| Title | : | House of Hell (Fighting Fantasy #10) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0140318313 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780140318319 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Mass Market Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 224 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1982 |
House of Hell (Fighting Fantasy #10) Reviews
-
Just best game-book ever!
There was a time before 8 bit and following videogames ruined kids' fantasy, before the Lord of The Ring movie trilogy and Dr Who remake tv series made a new generation of fantasy/sci-fi know-all-experts, when children and teen dreamers had a lot of fun with a now dead (but never forgotten) kind of media: gamebooks.
After lots of fantasy ones, Steve Jackson's House of Hell was the first and unbeaten horror one, a full of clichés thrilling adventure in an old mansion infested with ghosts (some friendly), zombies, vampires, devil-worshippers and much more.
This was my most favourite one game-book from the classic Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone Fighting Fantasy series, one of the few not set in the fantasy world setting of Titan, and I had a real blast playing it lots of times then (so much that when I was younger I started making my personal italian version with a dictionary and my dad's old typewriter, years before the book was translated and published here... Nerdy clever boy!) as I enjoyed playing it again now after all these years.
The book aged for good and the Fear add to the rules was a real good one... You can just be scared to death while exploring the House and lose. Ian Miller's cover was a real blast and Tim Sell's internal drawings too, the difficult level is so hard that you are going to play it at last one hundred of times before winning (or look for a walktrough on internet, something impossible when it was released).
An hell of a ride, and if this never too much grown kid is an horror fan today is because of this book too. -
I loved these FIGHTING FANTASY gamebooks as a kid but HOUSE OF HELL was something slightly different - not a fantasy book but a horror one! Needless to say, at the age of 12, playing this in my darkened bedroom, I was extremely frightened.
I can still remember the adventure unfolding before me. The car accident, the rain, entering the house. The odd butler and the rooms with weird noises coming out of them. The gore and the vampires and the monsters in darkened corners. My heart would beat a little faster as I turned each page to find out my fate - and then slow when I realised I'd survived, only to quicken again ready for the next trial. Great stuff!
NB. Time to replay this bad boy as an adult and it's every bit as good as I remember. Every single paragraph entry drips with atmosphere and the amount of twists, turns and individual situations they set in and around a rambling old house is quite incredible. Imagine the best of the classic Universal and Hammer horrors wrapped up into a perfect gameplay package and you have it.
NB. Another replay, having done so badly last time. We got a lot further this time and the only frustration is with the maze-like layout of the building with the endless doors giving you no clue as to the interior's contents. But everything else is fantastic, and spellbindingly spooky. The tricks, traps and sudden deaths are truly devious. Still a favourite... -
This is an absolutely terrific gamebook, a fiendishly conceptualised puzzle that's made even more fun to play by its beautifully grizzly - albeit utterly cliched - horror setting and nightmare plot ('plat' may be a push), wherein our hapless adventurer finds himself knocking on the door of a mansion for help after a car accident. The owner of the house, an early is, naturally, pretty evil and into devil worship and sacrifice, and it's your job to escape from this madness. You'll meet the usual assortment of ghosts (some friendly), zombies, vampires and helldogs along the way and you'll die a ridiculous amount of times along the way.
You won't finish this book without help, even if you're an unapologetic cheater, it's just too hard and too clever - But that's part of the fun. It's also, despite 100 dead ends, instadeaths and attempts to mislead your mapping, completely 100% fair, and when one does make it to the end - even with help - it feels like a completely satisfying experience.
Steve Jackson's somewhat basic writing is the book's biggest weakness. I don't think the FF team ever decided to experiment by pushing literary boundaries, but there's strength in the simplicity. It all adds to a work that's a complete pacage though, since the artwork is of a very high standard and brings the encounters to life nicely(and for a game aimed at young teenagers, pretty damn macabre).
I couldn't recommend this one highly enough if the thought of a gamebook doesn't bemuse you. It's probably not an entry level adventure due to the complicated nature of the maps and the obscurity of the correct route through, but it's definitely a Fighting Fantasy work that any fan of the genre should experience. -
Smutny fakt: po trzydziestce coraz trudniej umówić się ze znajomymi. Ci mają dziecko, co nie jest problemem samym w sobie, ale akurat nie mają opiekunki na sobotę bo się rozchorowała, tamci mają opiekunkę, ale akurat jadą na wesele koleżanki kuzynki spod Kartuz, wiesz, tej co się tak śmieje, i generalnie to następnym razem bardzo chętnie. Marek by wpadł, ale akurat w niedzielę ma dyżur, więc lipa, a do tego wszystkiego jeszcze kowid dziewiętnaście. Koniec końców wychodzi na to, że z przyjaciółmi, bez których jeszcze niedawno nie wyobrażałeś sobie weekendu, teraz spotykasz się przypadkiem, najczęściej jak w “biedrze” jest tydzień portugalski, i ciasto filo rzucili w promce. Efekt? Trzeba sobie samemu organizować czas i tutaj naprzeciw oczekiwaniom millenialsowych konsumentów wychodzi Foxgames, z serią jednoosobowych erpegów.
