Dracula: Origins Review

It’s been 110 years since Bram Stoker wrote the groundbreaking novel Dracula. Given how masterful both the book and movie have proven to be, it’s no wonder why in the digital age an interactive version of the storytelling would be born. That was tasked to The Adventure Company and the developers at Frogwares. What they came up with is one of the best adventure games of recent memory.

You play as Van Helsing, a Dutch professor and vampire hunter. Immediately upon playing the game you read newspaper articles of attacks occurring across the city of London. You also get word in a letter that your apprentice, Jonathan Harker, is in grave danger after being sent on assignment to sell land to a client in the Carpathian Mountains seeking to move to London. This client, of course, is Count Dracula.

Dracula: Origins is a point-and-click adventure game. It requires a good deal of reading, puzzle solving and interpretation. Solutions are not always that obvious and outside sources may be required to figure out what to do next. Overall though, most of what you need is found simply by reading the texts available, interacting with objects and talking to people. All of the dialogue from the game is conveniently kept for future reference.

Whether you are a casual adventurer or a hardcore Dracula fan, Dracula: Origins is a great game to play. The story is deep and since it is based on a classic novel, proven to be entertaining to a wide range of audiences. The graphics hold up well and can run on most computers that aren’t as old as Dracula himself (I believe the minimum requirements are 512MB RAM for XP or Vista). Even better than the quality is the price: it’s only $20! Get this game if you are at all interested in Dracula or adventure games.