Return to the game's main page Reviews and Ratings
Showing All | Show by Page - k42write, October 28, 2023 - gattociao, August 19, 2023 6 of
6 people found the following review helpful:
Spooky precursor to Anchorhead and The King Of Shreds & Patches, May 8, 2023by Cody Gaisser (Florence, Alabama, United States of America, North America, Earth, Solar System, Milky Way, Known Universe, ???) Theatre is a nice, atmospheric horror game in which you find yourself trapped in an old, run-down theatre that seems to have malevolent designs for you. The backstory is pieced together out-of-order by collecting torn journal pages as you puzzle your way through the secret passages of the old building. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | Add a comment
- Kastel, March 22, 2023 - o0pyromancer0o, January 31, 2023 - heasm66 (Sweden), December 22, 2022 3 of
3 people found the following review helpful:
Fantastic, classic Lovecraftian horror, September 18, 2022by Bosch A superbly spooky game with (aside from some trickiness near the end) puzzles that generally feel fair and logical. There's a lot of enjoyable prose and a superbly well-executed use of old-school occult cosmic horror. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | Add a comment
- Lucifalle, August 4, 2022 - Amun100 (UK), July 27, 2022 - heyitswei, April 10, 2022 - jakomo, April 8, 2022 - alex19EP (Moscow, Russia), August 16, 2021 - Edo, August 6, 2021 - beecadee, November 14, 2020 8 of
8 people found the following review helpful:
Sprawling, creepy, non-linear game with great pacing, September 21, 2020"Theatre" was developed after "Curses" and before "Anchorhead", and has many elements in common with both of these games, including some shared puzzles. It is a large, sprawling game, with many puzzles in the find-an-object-use-an-object category. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | Add a comment
10 of
10 people found the following review helpful:
Break a leg!, September 21, 2020"You have discovered the secret of the Theatre and have completed the game with a score of fifty out of a possible fifty in one thousand, one hundred and fifty-eight turns." Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | View comments (2) - Add comment
6 of
8 people found the following review helpful:
Grab some popcorn, September 20, 2020by deathbytroggles (Minneapolis, MN) Theatre was one the first modern IF games I played on the heels of Babel. I was immediately pulled in by the same plot device that Finley borrowed, what with the journal pages lying around to provide chilling backstory. I was also pleased that for the most part the puzzles are straightforward and the only way to put the game in an unwinnable state is doing something obviously stupid. For a while I had this one rated four stars. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | Add a comment
- Arrowhead12 (Edmonton, Alberta), June 11, 2020 - kierlani, May 5, 2020 This is the sort of game you'll find compulsive - it's hard to clamber back to the real world and do mundane things like making meals, shopping, etc., when Theatre lies beckoning from your computer. I really can't find a single teensy negative thing to say about it - spelling, grammar and writing are way above average; room descriptions ooze atmosphere; the plot turns and twists breathtakingly; and the suspense and tension are so real that you become engulfed by the gameworld.
You wrote this review -
Revise it
| Direct link | Add a comment - Tropical Gothic (Asia), December 7, 2019 - jjsonick, August 29, 2019 - Stian, June 15, 2019 - e.peach, March 16, 2019 - Jan Strach, May 8, 2018 - tekket (Česká Lípa, Czech Republic), August 7, 2017 - Cory Roush (Ohio), July 14, 2017 - Ayize, April 27, 2017 - Godel23 (Paris, France), January 2, 2017 - SciFinn (Alberta, Canada), December 14, 2016 - nosferatu, September 23, 2016 - E. W. B., February 24, 2016 - brattish (Canada), November 16, 2015 - Harry Coburn (Atlanta, GA), October 8, 2015 - Thrax, March 11, 2015 - cabalia (Ohio), March 7, 2015 - BlitzWithGuns, February 1, 2015 - MattC, February 2, 2014 - lisapaul, January 13, 2014 - SongoftheWolf, November 25, 2013 - Blue Penguin, November 18, 2013 - Galena, September 9, 2013 3 of
3 people found the following review helpful:
A pretty good experience, September 9, 2013by Dark Dagon This is one game I keep coming back to over a period of years, and finished it this time round. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | Add a comment
16 of
16 people found the following review helpful:
Well-crafted horror game, May 13, 2013by dutchmule The plot of the game is not exactly original - you have to enter an old theatre because you forgot something inside, and end up being trapped inside -, but the setting is really great : the horror is shown with little subtles touches, sounds, apparitions, and increases as the game progresses. The theatre is vast, with a lot of areas to discover or unlock, and as the game goes on those areas are more and more dark, empty and dangerous. The descriptions are well-written and coherent, which makes you really enter the game. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | Add a comment
- DJ (Olalla, Washington), May 9, 2013 - Kuffen Bach (Brno), May 7, 2013 - Zepton (Canada), April 6, 2013 - ptkw, March 12, 2013 - nico, November 6, 2012 - liz73 (Cornwall, New York), May 22, 2012 - Jonathan Blask (Milwaukee, WI, USA), April 1, 2012 - MonochromeMolly, November 1, 2011 - sunny and mild (South Africa), October 7, 2011 - Wade Clarke (Sydney, Australia), September 24, 2011 - cmdrfalafel, September 14, 2011 - Mr. Patient (Saint Paul, Minn.), July 16, 2011 - calindreams (Birmingham, England), July 6, 2011 - David Kinder, June 7, 2011 - artao (SW Wisconsin), February 14, 2011 - Walter Sandsquish, February 2, 2011 - snickerdoddle, January 28, 2011 18 of
