Previously, we mentioned that The Forest Cathedral was our worst experience at Pax West 2022. Well, now we can talk about our second worst experience at PAX west 2022, but it is nothing compared to the first experience. This experience was when previewing the upcoming game Hyde’s Haunt & Seek. Now unlike The Forest Cathedral, Hyde’s Haunt & Seek‘s gameplay was enjoyable. Our only issue was with the people running the booth.
Upon arrival, we attempted to get the staff members’ attention to let them know that we arrived for our scheduled appointment. Upon trying to introduce ourselves, we were dismissed by the staff member that we attempted to talk for them to talk with someone else in line. Now, since the other person had been waiting in line to preview the game, we can forgive them for paying attention to the staff member, however, after blowing us off, they did not come back to us. Instead, we decided that if we were going to have to wait, we’d act like we didn’t have an appointment. In fact, we contemplated not covering this game at all out of spite, but the game itself has potential.
Hyde’s Haunt & Seek Details
Hyde’s Haunt & Seek is a 2 v 1 party game. This game utilizes 2 different art styles. When playing as the ghosts, the rooms are shown from an upper view similar to a room designing sim like Sims. The ghosts are tasked with hiding a prized possession that the mortal seeker must find. The ghosts can interfere or spook the mortal by possessing objects and moving them around.
As the mortal seeker, it is your task to find the prized possession. The seeker’s view is similar to a first-person shooter where they must investigate different parts of the map. The seeker can be spooked but they can scare the ghosts back by catching and exercising them.
The developer assigned to help us with spooking the living player did a rather inadequate job of explaining how to play the game, and while we cause the seeker a great amount of fear, once he had gathered the object, he was able to exercise us both.
Steam Description
Below is Smol Games’ Steam description of Hyde’s Haunt & Seek.
Spook or be spooked in this team-based party game. Set in a haunted manor, the mortal Seekers search for a Prized Possession, playing against a team of pranking poltergeists dead set on keeping it to themselves.
It’s a parlor game from beyond the grave, where each side has a particular role to play–
MORTAL SEEKERS:
Search the dark rooms of Hyde Manor and fend off ghostly gags with the aid of a Spectral Flashlight:
– Catch ‘em in the act with a Blast Pulse: scattering ghosts’ energy powers your flashlight and illuminates the path to the object
– Find hidden ghosts using your nightstick: a blacklight mode that illuminates traces in neon glow
– Extract them from furniture using the Exorcism Beam
– During a Haunt, your nightstick acts as a baton to hit ghosts – swing wisely!
PRANKING POLTERGEISTS:
Spook the mortal Seekers, but don’t get caught!
– Fly through walls and rooms, or possess furniture to hide and move undetected
– Levitate nearby objects using psychokinetic power: this will scare the living “daylights” out of them!
– Collect the living “daylights” to fill your Team Spirit meter: this will power your Haunt.
– Unleash your monstrous form: if you successfully attack during a Haunt, it’s an instant win/game over.
- A Playground of Fears: Ever wanted to play as the ghost and scare your friends? Hyde’s Haunt & Seek combines team based spooking with first person horror games, providing an immersive experience on either side.
- Face Your Fears, Your Way: As the Seeker, our spooky filter allows you to adjust the game’s fear factor to your own comfort level
- Co-op Multiplayer: Play alongside or against your friends in team-based play with light competition (currently Ghost mode only, with Seeker compatibility coming soon.)
- Cross Platform (coming soon!): Support all players across PC, mobile, and even VR.
