + Successfully generates a creepy atmosphere at times
   
   CONS: - Puzzles are rarely straightforward – “Season of the Witch” style plot twist
   
   REVIEW: I was interested in picking up a combination node-based clicker/horror game, so I went with this one because I heard the story was good and it was really creepy. It is creepy, at times, but by about ¾ of the way through the game this is ruined by the story.
   
   Why could this be? Well, it feels like the writers either got stumped or bored, or just didn’t feel like the ending was climactic enough, so they completely changed the subject of your fear (just like the writers for “Season of the Witch” completely changed from witches to demons to disastrous effect) so all the tension build up was wasted. Not only is this a problem, but the puzzles rarely make sense, even when you know exactly what to do. As an example, maybe you are playing along and thinking: “Gee, I sure could use a crowbar right now” and there is one you can (and must) pick up before continuing the game. The only trouble is that said crowbar is in a dark corner of a location that is otherwise totally unremarkable and cannot be zoomed in on.
   
   If you want to beat this game without any hints or walkthroughs it will require you to visit every node and use every item on every “highlight point” after every “plot event. And the puzzles must be solved in order, so you can forget about ruling out a combo you tried previously. Needless to say, this is a tedious approach and the game would have been better served by more clearly signaling what your next objective should be.
   
   P.S. The extra content at the end only reconciles the two plots if you squint your eyes almost closed and tilt your head to the side, but at least they tried, I guess.… Expand

   • 1 of 1 users found this helpful
8. dajhorn

   Nov 28, 2012

   0

   I played Scratches for 30 minutes, and nothing happened. This game feels like somebody got their horror story rejected by a publishing house,I played Scratches for 30 minutes, and nothing happened. This game feels like somebody got their horror story rejected by a publishing house, so they tried to turn it into a video game instead.
   
   Even though Scratches is a $2.99 title on Steam, don't bother.… Expand

   • 1 of 3 users found this helpful

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