The Collection Chamber: ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK? THE TALE OF ORPHEO'S CURSE

Who remembers the classic schoolyard fights over which is better? Sega or Nintendo, Marvel or DC, Teenage Mustant Hero Turtles or Biker Mice from Mars? One of the most contentious was Are you Afraid of the Dark or Goosebumps. These two shows solidified an entire generation's love of horror. For me, Are You Afraid of the Dark was always the better show, so imagine my surprise many years later when I found out there was a classic point-and-click adventure based on the property. Oh, and in case you're wondering, the rest are PC, Dark Horse and SWAT Cats. Fight me.

Much like the beloved show, a group of kids huddle around a campfire telling scary stories in the dark. You recite The Tale of Orpheo's Curse as a way to join the elusive Midnight Society, and that means playing through a rather decent point-and-click adventure. It's not the most technically impressive - it came out in 1994 - but the presentation makes up for. Outside of scenes around the campfire, the cutscenes are told in comic-book style stills which were a little disappointing on my first playthrough. Then again, when you look at the quality of the FMV they used, it is undoubtedly the better way to go.

This story within the story has you and your brother sneak into an abandoned theatre that once held performances from a renowned magician named Orpheus. Little do they know that the ghost of this long-dead magician still haunts the premises along with many other ghouls he's acquired over the years. These make up his carnval of waxworks attractions in and now he's vying to add two more to his collection - you.

It won't be long until your brother goes missing leaving you stumbling around solving puzzles. None of these are particularly challenging, but they do rely on a certain amount of observation. If you want to place the correct eyeballs in the wax head to open up a secret passage, you'll need to find out which ones to use first. Some of the more difficult moments are timed with an unseen clock, contributing to one of several ways in which you can fail. Take the skeleton hanging in house of horrors's warehouse. If you rummage around nearby, he will wake up and give chase, no matter where you go. You can tell by the change in music and rhythmic violin stings. Only the furnace nearby can stop him, but that is a lot to figure out in the heat of the moment. Some of waxwork monsters can wake up too for a game of tag too, granting some genuinely nailbiting moments.

Don't worry, you won't be dead for long. This is a kids game after all and the Midnight Society will readily ask you to go back and revise the tale just before you died. Or from the beginning if you're masochistic. I still did my best to find these sequence though. They highlight the work gone into the live-action make up and effects, even if they're mostly presented as barely animated photographs. For an early 90s kids game based on a Nickelodeon TV show, it's still rather impressive.

To download the game, follow the link below. This custom installer exclusive to The Collection Chamber uses DOSBox to bring the game to modern systems. Manual included. Tested on Windows 10.

File Size: 431 Mb. Install Size: 572 Mb. Need help? Consult the Collection Chamber FAQ

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