Unreal Engine - Completed - Halls of the Pale Widow [v1.0.8] [Krasue Games]

Ok, I wanted to love this game, I really did. But there's too much holding it back, and seeing so many 5 star reviews just confused me. Did we even play the same game? Anyway, here are my thoughts.

Cons:

1) I wanted to praise this game for actually being a game, and not just a sex simulator, but good lord, the grind is ridiculous. Way too little reward, for disproportianately hard work. You get anywhere between 500 to 700 gold depending on how quickly you get 5 keys, but most rewards are 1000 gold and above, and even the 'faster' method used to grind money is not reliable. The main issue however, isn't the gameplay itself, its the GODDAMN-

2) -MAP. Yes. This game would be a dozen times better if the map was actually any good. First, lets talk layout; It sucks ass. Since the map is procedurally generated, it means that the rooms and item locations are random each time. On paper, this seems like a good idea. It's supposed to keep the game fresh, and is a cheap way to add replay value. But the problem, is not the idea, its the execution. You see, not only is the environment incredibly dull-looking, its painfully repetitive; meaning you can't even remember where the fuck you are even if you try. This could be alleviated somewhat if we had some landmarks, or if the mini-map isn't mostly worthless (because the map has 3 stories, and ALL of them overlap on top of each other). The ONLY 3 parts of the map that look distinct at ALL, is the fireplace (has no function in the game), the Nexus (where you start), and the Exit room. Everything else is just the same fucking thing, divided to like 2 colors, green and red. So not only are you confused, running around like a headless chicken desperately praying you find keys, and that you wont run into the Widow, and that you can actually remember where the Exit is if you even find it. Let's be honest here, this game did NOT need to be so frustrating. Instead, I think the game would've benefitted from a much smaller map, and have the player search drawers and whatnot to find the key. Maybe even include a simple 'hide' mechanic if she gets too close. Use the damn wardrobe, or under a bed, or something. But speaking of misc mechanics, let's talk-

3) Purification mode. On the surface, this is simple. Find 2 keys out of 5, find a big-ass golden chest, get the stuff inside, and fight her. Sounds simple right?And then you remember point 2. Where the map is just plain ass. If you lucky, you will find 2 keys in the next room, and the Chest another 2 rooms over. If you're unlucky, you'll be spending just as much time IF NOT MORE, than just finding 5 keys for the exit. Of all the 'upgrades' provided in the shop, I think having a perk that shows all items on your minimap, or increasing your luck for key items to appear closer to your starting location, or even having a fucking passive ability to generate more gold would've been good. Because at the end of the day, your fate is decided by RNGesus. And that's one driver you DONT want behind the wheel of your car.

4) The Sex. There's not much to say, and not much to see. I grinded for 3-4 hours, to get the gold for the free mode room, only to find out there's only 6 total animations. Like... wtf... Is that all?

But that's all my anger taken out, so I can at least save a few breaths for the Pros. As much as I've shat on this game so far, there is a good reason I'm still rating it 3 stars.

Pros:

1) I love, absolutely love, the aesthetic design. This shit looks like it could've been a PS1 (or early PS2) game at some point, and the nostalgia is delicious. The Widow also has a pretty decent look, and the jiggle physics certainly help. Overall, I enjoyed how the game looks, or at least tries to look. I also like the variety in the costumes you can unlock, though most are not very sexy imho.

2) While the sex is greatly lacking in number, the dev at least gets the animations right. It features multiple cam angles, which I appreciate, and the animations themselves are quite smooth and pleasing to the eye.

3) Music and SFX is... passable. Nothing special but it doesn't take away from the game either. It does its job well. The chase music gets tiring after awhile, but that applies to all chase music in every horror game ever. The Widow's moans and voice-acting is good; unless she tries to talk cordially, then it just sounds weird. Still, no real complaints in this department.

Overall, I do like this game, but that 'like' is a thumbs up while Im sitting on a bed of thorns and the widow's knife to my nuts. There is so much potential in this game, and I do hope the dev continues moving forward and making even better games, because while this entry is a passing 1st game, it definitely isn't anywhere near polished or competent enough to earn a 5 star review. Heck, it actually deserves a 2, but I gave it 3 because I love the design aesthetic too much.

well I most dont give rewiews but this one deserves it soo much.

