Ready, Steady, Poe: The Last Door

The Last Door is a neat point and click horror game that flirts with Lovecraftian cosmic horror but is in a long-term relationship with the weird fiction of Edgar Allan Poe. Released episodically, it has just entered its second season, following a four chapter debut, and despite a couple of logical leaps in the puzzle department, it's well worth playing. The price helps with the recommendation - the first season is free. Episode one of season two will be free in the future as well but is currently available to backers, in beta form. Trailer below.

I'm pleased that The Last Door is continuing into a second set of episodes. The unconventional funding method - back for immediate access and other goodies, wait to play for free - seems like a model that might benefit the audience more than the developers, and I wasn't sure it would be sustainable.

You might be tempted to scoff at the pixel art but it's well-suited to the spooky goings-on. The pixels are large enough to lend a vagueness to ordinary scenes and items, and that quality is used to create a sense of mystery and dread. It's mostly effective. I haven't played the new chapter yet but my memories of the season finale suggest things might be moving beyond the metaphysical and possibly toward the metafictional.