The flickering VHS tape sputters to life, a grainy image of a cheerful cartoon character filling the screen. But beneath the saccharine surface lies a creeping unease, a sense that something is deeply, profoundly wrong. Amanda the Adventurer lures you into a world of childhood nostalgia, only to twist it into a chilling descent into the uncanny. Is it a harmless trip down memory lane, or a terrifying glimpse into a hidden, malevolent truth? Read on to find out!

Rewinding the Tape

Amanda the Adventurer is a short, narrative-driven horror game presented as a series of found-footage VHS tapes. You assume the role of Riley Park, who inherits their Aunt Kate’s house and discovers a box of old VHS tapes featuring a seemingly innocent children’s show. From here, the gameplay primarily involves watching said tapes and interacting with them by answering questions posed by Amanda, the titular character.

The “interaction” is limited to selecting predetermined answers within the VHS footage, which alters the subsequent video segments and reveals more of the unsettling story. If you type the wrong answer more than once, the game “helps” you by changing whatever you type from then on into the correct words (for example, you type “S” and the game changes it to “F”).

The narrative unfolds through these interactions, revealing a dark secret hidden within the seemingly innocent children’s show. The story is intentionally cryptic, leaving much open to interpretation. Whether this is a good approach or not depends on the player. Personally, I enjoyed this as it causes the story to live on in my mind, so-to-speak. The core mystery involves the nature of Amanda, the show’s creator, and the unsettling transformations that occur within the tapes.

The Gears of the VCR

The mechanics of Amanda the Adventurer are deliberately simple, which could also be a nod towards the child-themed story. You primarily interact with the game by selecting dialogue options presented on the VHS tapes. These choices influence the progression of the videos and reveal different facets of the story.

There are also a few puzzles that require you to observe details within the tapes and use them to unlock further content. Atmosphere and psychological horror are relied upon heavily, and to good effect too. The focus is on creating a sense of unease and dread through the distorted visuals and unsettling dialogue, where things seem normal yet simultaneously far from normal.

Pixelated Nightmares

The graphics are decent, with the VHS segments intentionally low-fidelity, mimicking the look of VHS tapes. This adds to the unsettling atmosphere, as the grainy visuals and distorted colours create a sense of unease. The audio design is equally effective. Whilst quiet for the most part, featuring mostly ambient sounds, there are also distorted sound effects and unsettling music that feature throughout which enhance the horror elements. There are several (deliberate) visual glitches and audio distortions to signal changes in the tapes, which add to the game’s overall creepy feel because they are always unexpected.

Replaying the Footage

Amanda the Adventurer has some replay value, as different dialogue choices can lead to different outcomes and reveal hidden secrets. The game’s short length encourages multiple playthroughs to uncover all of the game’s mysteries, multiple endings and hidden content. After each successful ending, you receive a sticker on your TV, denoting each respective ending that you achieve.

Conclusion

Amanda the Adventurer is a short but effective horror game that excels at creating a sense of unease and dread. It’s simple mechanics and low-fidelity graphics contribute to its unsettling atmosphere, and the cryptic narrative leaves much open to interpretation. Despite being short, it is still enjoyable, and the reliance on psychological horror and distorted visuals makes it a memorable experience for fans of the genre.

Grade: 8/10