Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Delaware St. John: Volume 1: The Curse of Midnight Manor and Volume 2: The Town with No Name present a classic point-and-click adventure experience. You guide paranormal investigator Delaware St. John through detailed, pre-rendered environments, clicking hot spots to examine clues, manipulate objects and progress the story. Controls are straightforward, with an inventory bar at the bottom of the screen and simple hot-spot highlighting, making it accessible to veterans and newcomers alike.

Each volume delivers a healthy dose of brain-teasing puzzles and hidden-object challenges. In Volume 1, you’ll explore the eerie Midnight Manor, combining cryptograms, key hunts and environmental puzzles that often require revisiting rooms once you acquire a new item or piece of information. Volume 2 shifts to the desolate streets of Fell’s Church, where you’ll sift through subtle visual cues and interview suspicious townsfolk to piece together the mystery of the Town with No Name.

Pacing can feel deliberate, with stretches of careful note-taking and backtracking, but fans of methodical investigation will appreciate the depth. Dialogue choices have no branching paths, but optional conversations yield extra lore. While there’s no combat to speak of, tension builds through environmental storytelling and the steady drip of unsettling audio cues, ensuring you remain invested even during quieter exploration segments.

Graphics

Despite its mid-2000s origins, the compilation’s graphics hold a certain nostalgic charm. The pre-rendered backdrops are rich in detail, from the creaking chandeliers of Midnight Manor to the foggy streets and shuttered storefronts of Fell’s Church. While character models can appear stiff and somewhat low-poly, textured overlays and dynamic lighting help mask their age, delivering an atmospheric veneer that complements the spooky narrative.

On modern systems, the game runs at a crisp resolution, maintaining the sharpness of backgrounds and video sequences. Cutscenes blend seamlessly with in-engine graphics, though occasional transitions can feel abrupt. Animations during dialogue exchanges may lack fluidity, but voice acting and sound design often pull you back into the story, drawing focus away from polygon edges and toward the unfolding mystery.

The European retail release adds localized interfaces and subtitles, ensuring menus, item descriptions and conversations read clearly for non-English speakers. This localization work preserves original artwork and cinematic sequences while enhancing readability. If you appreciate mood-driven visuals over cutting-edge effects, the graphical presentation still succeeds in immersing you in Delaware’s haunted world.

Story

The Curse of Midnight Manor launches you into a chilling tale of vanished heirs, occult artifacts and a manor with secrets best left buried. Delaware St. John, armed only with his psychic sensitivity, must unravel cryptic journals and piece together fragmented memories to lift the manor’s curse. The narrative unfolds steadily, hinting at long-buried family traumas and supernatural forces that grow more tangible with each clue you uncover.

Volume 2 deepens the lore as you arrive in a seemingly abandoned town stricken by mass disappearances. Fell’s Church is populated by reticent citizens who speak in riddles and warnings. The mystery expands beyond a single location—–you’ll explore a network of back alleys, deserted chapels and hidden passages that tie directly back to the events at Midnight Manor. Though the two stories stand on their own, playing them back-to-back enhances your understanding of Delaware’s psychic visions and recurring symbols.

Characterization is a highlight: Delaware himself is an earnest, contemplative protagonist whose voiceovers convey genuine curiosity and wariness. Supporting figures range from cryptic apparitions to petty locals, each adding texture to the overall narrative tapestry. While some plot twists are telegraphed too early, the games compensate with atmospheric build-up and a steady stream of supernatural breadcrumbs to follow.

Overall Experience

This compilation represents the first full European release of the Delaware St. John series, bundling the first two chapters previously available only via limited digital downloads. For fans who missed the retail-only Belgian, Dutch, Luxembourg and Swiss launch of Volume 1—and the elusive Volume 2 retail debut—this edition offers definitive access, complete with updated localization and compatibility for modern PCs.

The package is notable for its modest system requirements and seamless installation. Whether you’re a casual adventurer or a die-hard mystery buff, you’ll find the experience rewarding, especially if you enjoy methodical puzzle-solving and atmospheric settings. The inclusion of both volumes lets you follow Delaware’s journey without hunting down separate downloads or region-locked discs.

Minor quirks remain—dialog can sometimes lag behind on-screen prompts, and the absence of a hint system may frustrate newcomers during extended puzzle segments. Still, the games reward patient exploration and note-taking, and the eerie score combined with ambient effects keeps tension high. Overall, this compilation is a solid addition to any adventure gamer’s library, delivering old-school charm, engrossing mysteries and a satisfying blend of puzzles and paranormal intrigue.