Właściwie hasło reklamowe zamiast “Bohaterem jesteś ty” mogłoby brzmieć: “Nie potrzebujesz już kolegów”, ani kostki do turlania, ale o tym potem. O co właściwie chodzi? Kto chociaż raz grał w tradycyjnego papierowego erpega od razu załapie z czym to się je i jakich sztućców będzie potrzebował i może śmiało pominąć ten akapit.
Jeśli jednak jesteście z tych, co to myślą, że RPG to taki inny rodzaj LPG, to już śpieszę z wyjaśnieniem (bardzo skrótowym), że RPG (gry fabularne), to rodzaj gier książkowych - opowieści - w których wcielasz się w stworzoną sobie postać, nadajesz jej określone cechy i tak dalej, a potem rzucasz się w wir przygody - za pomocą kostek rozwiązujesz zadania, walczysz z potworami i tak dalej. Sama opowieść rozwija się w zależności od wyborów graczy, ich sukcesów lub porażek. Nad przebiegiem rozgrywki czuwa mistrz gry, który prowadzi bohaterów po growym świecie i rozstrzyga spory i kwestie związane z zasadami. Erpegi zazwyczaj dzieją się w świecie fantasy, czyli na swojej drodze spotykamy magów elfów, smoki, barbarzyńców i tak dalej, zdarzają się też historie osadzone w lovecraftowskim świecie Cthulhu, czy w cyberpunkowych klimatach.
“Klu” powyższego wywodu jest takie, że żeby bawić się w gry fabularne potrzeba więcej, niż jednego gracza, a w gry Fighting Fantasy bawi się samemu - chociaż niekoniecznie, o czym jeszcze napiszę.
W odróżnieniu od większości gier z serii Fighting Fantasy, “Dom pełen zła”, jest grą/powieścią grozy a nie fantasy. Czy straszy? Piszę te słowa, po rozgrywce, co oznacza, że na atak serca podczas czytania nie zszedłem, tym niemniej klimacik jest i przy niewielkim przymrużeniu oka można wsiąknąć w rozgrywkę. O grozę przyprawia za to coś innego: poziom trudności rozgrywki. Moja pierwsza rozgrywka w “Dom” wyglądała tak: Przeczytałem dobrze napisaną instrukcję jak zacząć, stworzyłem swoją postać, i zacząłem czytać i niemal natychmiast poległem. Drugie i trzecie podejście wyglądały zresztą tak samo, a to wykończył mnie zombiak, który wyszedł z szafy, a to coś, co zobaczyłem w ogrodzie ponurego domiszcza pełnego zła śmiertelnie mnie wystraszyło. Uwierzcie. Nie ma szans przejść tej gry za pierwszym razem, lepiej uzbrójcie się w cierpliwość i nastawcie na przynajmniej dwa wieczory pełne napięcia i frustracji, i szczyptę satysfakcji, gdy wreszcie uda wam się “Dom pełen zła” przejść, czując się przy tym jak Tom Cruise w “Na skraju jutra” (tutaj pro tip: rysujcie sobie mapę, albo jakoś inaczej oznaczajcie sobie trasę po domu - możecie sypać okruszki, rozwijać nić, cokolwiek, ale róbcie notatki, bo osiwiejecie.)
Gdzieś hen, na początku tego tekstu napisałem, że nie potrzebujecie do rozgrywki kostek i to prawda, bo na stronach są nadrukowane losowe wyniki rzutu dwiema kostkami, ale o wiele przyjemniej grać przy ich pomocy, ewentualnie z apką symulującą rzut kośćmi (jest ich pełno w google play). Paradoksalnie też, w grę typowo jednoosobową przyjemnie gra się w duecie i wstyd się przyznać, ale gdyby nie moja uporządkowana narzeczona, to chyba sam nigdy bym tego nie przeszedł, a tak ja czytałem, ona notowała i razem podejmowaliśmy decyzję - jak na przykładny związek przystało, kłóciliśmy się naprawdę rzadko i tylko raz podczas gry zagroziła mi wyprowadzką (to znaczy ja się miałem pakować).