I write this for praise the game and for people looking for a strategy to beat the game solid

well first, this game is solid as a horror game and as an H-game. too well planned and balanced but sometimes map design got out of control and throw you a maze even the enemy cannot find you for a long time.

the game has quite a good slide from a horror game into a sex game personally.

the scenes are great, the voice act is great, animations are quite nice


how to beat the game easily
personally, you dont need a cheat engine to unlock everything after you understand how the enemy's AI works

in game you need 5 keys to unlock the door so you can get out but of course the game generates a map for each time so it can be difficult to find them all but sometimes you can find all in a single room (my record is 3 in one room)

or

you need to purify the ghost so you can get out but its 3k so its quite expensive on early game.

how to get money? well each key is 100 point solid and when you win the game you get a good amount of money but that depends on how fast you finished it so try to find as much as key possible for each run even if you think you cannot win.

how the enemy AI works?
well thats quite standart AI actually.

the enemy is informed about your possible location on map by gameitself-> enemy moves to that possible location and look for you->if she cannot detect you she WILL retreat into the spawn point->REPEAT

so when she get close to you you can just hide for a second and she will retreat to her spawn point so once she gone you have tons of time to search around

whats the strategy?
first and most important, BUY THE ENEMY MARKER FOR YOUR MAP (its just 250 point that makes just 3 key)

yes there is a map you can find it by pressin M

second, can be changed but I highly recomment the treasure radar. its vital to find the items and beat the game

third,starter items for a jump start

from that point you can decide which item you can get. just get these core items , make 3k point and buy the purification set. its by far the most easier way to print money in game.

this part is for the dev: if you read this just know that you made a quite good game not just as a h-game but AS A GAME and I hope we can see your future works quite soon

Excellent entry from Krasue. Fairly balanced and keeps you on your toes. I especially liked her teasing the player 'aww did you get scared?'.
-Yes ma'am this is a scariest moment of my life.
Her teases and calls even though there are few add A LOT to enjoyment of this character. There is a real sense of progression with each victory and failure. Unlocking outfits, gadgets and stats really lets you enjoy each run more and more

If his second game was a mix of Lethal Company and Devil May Cry 3, then it’s literally a piece of Lethal Company. The building is essentially a mansion with the same layout (minus the kitchen). Instead of loot you find keys, and in place of a shotgun there’s a pendant.

Halls of the Pale Widow is absolutely brilliant, one of the best games I've had the joy of playing on this site.

Balances the horror and the horny aspects perfectly, with unlockables like outfits, nudity and sex mechanics which keep the gameplay constantly fresh and rewarding - and about 6 sex scenes in total iirc, ranging from blowjobs to doggy etc!

I'd highly recommend it along with Krasue's latest game, Sin Spire, which ups the ante even more!

This game was sort of fun, but not much more. I think as an H-game, i was too panic-stricken, reeling from being chased through the maze, juking a mad bitch with fat tits and a knife, and thus the sexual scenes didn't have much of an effect on me. The gameplay loop and the sex scenes aren't complimentary. The scenes were too sparse, too difficult to get a hold of to be considered good. And so you end up with a gameplay loop that gets boring pretty quick, and sex scenes that aren't rewarding enough for the gameplay loop. That's pretty much all there is to it.

current ver. as of review is v.1.0.8
game is complete and dev has moved on to their next project, so likely final update in all senses

GENERAL:
a stealth collectathon roguelike with multiple avenues of defeating the stalker character, a points system with a shop that allows you to buy equipment/upgrades, and a gallery


GAMEPLAY:
you're dropped into a procedurally-generated mansion map with the goal being to collect a set of keys and escape. you're scored at the end of the round based on keys collected, time spent, etc. and awarded points that you can use to buy items and upgrades, one of the more important ones being that you have to unlock the sex scenes in the first place.

it's a straightforward keyhunt horror game. the stalker wanders the map while you search for 5 keys, you can use items like a radar that temporarily reveals item locations, holy water that stuns the widow, etc. the widow will give chase if she sees you but has terrible peripheral vision meaning you can just glue yourself to her ass and follow her around if you want.

upgrades mainly include things like health/stamina upgrades, a "hot/cold" meter for how close you are to essential items, and even a pile of items in the starting room to make your runs that much easier. the most important upgrade is "purification"- giving you an alternative ending where you only need 2 keys and a medallion to open a box containing a means to actually defeat the widow. this of course unlocks some extra sex content as well.


SEX CONTENT:
surprisingly good for the somewhat low-fidelity style that the dev went for. something like a blowjob doesn't just have the widow make an open mouth while your dick shunts in and out but rather actually has her lips push and pull, not to mention the voicework for the widow herself is great.

after unlocking the sex content via the shop, you get a sex scene when she catches you rather than just having your face stabbed to death. unlocking and using the purification method also gives you a handful of scenes. you can also unlock several costumes for the widow if that's your sort of thing.


OVERALL:
a neat little package deal. it has replayability but doesn't overstay its welcome. has a few well-made sex scenes and solid gameplay that would make this fun for a few hours even without the smut.

Unfortunately the current map makes this nice little game frustrating to play. It pains me to give this such a low score, but the map needs an overhaul to make it more clear which floor the player is located at and where exactly rooms end (currently some of them look merged with rooms from other floors).

