The House in the Hollow

About The House in the Hollow

The House in the Hollow is a first-person adventure puzzle game from PSINE Studios, released on October 21, 2026. Set in a 1920s Art Deco-inspired manor house, it blends horror, mystery, and occult themes with a story about Francis Barrett, a reclusive magician whose disappearance remains unsolved. As a player, you explore the decaying mansion, uncovering hidden rooms, deciphering cryptic texts, and solving environmental puzzles that tie to Barrett’s experiments. The game emphasizes player choice, with branching consequences affecting how the house reacts to your actions. It’s a slow-burn, atmospheric experience designed for PC, prioritizing narrative and environmental storytelling over combat.

Gameplay

You move through the house methodically, using a point-and-click interface to interact with objects, books, and magical artifacts. Puzzles often involve aligning Art Deco motifs, manipulating clockwork mechanisms, or using Barrett’s occult tools to reveal hidden spaces. The house itself feels alive, walls shift, rooms rearrange, and shadows move unpredictably. Choices like which book to read or which path to take can unlock alternate areas or trigger sudden hostile encounters. Sessions are short but tense, with a focus on discovery and deduction. The soundtrack and visual design amplify the eerie mood, making exploration feel like figuring out a living enigma.

What Players Think

With a 92% critic score and 8.7/10 from PlayPile users, the game is praised for its artistry and atmospheric tension. 68% of players finish the main story, averaging 12.5 hours, though 22% abandon it after 3, 5 hours citing pacing issues. The mood is split: 45% describe it as “hauntingly beautiful,” while 30% call it “overly slow.” Achievement completion sits at 61%, with the hardest unlock (The Hollow’s Truth) requiring a 90% choice accuracy. Reviews highlight the “creepy house design” but note some puzzles feel unintuitive. Pricey at $39.99, it’s seen as a niche pick for fans of narrative-driven horror.

PlayPile's Take

The House in the Hollow is a polarizing but ambitious indie title. It rewards patience with its rich visual design and branching narrative, but its deliberate pacing may frustrate. If you enjoy methodical exploration and occult mysteries, it’s worth the $40 investment. Skip it if you crave fast-paced action or linear storytelling. The 42% of players who earned all achievements prove it’s beatable, but be prepared to backtrack and experiment.

Storyline

Francis Barrett was an English magician and occultist who led a reclusive life, spending most of his time in an isolated manor house. Nestled in a hollow and surrounded by a dense forest, the house was hidden from the world. Little is known about Francis Barrett beyond his authorship of The Magus, a Celestial intelligencer and compendium of occult and magical information. Over the many years since Francis Barrett disappeared, people have attempted, without success, to find the mysterious house and discover what happened to Mr. Barrett. No one can be sure what experiments Francis Barrett performed, or what was conjured up, in that house. Some who have gone searching for the house have never returned.