Hugo's House of Horrors

Player notes

About this game

Hugo’s House of Horrors begins outside a crooked house with a pumpkin by the door and eyes watching from its windows. Penelope was last seen inside, and Hugo must find a way in before he can work out what has happened to her. David P. Gray’s first Hugo adventure combines animated scenes with a text parser: the pictures show the setting, but your words tell the character what to do.

The house asks you to pay attention to objects and to the wording of your commands. LOOK provides a description of the current place; examining a particular object can reveal more. The visible score tracks discoveries and useful actions, while inventory keeps the things you have collected. It is an adventure about finding and using clues, rather than jumping or fighting with a single action button.

Use the arrow keys to start walking and press the same direction again to stop; holding a key is not required. Type a short English command such as LOOK, then press Enter. F1 shows the function keys, F6 opens inventory and F3 recalls the previous command for reuse or editing. A physical keyboard is recommended for the text parser. The Chinese page explains the controls, but the game and its commands remain in English.

This is the original DOS 2.1S shareware edition, with its program, English documentation and source archive preserved. It is not a Windows remake or a translated game. F4 saves to one of eight native slots and F5 restores a chosen slot; name a save so that you can recognize it later. The website player’s file-backup feature is separate from those in-game slots. Historical registration addresses and offers in the package should not be treated as current services.