True Fear: Forsaken Souls Part 3 - Can you confront the mystery of the Stonehouse family’s demon?

Hello fellow gamers, Racula here and I've got another exciting review for XPN Gaming.

I've always loved point and click puzzle games, as I find them enjoyable and relaxing at times. So when I found out there was a point and click thriller game, I knew had to get it and try it for myself and I was not disappointed by them. I thoroughly enjoyed playing True Fear: Forsaken Souls part 1 and part 2 and the final third part is even more enjoyable.

Developed by Goblinz Enterprises Ltd and published by The Digital Lounge, True Fear: Forsaken Souls Part 3 is the final chapter of the thriller trilogy.

With intricate puzzles, cinematic cutscenes, point and click mechanics, or can be played on controller if you like, players immerse themselves in a dark thriller and discover the truth, that ties all three games together.

True Fear: Forsaken Souls Part 1 launched in 2016, with a unique atmosphere that enraptured fans and led to the launch of True Fear: Forsaken Souls Part 2 in 2018. Now seven years later, the closing chapter of this popular franchise is finally available for players to experience. 

Get ready to finish the journey

With out spoiling, here's a quick recap from what the first and second parts were about.

Part 1: Our main protagonist, Holly Stonehouse, receives a mysterious letter from her estranged sister, Heather, that she hasn't heard from in years and decides to go and look for her, but all is not as it seems, as she uncovers secrets in the derelict halls of Stonehouse Manor.

Part 2: After Holly followed the clues from her old family house in part 1, she finally arrives at the Dark Falls Asylum and again, sees that someone was there before her, waiting for her. However this time she is no longer a spectator and what follows her is no longer just a shadow - the danger is real as the Asylum comes alive at night.

Where it all began

where the story starts to twist

So where does part 3 begin?

Well after watching a quick recap of the past two games, Holly wakes up in her room after hearing a loud knocking noise on her door, was everything just a nightmare? After witnessing what happens in her house, Holly finds herself back within the Dark Falls Asylum again. True Fear part 3, will take you through a mixture area's to explore throughout the three acts, some new never seen area's and some old familiar one's from the past two games, seeking to answer the questions that have haunted the Stonehouse name for generations.

Did the events of part 1 and 2 really happen, or was it all a nightmare?

Gameplay features

True Fear's gameplay has an intense adventure brimming with psychological suspense, in a story filled with twists and turns along the way. Player's do get a map to look at for area's they have been in, or need to go back to solve a puzzle, or to collect an item. Pretty much like fast travel in most games and it does come in handy. Also the map has a key, the star icon is for you current location and the red !, is for when actions are available. E.g. a puzzle or item becomes available, after you have done or collected something else.

The creepy little doll on the bottom right of the game screen, is able to give hints, for when you are stuck and have no idea what your doing in an area.

It's always good to have a map

That doll seriously gives me the creeps

Players can either use the mouse to play, or use a controller and it is fully compatible. I preferred to use the mouse, as I thought the controller would be a bit complicated to play a point and click style game.

Puzzles Galore

True Fear has lots of challenging puzzles, which you can chose to either make them harder or easier to complete. If you are struggling with the puzzle, or just want to get on with the game, then you can click on the little creepy doll, to complete the puzzle automatically. I found most of the puzzles fairly easy and straight forward to do and kept them on the standard level for the puzzle level. But some of them I did find difficult and either had to ask for help, especially mathematical ones, or skip the puzzle if no one was around.

Where do the symbols go?

one of the more easier puzzles to d

Not as as easy as it looks

Unique Cinematography and Dark Artwork

What can I say about the graphics for True Fear, well each cinematic cutscene leads you further into the oppressive atmosphere, that the whole game creates. Even though there's not really much talking within some of the cutscenes per say, you can kind of tell what Holly is saying, thinking and feeling when watching, almost like a silent movie. The cutscenes do look more like ps3 graphics, but in all honesty, that's not a bad thing. It works really well with the game and helps break away from the point and click parts and helps to remind players, that there is a compelling storyline still being told and played out through out the entire game.

What is Holly gonna do?

Who is She!?

The artwork and detail for each area you enter is phenomenal, making old gothic architecture buildings stand out, with the amount of detail that has gone into them. Even the rooms you enter, have a great amount of detail put into them, making them really dark, eerie and atmospheric. With having the eerie and sometimes dramatic music playing in the background, it gives you the added feeling like either something really is watching you, hiding around the corner waiting to come out and scare you, or something is about happen whether it be good or bad.

So much detail has gone into this

There's something round that corner, I can feel it

I really don't want to go in there

Final Thoughts

I have really loved the True Fear games and have thoroughly enjoyed playing part 3. Overall it's a beautifully, dark and psychological ending on a perfect trilogy and I cannot fault it in any way. I do hope Goblinz Enterprises Ltd are making more games like this, as I will happily play them. If you like point and click, hidden objects, puzzles and a good story driven game, with a little bit of thriller thrown into the mix, then I highly recommend playing True Fear: Forsaken Souls, from start to finish.

Thank you to everyone who took time out of their day to take a moment to read this review, your support is always appreciated and means a lot to me.

True Fear: Forsaken Souls part 3 is currently available on pc, but is looking to go onto console in the future:

Steam

XPN Rating 5 out 5

If you enjoyed this review, make sure to check out other reviews on XPN Gaming website.