Monster House

Just in time for Halloween this spooky puzzle game will cast a spell on you!

In Monster House you must help guide a boy called DJ around the creepy rooms of a rather large mansion. Your first few stages act as a tutorial; being that you must avoid coming into contact with possessed objects (e.g. hopping chairs and lamps) and get your way to the door (which leads onto the next level).

The game tests your timing as well as your puzzle solving skills. In the initial levels you will simply have to make your way around without the objects spotting and knocking you down. As the game advances, you’ll have to move objects (boxes and metal chests) to block the monsters path or to trigger switches on the floor which will then unlock the door – granting you access to the next level.

To add to the complexity of the game, each level gets more and more devilishly hard. For example the number of monsters you’ll encounter on the level will increase or the location and combination of monsters will pose more of a challenge to either your logic or reaction skills (or usually both). Don’t think that it’s purely the monsters you’ll encounter which will cause you the biggest problem either, the layout of the room as well as the position of the box or boxes will certainly keep you guessing for quite a few moments.

Another nice touch which makes the game more realistic and challenging is that in some levels the floorboards will give way under your weight. Meaning some will survive two goes, others will only hold your weight for one move.

To help you in your mission of finding all your lost toys (as well as surviving) are the occasional bars of chocolate which you’ll find strewn around the level. These high calorie treats give you a temporary energy boost which means you can push the heavy metal chests, (which otherwise you can’t move). Your energy boost is shown as a thin red line which depletes over a short period of time. One thing to keep in mind is that you can end up trapped and unable if you run out of your energy boost at the wrong time. The good thing is that the chocolate bar reappears as soon as your boost has gone.

The fun thing with this game is that these little twists all add up and mean you can play it the way you like, with many of all of the 27 levels being able to be completed in more than one way. Ultimately, this is a great game which will keep you playing for a few hours until your mind has melted from overdoing it or until you have got too frustrated by the puzzles. In either case you’ll want to keep going until you’ve managed to complete it.

Rating 88%

Positives

27 tricky levels for you to overcome

Cute graphics and fun sounds

Very entertaining and totally addictive

Negatives

Once you’ve completed the levels there’s not much point in replaying

Some courses are very easy and others are very hard, but not much continuity from one to the other

A tad repetitive at times