Z “Domem” spędziłem naprawdę miłe, choć nieco stresujące godziny i uważam, że jest to naprawdę dobre alternatywne źródło roz(g)rywki, szczególnie na długie depresyjne jesienne wieczory bo na pewno podniesie wam ciśnienie. Jeśli miałbym coś temu wydawnictwu, czy może bardziej serii zarzucić, to możliwa powtarzalność i nuda rozgrywki. Nie wiem czy to nie jest jedna z tych gier, gdzie, gdy zagrasz w jedną to jakbyś zagrał we wszystkie i tu paradoksalnie największa zaleta, czyli jednoosobowa rozgrywka może stać się jej największą wadą, wszak tak jak piwo najlepiej smakuje w towarzystwie, tak w gry najlepiej grać z przyjaciółmi, kiedy już znajdą czas, a póki co notes i kostki w dłoń - zapraszam do “Domu pełnego zła”.
Za możliwość kilkugodzinnej frustracji z "Domem pełnym, zła" dziękuję Klubowi Recenzenta portalu nakanapie.pl -
This is definitely a classic gamebook. I wasn't able to get very far in it at all as a child, but have persevered till I cracked it this time round. It's very hard and there are several instances where a wrong turning will doom you. However, unlike most others, this book plays with your mind, offering a series of further choices, every single one of which will ultimately lead you to an unavoidable death. This means that you may play through a particular series of rooms several times till you realise that the whole damn section is a huge red herring! It's so effective and so well done that it adds to the atmosphere of horror instead of being frustrating.
As I began to discover - and finally completed - the optimum path, it was actually very easy and all of the encounters along that path were fair. It's just so easy to get led astray from the true path!
The story is a Dennis Wheatley / Hammer horror style of affair, akin to 'The Devil Rides Out', with blood sacrifice and demons in a manor house in which you are forced to spend the night after a car crash. All of the archetypes are there: the creepy butler, the hunchback, the suave but sinister host. Plenty of cultists, ghosts and other horrors too.
In order to win, you need to find the Kris Knife, and it's pretty well hidden. You can't locate it by chance, you need to handle two key encounters in a specific way in order to acquire a password and the location of a particular secret door. Oh yes, this house is riddled with secret doors and passages! This makes it very difficult to map, which is awkward, as this book really needs to be effectively mapped for future replays. After finding the same room appearing in two or three different places on my map as I got lost and took secret passages, I found the most effective method to be mapping my choices instead of trying the impossible task of mapping the rooms.
A great read, very effective and compelling, but be prepared to die often in horrible ways before discovering the correct route. -
I may have read all of these books as a kid, but this one was the most memorable. I remember the first time I watched the Rocky Horror Picture Show, I kept thinking of this book, Lord Kelnor, the Earl of Drumer, entertaining me, his guest of circumstance. I still vividly remember all of the demonic room names as well as how to "win" this book adventure.
-
Dean Kootz goes Fighting Fantasy
23 June 2012
When I was a kid I did read this but found that this book was not only quite hard but also of a genre that I was not particularly interested in. Personally I really do not like the horror genre, particularly when the genre involves haunted houses and ghosts. However this is not a typical horror story like Dean Kootz would write, but rather it is a game book using the horror genre as a background.
It appears that the writers of the gamebooks (Steve Jackson that is) has decided to move back to the experimental stage with this book and I must admit that it is actually really well done. As I am now reading through my collection of Fighting Fantasy books again, it is my intention not to actually skip any of them (unless of course I do not have a copy and am finding it very difficult to get my hands on one, but I doubt that that will happen until I reach the mid to high 40s). So when I picked this one up expecting it to be one of the less impressive ones that I have to read I was really surprised.
The book is set in the modern day, possibly England (and since the authors are English this is not surprising) during a dark and stormy night (what do you expect from a horror story). Your car breaks down and the only house nearby is an old run down mansion, and since it is raining heavily, you make your way to the mansion for shelter. Unfortunately this mansion is owned by a very nasty person who is a member of a very nasty cult, and upon entering the house you discover that not only must you survive the night and escape unharmed, you must also defeat the 'master' of the house.
Jackson introduces the fear score in this book, something that has been used with other games of the similar genre. No longer can you play the fearless character because things happen that cause your fear to go up, and if it reaches a certain level, you die of fright. I have seen this used in the Dungeons and Dragons Ravenloft setting, and Call of Cthulu used something similar called the insanity score. I feel that Cthulu's system is a little more realistic since if you are metaphorically scared to death you are much more likely to go insane than to actually 'die of fright' but that is a moot point.
