The Excavation of
Hob's Barrow

The Excavation of Hob's Barrow (2022) is a point-and-click horror adventure where you unravel a dark mystery in the Yorkshire moors. You investigate locations for clues, talk to the strangely hostile locals, and solve puzzles to gain their favour. It stands out for its unusual historical folklore setting that combines haunting locations and paranormal elements playing on Victorian superstitions to create an unsettling yet thrilling story.

---

You play Thomasina Bateman, an antiquarian from 19^th-century London who is invited to the moors of Yorkshire to investigate the barrow (burial mound) of a mysterious figure called Hob. When you arrive in the nearby town, however, you find the person who invited you is nowhere to be found, nor is your assistant, who was set to follow you up the next day. You find the villagers to be hostile and unfriendly and set about unravelling the many mysteries and terrors lurking at every turn.

Play involves searching each location for clues and items and talking to characters to learn new information. As you play, you piece together bits of information and slowly gain the trust of some of the villagers. At each new location, things seem to take a more grim turn, and the unease is highlighted by animated extreme close-ups of the characters' faces that show the tension and terror in each. Eventually, things come to a head as you learn the truth, and you enter the barrow.

The result is a game that combines classic point-and-click gameplay with a dark old English folklore-inspired story to create an experience that's simultaneously gripping and unsettling.

---

Our examiner, Andy Robertson, first checked The Excavation of Hob's Barrow 5 months ago. It was re-examined by Ellen Robertson and updated 4 weeks ago.