Shivers II: Harvest of Souls

About

Shivers II: Harvest of Souls is a point-and-click adventure where you figure out a desert town’s dark secrets to rescue your friends. After a rock band accepts mysterious financial help from a masked figure named Darkcloud, the town of Cyclone, Arizona, descends into chaos. People vanish, supplies run dry, and your friends are trapped, literally turned into petroglyphs. You arrive to find an empty, eerie town and a single message: “Only a warrior can free them.” The game tasks you with locating twelve hidden prayer sticks (bahos) scattered across the town and canyon. Each puzzle you solve brings you closer to uncovering Darkcloud’s identity and halting his sinister plan. The interface is straightforward, but the environmental puzzles and inventory challenges demand careful observation and logic. The game’s strength lies in its unsettling atmosphere and gradual reveal of its myth-based lore. Cyclone feels genuinely isolated, with abandoned buildings and cryptic clues hinting at a curse tied to the land’s history. While the story leans into familiar Sierra tropes, the blend of supernatural mystery and time pressure keeps it engaging. Community forums note its dated graphics but praise the clever use of audiovisual puzzles linked to the band’s music. With no modern remaster, it remains a niche pick for fans of 90s point-and-clicks that prioritize brainpower over action.

Storyline

The game starts with the player checking into a motel in the sleepy town of Cyclone, Arizona. Upon entering the motel, the player is greeted by a rather unfriendly clerk who hands them a message that reads: 'I have your friends, only a warrior can free them.' The player walks into their room, sets down their bags and goes to bed. Once the player drifts to sleep, they have a strange dream involving a car wreck and a dead body. Once awake, the player is free to explore the town. The player will quickly discover that their immediate goal is to find the twelve bahos (prayer sticks) scattered throughout the town and return them to the sacred kiva in Devil's Mouth Canyon just outside town. The bahos have been hidden by the villain known only as Darkcloud, a mysterious figure who wears a kachina mask, in order to test the player so that they may become "the warrior". The player is assured that once they become "the warrior", they will be able to free the members of Trip Cyclone, who have been transformed into petroglyphs. The player must ultimately deduce the true identity of Darkcloud and discover his actual plan.