I really want to like this game, but if you think about it... it's not worth it.

Games with randomly generated maps can be a double-edged sword. On one hand, the replayability is really cool, but on the other, the map takes you to dead ends all the time and it's incredibly frustrating to get the keys most of the time, especially when you don't have any upgrades unlocked. Sometimes all the keys are in a single room, other times, some are on the other side of the wall and you have to go around the entire scene to try to find it. The map itself isn't very intuitive.

The sex scenes are cool and the crazy woman chasing you is super charismatic... the first few times. The real problem that makes me not recommend it is the absurd GRIND to even unlock these scenes. Maybe you can get past this using Cheat Engine, but I still consider it a very serious problem with the game.

Great game, This precursor to SinSpire by the same creator has great gameplay. My main qualm about it is that the map is too confusing. Also it can get tedious if get lost and get locked in a loop. other than that. I had a great time.

i just discover that i'm into murdering girl's chasing me.
One of the best game i've played so far.
Even whitout the " you are here for that" scene, it's a really good game. Adult content is just cherry on the cake. On my way to discover the next game of the creator.

Good game. Had fun playing it. It's awesome that from some point the reverse rape can become a straight rape, even though it's named different in the game

Some of the game mechanics are not intuitive. I didn't realize there was a map in the game until I've unlocked half of the shop XD. Also I didn't understand how to trigger different animations. There is a free mode though, so it's not a problem in the end.

The animations, the sounds, the gameplay are pretty decent. The widow is dumb though. From some point you get used to her and carelessly sprint-jump though the entire maze almost not paying attention to her. I haven't bought any HP or stamina upgrades in the shop. They are not needed at all.

Nice little game. The progression isn't really my thing though. Horror enjoyers might have more patience than I do.

Gameplay
You're trapped in a randomly generated mansion with a murderous waifu hunting you. Find the keys to unlock the exit before she kills you. There's consumables and you can buy permanent upgrades with money you get from an escape attempt.
A solid core but I'm missing the motivation to keep playing. I managed to escape on my first attempt. Some of the upgrades are nice but not really necessary. I'd love some modifiers for the map or the widow to give me a different challenge. As it is, I will keep it to my one play through.

H
Really nice scenes. If you can get to them that is.
H content has to be unlocked via the upgrade shop. And it's not cheap. So you need to play the game for quite a bit to see any H content. That is certainly a decision for an H game.
The scenes are only at the end of a run and only for the bad end and the purification end. Or you unlock free play where you can watch them at your leasure.
There are lots of cosmetics but they are all very expensive.

A must play if you're into horror erotic games. Great atmosphere, hot girl and the sex scenes feel rewarding. A bit buggy but still miles better than most of the slop on this website. Highly reccomend trying it out.

A small game that is good at what it does. (And sex feels more rewarding after being killed a dozen times). Mechanics are simple yet engaging. A real gem, given that it was developed in less than a month.

Game has gameplay; already this is one of my top games

It offers a fun experience (as far as a dungeon crawler horror game goes), and the progression is solid—as long as you get the "Purification" upgrade as fast as possible. The replayability is not bad either: the movement tech and speedrunning possibility of the game keeps me coming back even with free mode and most costumes unlocked

The sex scenes are not bad either, the game has a nice style that it sticks to, and there is decent variation in scenes (2 defeat, 4 victory [Though I have no idea how to get the cowgirl scene—I'm not even sure if it's possible in regular play])

Sound design is alright, but I had to do some fiddling with the mixing to get it to sound okay. Some things though: The chase music becomes grating at times, and her duck feet footstep noises are REALLY funny

Only nitpick is perhaps the map: I suppose every floor being overlaid on top of one another does lend a certain horror, but it sometimes is a pain to work with

(Also, if the dev can make the bloodied cosmetic work with the healthy cosmetic—my life would be complete)

TL;DR game really good for what it is: fun arcade-y spooky time waster

Looking forward to the other work they put out!

There should be more games like this. Loved it. Good animations and gameplay features. A little gard at the start but after unlocking some items it becomes easier. I'm really looking forward the developer's next game. Bravo!

I found this game by chance and i was not disapointed ! the retro style made is so unique and the s*x scene are very well rendered. I am not very fan of the horror game but i love horror girls so i can handle them, or be caught...

Albeit frustrating at first, it's a lot of fun as you make progress.

It feels like you're in a sexy purgatory. I love it.

I hope future games will include more depth, like pages to fill out her lore and the like.

This game is so fire, great voice acting, great scenes and actually fun gameplay; this is the ideal erotic game imo. Has completely no story but I dont think this game was made with the intention of being anything more than "le woman chases you around with le knife" type of game. What you see is what you get and its short and sweet, if every game on here was as good as this then I would drown in CUM.