The Collection Chamber: DRACULA'S SECRET

A fiendishly challenging journey on CD-ROM

In Dracula's library there's no time to read!

Discover what lies beyond the talking gate.

Features
Over 200 full-color animations
Over 25 interactive landscapes
19 challenging puzzles
3 skill levels
Eerie music and sound effects
Save and replay any game

~ from the back of the US jewel case

Dracula has often been infantilised in media, his genuinely scary origins dampened over the year as he becomes a staple of popular culture. It's crazy to think that this murderous, blood-sucking vampire has been co-opted in children's television, movies and video games from the likes of Sesame Street's The Count, Count Duckula or Hotel Transylvania. Personally, I love it. Even as a kid I was drawn to the darker yet still age appropriate depictions of this famous fiend. And, if Corel Corporation's family friendly adventure game Dracula's Secret was installed on my hard drive back then, I would've eaten it up like the man himself does to his victims.

Aiming for an age group between 6 and 10 years old, Dracula's Secret isn't exactly the hardest or longest of adventure games, but unlike many other similar games that shared its shelf space, there isn't a hint of education to be found. You are on route to visit Dracula's castle, but the road is blocked so you have to figure out a way to get there. You do this by collecting materials that will let you fix a broken rope bridge. Naturally, this isn't so easy...

The area map (left) and castle map (right) lets you see where you've been.
On the easier difficulties, you can use it to fast travel.

In order to get everything you need, you will have to feed a swamp monster, provide potion ingredients to a wicked witch and find the perfect head for the headless horseman. There's an element of randomness going on each time you play, as while there are several options for each, only one will be correct. For example, a werewolf's head will satisfy the headless horseman's nulled noggin predicament on one playthrough while the traditional pumpkin will work on another. Generally, just use trial and error to win. You won't be penalised if you get anything wrong, but you may get a nice little animation for your troubles.

And it's in the visuals where the real charm shines. The animation may be choppy - a sign of the mid-90s release date - but the characters are winningly drawn. Add them to some spooky and detailed hand-drawn backgrounds and you have an art style that anyone can love no matter the age. The puzzles may be a little too easy for fully grown adventure game nerds like us, but it's the graphics and atmosphere that truly won me over.

Some of the single-screen puzzles. Guide a gopher through the maze using the mouse (left)
and slide some tiles to reveal a hidden passage (right). Click the hand icon to replay.

Once you get to the castle, Dracula has one last obstacle for you - find him. You have full reign of the entire fortress in all its gothic glory, though you will have to interact with its creepy residents. Famous horror icons like Dr. Jekyll, Igor and the Phantom of the Opera are all here in humorous cameos, each one itching to present to you a puzzle. All of them are simple enough and range from organising items in the room to the classic adventure-game tropes of sliding puzzles, jigsaws and mazes. With the latter, at least they try something new in one instance. The maze is hidden from you and you'll have to find green dots that indicate light switches to reveal more. At least they tried something a little more inventive.

The main course of action here is to find all of the pieces of an emblem, then place them on the Dracula's coffin to awake him. There is more than one crypt to be found, so you might have to go on the hunt for each of them. Again, the correct one is randomised, though you will likely find each of them with ease no matter what number playthrough you're at.

Dracula has many coffin rooms. Which one is he hiding in?

The castle is surprisingly large and winding, but the game makes an effort to interconnect rooms to keep up a façade of forward momentum. The second-floor hallway, for example, can be accessed from the library, the underground sewer system or the main hall's stairway. You can also fast-travel if you've been there before by accessing the map. This can be accessed by clicking on the scroll icon at the bottom of the screen along with a bunch of other useful features. The sack on the left is your inventory where items can be dragged into to collect them or dragged from to use (item's are always dragged, never just clicked on). Next is the aforementioned scroll and the skeleton hand which will reset or replay the current puzzle. When clicked on the screen name in the middle, you will get a general help screen detailing how to play the game though if you need a hint on what to do next, the crystal ball will have you covered. The book is reserved for saving and loading while the skull residing in the letter Q will let you quit the game. It's a simple interface that works well for a simple game such as this.

Don't let the game's simplicity put you off. It may be easy and uninventive, but boy is it entertaining. The creepy locations and gothic architecture really put me into the Halloween mood. It has some great art, an interesting design and some amusingly funny moments too. Younger folks will get more out of it that older ones, but it's still an entertaining hour of play no matter your age.

To download the game, follow the link below. This custom installer exclusive to The Collection Chamber uses the DOSBox-X build of DOSBox running Microsoft Windows 3.1 to bring the game to modern systems. Manual included. Read the ChamberNotes.txt for more detailed information. Tested on Windows 10.

File Size: 195 Mb. Install Size: 314 Mb. Need help? Consult the Collection Chamber FAQ

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