This book is actually quite tricky, and like a number of other books, if you make the wrong decision it can prevent you from completing the adventure, though you will not know that until much further in. Further, there are a couple of rooms (the Kitchen and the Ceremonial Chamber) that if you enter there is basically no way to escape. The house is quite small, and also quite mappable, though the trick with the book is that the house is inhabited and you cannot alert anybody to your presence. You also start of with no weapons, meaning that you have to find something to defend yourself with while exploring the house.
A couple of hints to help you successfully finish the book. It is best to go in through the front door and examine the paintings on the wall. One warns you not to drink the white wine, and when you go to dinner you are given choices of what to eat. While the white wine is obvious, it applies to all of the food, and the hint is do not eat anything that is 'white' (cheese, duck). You will not be drugged and you will meet the hunchback (do not attack him). Secondly, the best way into the cellar is through the trap in the drawing room namely because you meet the hunchback again and he will give you a hint to what the password is.
The book uses numbers hidden in the text to complete the adventure (though some, such as the pentagram, are red herrings, there are a lot in this book) and there are certain places that you have to go to. However the one thing I did not like about the book is that you do not get to free the prisoners in the cellar. When you kill the master you run out of the house and it burns down. This is a shame because there is an hysterical woman in the basement who is basically a damsel in distress, and it would have been good if you could have killed the bad guy, rescued the girl, and then lived happily ever after. -
Сюжетът на “Къща от Ада” е класически – колата ти се поврежда посред нощ в средата на нищото и излизаш да търсиш помощ. Скоро намираш стара, голяма и на вид неподдържана къща, в която обаче изглежда живее някой. Когато ти отварят биваш поканен на гости от аристократичния граф Дръмър. Той е изключително любезен и въпреки късния час разпорежда да ти приготвят вечеря. Скоро обаче разбираш, че в дома му става нещо много нередно и ако искаш да оцелееш, ще трябва да победиш злото в Къщата от Ада…
Цялото ми ревю може да прочетете в Цитаделата:
https://citadelata.com/%d0%ba%d1%8a%d... -
If the truth is to be known, these books are fun at first. Sadly, however, they quickly grow old.
If you have experienced one of these kinds of books you have experienced them all. Whilst the stories differ, the effect they have upon a person is the same across the board. You have fun for a while and then they are put aside.
It is okay to pick up one or two throughout your life but I would not recommend going out of your way to buy them en masse. As for which one(s) you pick up… well, that is a choice only you can make. -
House of Hell by Steve Jackson (UK) is perhaps the only Fighting Fantasy gamebook set on what is probably our Earth, rather than the world of Allansia, Orb or one of the others not explicitly named in the series of books. This is a refreshing change, as being set in our own world adds to the tension as you explore a mansion filled with terrifying creatures and events.
Most Fighting Fantasy readers, including myself, have fond memories of House of Hell, though we remember it being difficult to complete; almost impossibly so (it isn't impossible though; with careful mind-mapping, I was able to plot the best route through the adventure, and it is entirely achievable). The structure of the house is smart, one of Steve Jackson's best map designs, though the inability to turn around and head back in certain directions does place some restrictions upon you that may lead you into premature failure. House of Hell also has one of the most satisfying endings of any Fighting Fantasy gamebook, being in part due to conquering the book's difficulty, but also just because the writing feels satisfying (which isn't always the case with the endings included in other books in this series).
House of Hell isn't perfect, sadly; not by a long shot. There are some genuine annoyances and pet hates of mine present:
* There are times after you explore a room and wish to exit that the book will ask you which direction you came in to enter the room. While this is to determine which way you will naturally exit, it's a bit silly on two counts; 1) the reader isn't always likely to remember which exact direction (left or right) they came from because the descriptions on the upper floor of the mansion can get confusing as the paths turn around on themselves, and 2) there's no logical reason not to allow the reader to leave out of one door or the other by choice, rather than forcing them along a linear path.
* You are forced to fight a battle at one point, but upon winning it, you then die in the very next section. Forcing a reader to perform a combat engagement and then killing them immediately afterwards could be seen by some as annoying and unnecessary.
* You are asked to subtract stamina points or other attribute points, only to be killed immediately on the very next section. Perhaps it's just because I'm poor, but I don't really want to waste my pencil changing a stat that I'm just going to have to redo seconds later because my character was killed.
