The Séance of Blake Manor

Set in Ireland in 1897, private investigator Declan Ward is hired by an anonymous client to investigate the disappearance of Evelyn Deane at Blake Manor.^[3] Ward has only two days to solve the mystery, as a séance—scheduled to take place at the manor—threatens to cause further disappearances.^[4][5]

The player controls Ward from a first-person perspective. The primary objective is to solve the mystery by exploring the Manor and interrogating its guests. A key gameplay element involves time management, as each action consumes a specific amount of in-game time. Furthermore, certain events occur in predetermined locations at fixed times and characters follow individual schedules that determine their whereabouts throughout the day.^[5] The art style follows a comic book aesthetic,^[1][3] while the setting draws inspiration from Irish mythology and the spiritualist movements of the Victorian era.^[4]

The game was developed by Irish independent studio Spooky Doorway and published by Raw Fury.

During development it was referred to as Eldritch House on their official discord server where they shared art progress for the game. When the game was fully announced, they then changed the name of this channel to the current title. They also released a trailer under this name which has since been unlisted. ^[6]

Summarize Fact Check

The Séance of Blake Manor received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to the review aggregator website Metacritic.^[7] Aggregator OpenCritic determined that 95% of critics recommended the game.^[8]

Critics drew favorable comparisons to Blue Prince^[5][11][10] and praised several aspects of the gameplay, particularly the time-management mechanic.^[5][11] Writing for GamesRadar+, Oscar Taylor-Kent stated that "it really makes the investigation feel tangible".^[3]

The game's writing also received widespread acclaim.^[11][10] Giovanni Colantonio of Polygon described it as "exceptional writing that really makes the mystery work",^[5] while Kerry Brunskill of PC Gamer commended the diverse cast of the characters.^[9]