The Incident at Galley House

The Roottrees are Dead studio Evil Trout gives William Rous' brilliant lo-fi deduction thriller Type Help a slick remake, and while the changes are many, it remains a smart, rewarding, and hauntingly effective mystery.

The Incident at Galley House finds its slow-simmering horror in the idea that a human will inevitably become an unidentified silhouette in a digital graveyard once there’s no one left to hold on to their soul.

The Incident at Galley House constantly made me reevaluate my theories and approach, and several big twists spurred my search for answers throughout many late-night sessions. Sadly, I found the conclusion to be a mixed bag.

An enthralling deduction game that can't escape the genre's challenges.

The Incident at Galley House is a fantastic, head-scratching deduction experience that’ll genuinely make you feel like one of the world’s most esteemed mystery-solving sleuths when you get to the bottom of it. The way in which you investigate the case, pick up clues, and track the movements of each inhabitant of Galley House is genuinely enthralling, and whilst the slower pace won’t be for everyone, it kept me utterly absorbed from start to end.

As it is, The Incident at Galley House is a confident mystery, but an underwhelming puzzler. Had it taken more risks with the original script (if only to make for smoother voice acting, much less take advantage of the new visuals) and incorporated some of the non-linear puzzle design I’ve come to love from Evil Trout, it could have been a transcendent detective video game. Instead, it’s a safe play that feels like a massive missed opportunity.

The Incident At Galley House is a fantastic murder mystery wrapped up in a unique storytelling style. Uncover the puzzle through context clues and deduction, just make sure you're entering the right information for a scene you want to see!

The investigation alternates moments of uncertainty and a few small, difficult-to-surmount barriers with cascades of revelations that follow even a single hunch, finding a truly enviable balance between reflective phases and the satisfaction that accompanies a correct deduction.

I personally found Type Help to be the superior and more memorable version of the game – with its minimalist presentation delivering a greater sense of dread as the layers of the mystery gradually reveal themselves. However, I'm still glad The Incident at Galley House exists if it means that William Rous' storytelling reaches more people.

A locked room whodunnit with a difference, The Incident at Galley House tells the story of a fateful night in the 1930s that saw a house full of people mysteriously die. Cleverly presented with excellent voice acting, consider this a must-play if you're a fan of the likes of Her Story and Eternal Threads.