* There is a statistic in the book called 'Fear' which will rise when your character experiences certain terrifying things. This is a neat mechanic, but I discovered upon mapping the book out that there is a specific minimum fear amount you need to finish the book, even if you take the best and safest route through. This means if you roll poorly for Fear when you roll up your character, you are basically dead before you have even started.
* I spotted instances of glaringly-obvious 'padding' in the book, which is when the author doesn't quite have enough material to make the full 400 sections usually featured in a Fighting Fantasy book. For example, at one stage, you hear somebody approaching the room you are in and are asked if you wish to hide beside the door or do something else. If you choose to do something else, you are asked again if you want to hide beside the door (which sends you to the exact same section number as the previous option for hiding beside the door) or hide somewhere else in the room. This is basically a duplicate of the last option and appears to have been written this way to waste a section number deliberately. It doesn't ruin the book, and sometimes padding is necessary to round out the numbers in a gamebook, but there are a couple of other areas which could have benefited from that spare section number.
* To defeat the final enemy you need to find a specific magical weapon. The book then tells you the weapon adds 6 SKILL during the final battle, but as you probably have a weapon by that stage which already has you at your initial/maximum SKILL, it means you get no benefit from this supposedly powerful item. I believe it may have been the author's intention that the weapon adds 6 to ATTACK STRENGTH instead, which would make more sense and make the weapon less useless in the final battle.
Despite the shortcomings I have rumbled about above, this is still a fantastic (and classic) Fighting Fantasy book with a unique theme and setting. If you collect gamebooks, make sure this one is in your collection, especially if you like a difficult challenge! -
Though I read and enjoyed most of the interactive Fighting Fantasy book series when I was but a lad in my teenage years, 'House of Hades' is the one that I remember most, for two reasons.
First, unlike most of the FF books, which were fantasy role-playing (with a few science fiction stories thrown in for good measure), 'House of Hades' was firmly in the horror category, starting with your character showing up at a spooky old house and becoming trapped within its walls to experience the terrors within. In other words, right up my warped little alley.
Second, it was the most difficult one. Most of the FF books I could figure out pretty quickly, but something about 'House of Hades' stumped me again and again, and I must have traced a path through its pages at least ten times before finishing it to my satisfaction. I'm tempted to find it again to see if I have any better luck as an adult, but I expect I would just embarrass myself.
FF books were some of my favorites as I grew, and this one had to be my favorite of the series. I wasted far too much time figuring it out. -
This book in the serie is a really nice book. It happens in the modern world where you end up against your will in a haunted house. And getting out... alive is a very hard task. I have redone that one a few times because it's really well written and you face horrors after horrors. I've always cheated with these sort of books so I managed to get out of the house. It's quite an adventure!
-
This was a very VERY well written and well concept-ed book. So well that when I read it in my tween years, it gave me nightmares, and I wound up giving the book away as I couldn't bring myself to finish it.
Maybe now I'll find it trite and even cliché, but I remember having to turn on the light to manage to sleep after reading it. -
Despite being more horror than fantasy, this was one of my favourite of the series. I have always loved the idea of immense haunted houses filled with strange worshippers. Indeed, I was even intending to run a roleplaying game based on it (tabletop) and started mapping it - and I shall have to say - this house is massive!
Definitely on the "must re-read" list! -
My favorite Fighting Fantasy Book, by Steve Jackson. Now this story lead me to a room which I will NEVER forget. I was so young at the time. The room was pitch black. A floating head appeared and flew into me knocking me over... It repeated again and again until I told my mother I was having a nightmare haha Great story, and one of the creepiest from the series! Read many times.
-
This was a really fun game book, the writing was decent, albeit a bit cliche and the rpg mechanics well implemented. The main issue I had was that it was a bit too unforgiving and I relied on luck to get anywhere. I'd still reccomend it though, it's an enjoyable horror adventure that is a great way to spend the evening.
-
Um dos mais complicados de ultrapassar!
Sem falar que era dos mais assustadores pois estavamos maioritariamente desarmados. A sensação de terror e de possiblidade de errar era muito maior. -
My favorite from Fighting Fantasy series.
