This year we’re putting together a list of 31 Retro Horror games. Games that have come from dead console generations, back to haunt us. Sadly, not all of these games will be available for you to play due to the complicated nature of video game preservation. However, we’re going to note if it’s possible to play them on modern hardware. We’re going to be covering games from the Seventh Generation (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii) and earlier. So basically anything before 2006.
Day 17
Escape from Monster Manor
Ah yes, I’m writing about a classic 3DO horror first person shooter and it’s not Killing Time? What’s going on? The 3DO console was a bit ahead of its time–and had a huge price tag as a result. Nowadays it’s a bit of an oddity–something to show off as a retro game collector to show others that you have one of the more obscure consoles. But that old hardware has some pretty great games that are sadly lost to time. Escape from Monster Manor is one of them.
While Escape From Monster Manor probably doesn’t come up in many “best of” game lists, it does a lot of things really well for what is essentially a Wolfenstein 3D clone. And yes, I say Wolfenstein 3D and not Doom (despite the infamous 3DO Doom port) because Escape From Monster Manor has a lot more to do with the former game than the latter. It features textureless floors and ceilings in a corridor shooter that consists entirely of flat floors.
There aren’t other guns to collect in Escape From Monster Manor, so don’t go in expecting a traditional boomer shooter with an overblown 90s shooter arsenal. Instead you have a ghost blaster that can one-shot most of the baddies. Ammo is scarce, and keys are consumable resources that are used up every time you open a door. It’s as far from a modern shooter as you can get. But holy cow does it have a lot of charm.
Escape From Monster Manor was developed by an Electronic Arts that is much different from its current form. Known as EA these days, Electronic Arts in the 90s was closer to an indie studio now than the behemoth studio it would be later. Escape From Monster Manor was made by a small team, and there was a lot of love put into it.
The monsters in Escape From Monster Manor live up to the title too. The enemies aren’t just merely flat sprites–they’re actually claymation models that have been converted into sprites. This gives the monsters in Escape From Monster Manor a look that is really ahead of its time–and genuinely spooky.
If you want to play Escape From Monster Manor these days, you’ll have to find original hardware and a copy of the game, sadly. There just isn’t a way to play this classic otherwise. You might get some luck finding a decent playthrough on YouTube, though.
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