18 people found the following review helpful:
An atmospheric performance that pays off, January 25, 2010by Pete Gardner (Vancouver, Canada) Encore! Author! Theatre is a wonderfully moody work of IF in which the player is stranded in a creepy old theatre with no apparent way out. The more he tries to get out, the deeper he is drawn into a fiendish plot that spans over seventy years, the successful outcome of which could doom not only the player, but the whole world. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | Add a comment
- Divide (Wroclaw, Poland), October 15, 2009 - thion, August 21, 2009 6 of
8 people found the following review helpful:
Copied script but excellent performance, July 27, 2009by Dark-Star (Nebraska) Theatre begins with a familiar enough premise; the player is unexpectedly trapped in a deserted old building that just *happens* to be inhabited by malevolent spirits and horrid monsters. You are then forced to wander the haunted halls attempting to both decipher the secrets of your current locale and escape with your skin. The game is inappropriate for younger adventurers due to several gruesome dead-endings and less lethal but very frightening scenes. Suffice it to say that Theatre quickly make me quite sorry for playing it at midnight with all the room lights extinguished. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | Add a comment
- Fabien Vidal (Tours, France), June 14, 2009 - Mastodon, March 26, 2009 - Martin Braun (Berlin, Germany), November 25, 2008 - Wesley (Iowa City, Iowa), September 1, 2008 - Mike Gray (Wisconsin), July 29, 2008 - Lonedale (Tula, Russia), June 30, 2008 - Sarah Mitty (Ypsilanti, Michigan), June 5, 2008 - Fra Enrico (Torino, Italy), June 4, 2008 - ECarter, May 26, 2008 - Krishnoid (Sunnyvale, CA), May 13, 2008 - felicitations, May 8, 2008 - Dave Chapeskie (Waterloo, Ontario, Canada), April 23, 2008 - tfbk, April 10, 2008 - jfpbookworm (Hamburg, New York), February 25, 2008 - Michel Nizette (Brussels, Belgium), January 18, 2008 9 of
10 people found the following review helpful:
Great Lovecraft-style Adventure, November 29, 2007by Matt Kimmel (Cambridge, MA) This was one of the first of the "new" IF games I played during the Inform-fueled IF resurgence in the mid-90s. It was one of the games that made me realize that the IF being produced by the community was rivaling and even exceeding the quality of the Infocom and Legend classics that I loved. Although Theatre is a bit on the short side, it evokes a Lovecraftian creepiness quite well. While it's completely its own game, I couldn't help comparing it--favorably--in my mind to Infocom's The Lurking Horror. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys that sort of on-your-own-in-the-middle-of-the-night-with-indescribable-monsters type of horror game. My only complaint is that I wish there were a bit more of it. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | Add a comment
- Hauston (Seattle, WA), October 30, 2007 - AmberShards (The Gothic South), October 29, 2007 - Jer, October 28, 2007 - Stephen Bond (Leuven, Belgium), October 26, 2007 - zer, October 24, 2007 - Quintin Stone (NC), October 23, 2007 6 of
8 people found the following review helpful:
A very atmospheric game, October 19, 2007First, I have to acknowledge that I have not finished the game completely, because of personal reasons. But as far as I can tell, I got really towards the start of the home stretch. In my eyes, this game shows what good horror IF should be like: The atmosphere is very intense and the writing does a very good job to convey it to the player. The player character is not really my preferred type, but rather falls into the common person category. His presentation is believable, making it easy to get into the game itself. The riddles are very fair, with just enough hints, but not too many, so the player still has some challenges to overcome. Due to the basic plot, interaction with NPCs is relatively rare, with the game more about uncovering mysteries of the past and understanding what is going on. While some people may find this somewhat disappointing, I believe that it suits the genre quite well. If you are a hard-core horror fan, you might find the game too tame in its content. While it does involve some aspects of violence, it is much closer to an eerie story than to a splatter movie. It can be said to be in a Lovecraftian tradition. In other words, if you like it more subtle, you can enjoy it quite well, while fans of hands-on action may find the experience less enjoyable, though not really bad. I am not that experienced with IF, but I would say that it is of medium length, tending slightly to long. So, if you just want to have a quick play, this is probably a bit too much. Otherwise, I can only recommend playing this game as it is really a very fine creation I consider to be one of the flagships of IF. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | Add a comment
Baf's GuideA genuinely creepy game. Spend the night trapped in an abandoned theatre, accompanied by a variety of spooks and nameless horrors. Has an interesting two-layered plot: as the game progresses, the building's history is revealed by the pages of an old journal you find scattered about. Lots of hidden passages, solid (but not unduly hard) puzzles, and an adaptive hint system. Inspired by the short story The Ghosts of the Lyric, the entire text of which is available in the game via the help menu. -- Carl Muckenhoupt
You wrote this review -
Revise it
| Direct link | Add a comment Showing All | Show by Page | Return to game's main page |