-
Pierwsze podejście do Fighting Fantasy. Dla fanów gier i książek cos koniecznego do spróbowania. Mnóstwo postaci, tajnych miejsc, zmyłek i pułapek prowadzących do śmierci. Dojście do rozwiązania zagadki nie jest proste, a przejście za pierwszym razem chyba niemożliwe. Napewno nie jest to cos dla mniej wytrwałych. Caly czas będziesz ginąc i powracać do tych samych miejsc żeby na końcu przekonać się ze to ślepa uliczka. Bardzo przydatne jest rysowanie map i zapisywanie wszystkiego co wydaje nam siw ze może miec jakieś znaczenie w późniejszym czasie. Bardzo rozbudowana fabuła w której znalazło sie miejsce nawet na mały plot twist. Mimo frustracji w pewnych momentach bawiłam się swietnie i polecam spróbować kazdemu
-
As gamebooks go, this is very badly written.
There are instances where, even after going through the hassle of winning a combat or rolling the dice favourably, you are told in the next section that you die anyway. The story is hardly credible as well. I'm searching some shelves and I turn up a bottle containing an unidentified liquid or something; the book asks me if I want to drink it...who in their right mind does that? Sheesh. After dying several times, I just gave up because it was too ridiculous. -
Fighting Fantasies from my childhood! I forgot about these! Loved them!
-
Despite glowing online reviews, a frusturating maze of unavoidable instadeaths and unecessarily complex navigational schemes. But the atmosphere and narrative aspects are inspired
-
Ok, this is so much fun and I haven't managed not to die yet. I've got the app for iOS. I love the dice rolls as part of the gameplay, which augments the Choose Your Own Adventure aspect. The app itself is worth the money - the graphics are great and there are three modes, but I'm fairly sure I'll have to cheat to win, as with all CYOA games ;) There are bookmarks in the app that you can use, too.
It's a lot of fun and my book group has been playing it all week. Really looking forward to discussing it with them! -
Aaaa! Kilka razy umarłam ze strachu lub poległam w walce z jednym czy drugim potworem 😱
Istna posiadłość szaleństwa🤯
… ginęłam, zaczynałam od nowa i znowu ginęłam 🤣 W starciu ze złem przyda się spora dawka… cierpliwości, bo łatwo nie będzie. Polecam! -
A fordítás miatt egy anagramma elveszett a magyar szövegben, ezért csak próbálgatással vagy csalással lehet túljutni a rejtekajtón Kris késéhez.
-
Adventure to the max!
-
Fun airplane game. Died like twice.
-
The very first survival horror gamebook...
If you're familiar with Steve Jackson's work, you will notice that he likes to experiment, unlike Ian Livingstone who sticks to dungeon crawling and medieval fantasy. This tenth entry of the Fighting Fantasy series is actually the first one set in our modern world. It's also the first horror themed adventure. The result is a truly memorable survival horror experience, although a difficult one...
Unlike other books in the series, you're not an adventurer looking for fame and fortune. You're just a regular person who survived a car accident on a rainy night. After getting out from your vehicule, you seek help and stumble upon a mansion. Once you get inside, you realize that something is wrong about this place...
The writing itself, although not at the level of horror novels, is quite serviceable. The descriptions and dialogues actually manage to induce a feeling of insecurity to the reader. Unlike your typical gamebook set in a medieval fantasy world, House of Hell doesn't try to be a power fantasy. In fact, you start with a -3 skill penalty since you have no weapon. As for the thematic content, the book makes a good use of horror elements, ranging from ghostly apparition to demonic cult and so on. As you explore the house and pick up clues, you learn more about its history and the true nature of its owners.
The most striking aspect about the game design is the logical mapping of the mansion. The place mainly consists of a ground floor, first floor and basement with corridors and rooms identified with names which serve as clues. That being said, bear in mind that the book is quite difficult and plays more like a puzzle to solve than a dungeon crawler as the emphasis is on exploration and less on combat. Not to mention that some instant death paragraphs will only take effect five minutes after choosing the wrong path. An advice of mine... Don't let the hosts at the beginning drug you or knock you down...
One addition to the core rules is the Fear point system that adds up upon every scary encounters. Should you reach your limit, you will be scared to death... in the most literal way! But the thing is that you need to roll at least a 9 for your Fear. Otherwise, you are doomed to fail, which is unfair at times.
Another issue is that the book is not clear on whether the magic knife increase your skill or attack score as we're not allowed to exceed our initial stats. If it is the former, then this would make the magic knife useless and the final encounter insanely hard.
Overall, House of Hell stands among the best Fighting Fighting books. Its creepy atmosphere and well thought flow chart definitely stood the test of time. Being myself a gamer, I see this book as a precursor to Alone in the Dark and Resident Evil.
That being said, I would not recommend this book to newcomers as its difficulty can be frustrating at times. Only experienced readers of the genre will enjoy it!
