‘The Horror at Highrook’ Is A Narrative-Focused Card-Crafting Game I’m Not Sure I Fully Understand — But I Want To Know More (Preview)

The Horror at Highrook and I now have an interesting relationship. Developed by Nullpointer Games and published by Outersloth, this should’ve been an easy slam-dunk of a game for me. We’ve got cards, we’ve got Lovecraftian horrors, we’ve got mixing and matching different cards to see what morbid combinations you end up with. But, I don’t know — the moment-to-moment gameplay didn’t quite sing the way I wanted it to.

The basic setup is as Lovecraft as you can possibly get. The Ackerons, a disgraced family who enjoyed the luxuries of nobility, have all disappeared. You’re a ragtag team of occult investigators sent to find out what’s going on. Things quickly escalate. But, as the story is one of the game’s high points, that’s all you’ll get from me there!

So, after the introductory cutscene, I was face-to-face with a bunch of menus. And when I say “a bunch,” I mean it. Characters, cards, combinations, stats, survival — The Horror at Highrook socked me right in the jaw by the sheer magnitude of things happening. Granted, you get a tutorial that explains the basics, but after you’re let loose? Good luck! For me to continue my preview impressions, this is a game that needs a visual aid.

‘the horror at highrook’ has a lot going on

I want you to imagine that most of those rooms are inaccessible. That’s where we begin in The Horror at Highrook: a bunch of locked rooms, some cards, and some lore. The story and characters? Amazing — I want to establish that off the top. Even though I had a small glance at a bigger Eldritch monstrosity of a narrative, what I learned through notes, letters, and ghouls was enough to keep me properly motivated.

But, here’s the thing. The Horror at Highrook‘s card-crafting system is purposefully esoteric as you’re meant to mix and match cards to varying effects. With your team of four stalwart investigators, it’s often best if you split up and mine certain resources/cards before you eventually end up with something that will unlock another area and expand your options. However, this results in a gameplay loop that emphasizes practiced optimization over organic discovery.

Some cards, like the Binoculars, have an infinite amount of uses and a specific area of the mansion to use them in. So, you take your Binoculars card, assign a person with the corresponding skill to use it, and you receive more cards once they’re done. Then, you have to look at those cards, their skill thresholds, and figure out who can functionally use them and where. Do you see the beginnings of a mildly frustrating system yet?

chaos reigns

In short, you’re gaining cards to gain more cards in The Horror at Highrook. Some cards explicitly open new areas, some are support cards that can buff a character’s stats so they can accomplish their tasks, and some cards progress the story. There’s a storage area beneath the mansion where you can store all the cards you might need. Oh, and on top of all the card management, you have to worry about your characters’ Hunger, Health, and Sanity. Which are more cards you have to juggle. Constant cards, eternal chaos.

“I want to open this chest, but the Investigation Skill requirement is 3 where my best character with that skill has only one point. To compensate, I’ll move that character into this room with a card that gives them an additional Investigation point. But, oh, no — now I need one more support card. This other character in the lab needs to complete their task so I can maybe get another Investigation support card. Instead, I received an Ancient Book with a Comprehension Skill requirement of 2. Okay, well, maybe if I get someone to decipher this book, that will give me an Investigation support card so I can open that chest, and–“

To be fair, I’d love to give this game another shot. I liked what I played of The Horror at Highrook. But, I ended up bothered by the card-crafting system more than I was intrigued. It felt like I was having an awful stroke of bad luck playing Uno with more cards than I knew what to conceivably do with. I’m hoping in the full game, the moment-to-moment card management will flow better now that I know what I’m doing. But, starting as a complete rookie? Madness will certainly take you. (You can play the demo here!)