The Tragedy at Deer Creek – Frontier Trauma [Review]

Put on your best jacket and a warm pair of socks because we are heading into the cold frontier! The Tragedy at Deer Creek is a point-and-click adventure title with a heavy focus on its story. While the gameplay, the presentation and the narrative are very competently made, I’m in the middle of how I ended up feeling for the game. That’s mostly for my general dislike of ghost stories, as they usually don’t work on me at all.

The cold north
You play as Charlotte Gray on a mission to find out what happened to the small logging camp at Deer Creek—since one day they just up and left. Very mysterious, and the initial first half of the game I greatly enjoyed, as nothing supernatural guided your investigation here. It was classic adventure gaming, reading journals, and trying to figure out how to progress—with an eerie atmosphere encompassing the whole thing. Grounded stuff, in other words. Then for the second half, or a little less, it becomes a guided ghost story, with strange contraptions and events that bend natural law willy-nilly.

Now, that’s not to say it doesn’t work for this tale, because it does—but to my personal taste, I would have preferred if it stayed more realistic. The game lost some of my engagement here, which is a downer, as I found the presentation otherwise very appealing—from voice acting to the visuals.

Presentation
The visuals, sound, and music are top-notch in a contemplative, melancholic way. No Marvel quips to be found here, and I have to say: very refreshing. While the story takes a more “spectral” form, the writing keeps a somber and serious tone. The entire thing culminates in a diary reading that reminded me of the excellent and strongly emotional, voiced letter from Mary to James in Silent Hill 2. Just like in that game, it was a touching segment, just to prove to myself that my heart is not totally ice yet. Everything from the past is written with an authentic flair, which adds a lot to the believability of the characters involved.

Another thing that adds to the presentation/immersion is the number of charming cutscenes, where we get to see our protagonist interacting with the world. At first, I thought these were made with rotoscoping film technique, but I think they are “classically” drawn. They remind me a bit of the animation style from Another World, but with more detail.

Conclusion
While the story lost me a little at the end, it was nonetheless an intriguing tale in a pretty good point-and-click format. Not too easy, and not too mind-bendingly hard puzzles. But as mentioned, it is entirely dependent on my dislike for ghost stories, so if that is your thing—you will be very pleased here. As far as ghost stories go, it has the classic elements for a good ghost story. Actually, the tone of it reminds me of old BBC TV shows from my younger days (when I liked those forms of tales)—always played seriously with some kind of satisfying message at the end. If you are a ghost lover, this is a yes, otherwise, I’m iffy to recommend, but The Tragedy at Deer Creek will land a three on the enjoyment rating regardless. 

Thanks for reading.

– Thomas

– Review copy provided by publisher –