My Father's Long, Long Legs

My Father’s Long, Long Legs in a choose-your-own-adventure game without branching choices or variable outcomes. Basically, it’s more of a minimally interactive short story than a conventional game (for whatever that’s worth), so don’t expect a lot of interactive depth if you decide to check it out. It plays out like a suburban folk-horror story, spending most of its time setting up the background of the main plot, followed by a short section of spine-chilling resolution. Most of the tale is spent establishing a character portrait of a mysterious father who spends all his waking hours digging a large cavernous hole in the basement, following the viewpoint of his daughter, who explains her own interpretations of how his obsession affected her mother, her brother, and herself. After a long period of separation from her father, the narrator’s brother wants to visit the old house and see what’s become of him.

It’s a very short story once the expository introduction gives way to the actual event of visiting the house, but the meat of the game lies in those early explanations, establishing curiosity at what could compel such an odd routine and dropping hints that tightly border the line between metaphor and supernatural occurrence, giving way to a small wealth of interpretations on just how literal it all might be. It builds up an image of a man that can’t be fully grasped by the end of the tale, with seemingly absurd beliefs, and this is where the game most excels. It’s also a story that leads you on with a subtle fear of the unknown, which is perhaps the most divisive determinant in how much you’ll find yourself engaged with the plot.

Personally, I wasn’t particularly engaged by the moment beyond the background story, leaving me a bit empty by the game’s final moments. There are no explicit details about what you find down in the long, winding hole in the basement, and you’re left with only a vague idea of what’s truly become of your father and what has happened to your brother. [/spolier] Due to the lack of explicit detail, it’s largely up to your own imagination to fill in the blanks left by the end of the story, and I just can’t imagine a satisfyingly horror-inducing discovery that goes beyond what seems rational at first thought. Granted, I’m also the kind of person who only stopped being afraid of the invisible monster in Amnesia after discovering you don’t see an explicit death scene when killed by it, so I may be a bit lacking in imagination. Still, the conclusion felt a bit underwhelming, leaving with a promising and interesting start that never quite led to surprise. It’s an interesting premise, and fits well among the many other scary short stories you can find when browsing the internet, but its ability to horrify is going to vary considerably based on your own sensibilities.

My Father’s Long, Long Legs in a choose-your-own-adventure game without branching choices or variable outcomes. Basically, it’s more of a minimally interactive short story than a game (for whatever that’s worth), so don’t expect a lot of interactive depth if you decide to check it out. It plays out like a suburban folk-horror story, spending most of its time setting up the background of the main plot, followed by a short section of spine-chilling resolution. Most of the tale is spent establishing a character portrait of a mysterious father who spends all his waking hours digging a large cavernous hole in the basement, following the viewpoint of his daughter, who explains her own interpretations of how his obsession affected her mother, her brother, and herself. After a long period of separation from her father, the narrator’s brother wants to visit the old house and see what’s become of him.

It’s a very short story once the expository introduction gives way to the actual event of visiting the house, but the meat of the game lies in those early explanations, establishing curiosity at what could compel such an odd routine and dropping hints that tightly border the line between metaphor and supernatural occurrence, giving way to a small wealth of interpretations on just how literal it all might be. It builds up an image of a man that can’t be fully grasped by the end of the tale, with seemingly absurd beliefs, and this is where the game most excels. It’s also a story that leads you on with a subtle fear of the unknown, which is perhaps the most divisive determinant in how much you’ll find yourself engaged with the plot.

Personally, I wasn’t particularly engaged by the moment beyond the background story, leaving me a bit empty by the game’s final moments. There are no explicit details about what you find down in the long, winding hole in the basement, and you’re left with only a vague idea of what’s truly become of your father and what has happened to your brother. [/spolier] Due to the lack of explicit detail, it’s largely up to your own imagination to fill in the blanks left by the end of the story, and I just can’t imagine a satisfyingly horror-inducing discovery that goes beyond what seems rational at first thought. Granted, I’m also the kind of person who only stopped being afraid of the invisible monster in Amnesia after discovering you don’t see an explicit death scene when killed by it, so I may be a bit lacking in imagination. Still, the conclusion felt a bit underwhelming, leaving with a promising and interesting start that never quite led to surprise. It’s an interesting premise, and fits well among the many other scary short stories you can find when browsing the internet, but its ability to horrify is going to vary considerably based on your own sensibilities.