Missed Classic: The Hound of Shadow - Won (Plus Alternate Characters and Final Rating)

Written by Vetinari

After the poppycocks of the game wiping out the file for my character just because he had been devoured by an abomination from outside of space and time, I proceeded to create another character and play all through the game again until the end.

Not really. I just edited Sven's character file with Notepad by copying the values from one of the pre-generated characters.

So, back to Blythburgh church. This time I choose to meditate, emptying myself of all conscious thoughts. And then...

Missed Classic: The Hound of Shadow – Appointment with Death

Written by Vetinari

Last time we were asked by Father Paul Mason to find out the nature of the beast that killed Matthew Talbot. A good place to search for that would be the Reading Room at the British Museum, but obviously without knowing the name of a book to retrieve, the library is almost useless. I do not know of any other source of knowledge (except for Marcus, who is characteristically close-mouthed about any topic of which I ask), so I am a little bit lost here.

The list of verbs does not give any particular hint (I already tried searching almost everywhere I thought there could possibly be something hidden), so I resort to checking back my screenshots and notes. And I find out that when Marcus gave me the Gascoigne Journal to read, he took it back but said that I could read it as long as it would not leave the shop.

Marcus drops a hint.

So I immediately ask him to show me the Gascoigne Journal, and he reluctantly does so. Apparently, Gascoigne talks about the Plateau of Leng and some of the terrible creatures that reside there, saying that Von Juntz's book has more details. But... I already read Von Juntz's book...

Missed Classic: The Hound of Shadow - By the Pricking of My Thumbs

Written by Vetinari

Next morning, I wake up to a surprise. The landlady, Mrs Bastable, announces that a visitor, a young lady, is waiting for me in the lounge.

Now, I haven't mentioned anything about a landlady up to now, and I can hear what you're saying: of course there's a landlady, all sleuths (especially ones who live in London, and in Marylebone, no less) have a landlady. No! You are thinking of Victorian sleuths! Golden Age sleuths have no landladies, only secretaries!

She's no Miss Lemon, but Nikki Porter comes a close second.

Anyway, going to the lounge I find that this mysterious visitor is none other than Yasmin the maid/assistant from the séance. She says that her real name is Vivienne Powers and that Harry Pelham, a.k.a. the Adept Karmi, has not been right since the other night. Nightmares, headaches, depression, the whole package that you can expect after having had a close encounter with occult and malevolent forces.

Missed Classic: Hound of Shadow - A Murder is Announced

Written by Vetinari

Whoever may have had an however fleeting or passing acquaintance with other famous Lovecraft-adjacent games (or even just stood downwind of someone who had), when faced with a title like The Hound of Shadow knows exactly what to expect: one of the most iconic creatures in the Cthulhu Mythos, the Hound of Tindalos.

The main characteristic of these creatures is that once a human becomes known to them as a prey, they will pursue the victim through anything to reach their quarry.

Say hello to my little friend.

So, starting the game proper I had quite a good idea of what I would be facing, at least in terms of the main antagonist. Something relentless, that would hunt down the investigator without mercy wherever and whenever he would be.

Missed Classic 128: The Hound of Shadow - Introduction (1989)

Written by Vetinari

The Hound of Shadow is the first of two games created by British developer Eldritch Games and based on the Cthulhu Mythos by Lovecraft.

This game is a bit of a precursor to the other Lovecraftian games which were all the rage in the first half of the 1990s, such as Alone in the Dark, Shadow of the Comet or Prisoner of Ice, but still it was published two years later than Infocom's The Lurking Horror.

Eldritch Games was the child of software designers Chris Elliott and Richard Edwards, who created the company specifically to develop the Timeline computer games series, of which unfortunately only this game and its later sequel (Daughter of Serpents) were ever created.

Elliot and Edwards. I doubt that this was taken during a normal day at the office.

The other credits for this game are Mike Lewis, who is credited with the lion's share of the programming, and Carl Cropley as the graphic artist.