Hello,

I recently watch (again) The Ninth Gate, and I thought how great would it be if there would some adventure games out there that capture (close, I hope) the general feeling of the movie.

I am not looking to a game with the same title, but maybe some titles that share the same theme. You know - not the obvious and boring supernatural, just hints and clues that keeps you tense while playing.

I recently finished a game (which I found in an old box at my friend's home!) that I had no knowledge of - The Black Mirror. It turned out to be quite interesting, but it was close to that sort of feeling some un-natural forces watching you, while living in a modern world, but it's not quite the same as the feeling of TNG.

I was thinking about Gray Matter, but I don't know whether I should buy it or no, or even if it's remotely connected to what I am looking for.


Any adventure game masters out there that could point me in the right direction please?

Thank you !

"The Ninth Gate" was an incredibly well-done movie, you're setting the bar pretty high. :)

Take a look at "Scratches", available here on GOG. It feels more like a Ghost / Haunted House story, but it plays in a contemporary setting and there is a feeling that something supernatural is going on.

"Gray Matter" is not as dark or tense as "The Ninth Gate". There are supernatural elements, and I like the game a lot, but the focus is more on "detective story".

"Black Mirror" has two sequels, which might be worth a look. They were done by a completely different team and I think they aren't quite as great as the original (which I liked a lot), but they are solid point&click adventures.

^ This (Beat me to it) :)

EDIT: The Ninth Gate is a great movie and enjoy watching it from time to time.

Sanitarium - less supernatural and more psychological horror, but a great one nonetheless; isometric point and click

Gabriel Knight series - the first game is a great gothic horror with a good mix of the supernatural and real history (r.e. voodoo). The sequels follow a similar structure but tackle different material; third-person point and click

Amnesia: The Dark Descent - this game is all of your fears of the dark and unknown put into one incredibly tense experience; first-person with full 3D environments (e.g. move around like an FPS)

Scratches - very Lovecraftian; tense and very deliberate pacing that builds and builds; first-person slideshow gameplay

Dracula 3: The Path of the Dragon

It may seem a bit surprising but trust me, it fits well to your description. Sure, for us, gamers, it's pretty obvious that Dracula does exist in this series but the main character, a catholic priest, does not believe in vampires. He is sent to Vladoviste to investigate a life and death of a doctor because local church authorities claim she should be canonized.

As you can imagine he starts to experience a lot of anomalies, people tell him strange stories and he has mysterious dreams...

The best thing is that supernatural is not bluntly thrown at you in this game. Your main task is to analyze numerous documents, talk with different people, search for clues and solve elaborate puzzles. Most of the time our good priest will actually find proofs that vampirism is just a myth but at the same time he will get a feeling that there is something else going on... something elusive... something incredibly well concealed... concealed by a sentient being. And it's teasing him. Teasing to follow this path... the Path of the Dragon...

As much as Dracula 1 and 2 are typical adventure games about human vs vampire struggle the third one is one of the best games I've ever played. I was in awe how marvelous this story was and how well it was told. Puzzles are hard but it gives a lot of satisfaction to solve them. And in a sense - some of them are quite similar to "The Ninth Gate". For example you'll be shown a few copies of the same painting and only by analyzing the differences between them you'll be able to solve some puzzles (trust me, it was not a spoiler, one character will directly explain that you have to do so but she won't give you an actual answer and neither did I so don't worry - I didn't spoil anything)

I can't recommend it strong enough!

You can get this game as a part of Dracula Trilogy

Well, I am going to suggest perhaps an odd title : http://www.mobygames.com/game/still-life

It's not heavy on the supernatural espect, if at all, but somehow I feel that it has the same creepy/horror theme going. Puzzles are a bit on the tough side though :P

I'm incredibly sorry though, but seeing as you are officially asking for an adventure game I cannot leave without suggesting the best adventure game ever made, nay the best game ever made [ imo of course :) ]
http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/blade-runner

Dark Fall: The Journal possibly.
And I second Scratches.

I'm not sure that Gabriel Knight 2 and 3 fit the description quite as well as does the first, at least as I recall them: they're all investigative mysteries, but it's only with the first that I recall that sense of a powerful, hidden supernatural presence watching malignly from the background.

The second game in particular I recall as a little quieter, the danger more... personal, I suppose, than was the case in the first game.

As to the Ninth Gate, wow, it's been quite some time since last I saw it! I recall it being rather good. ^_^

I think Darkness Within: In Pursuit of Loath Nolder should fit the bill (You'll find it on , [url=http://www.shinyloot.com/darkness-within-1-in-pursuit-of-loath-nolder]ShinyLoot and GamersGate).

It's got that Lovecraftian "am I going insane" thing going on, beginning as a detective story (you're tracking down a fugitive). I'd echo what Ghorpm said about Dracula 3 here (actually, quite a few things) - the supernatural isn't "in your face", but subtly done to keep you guessing. I think You'd get that familiar vibe You're looking for here.

Gameplay wise (apart from good ol' exploration/puzzle based adventure gaming) there's lots of notes, documents, books etc. to analyze; one of the puzzle mechanics is about literally finding clues and relevant information in them, combining those with other "thoughts", "deductions" made earlier etc. to further the investigation and connect the dots. I've read this didn't quite work for some folks, but I though it was really well done and satisfying for the most part.

I definitely recommend giving it a shot, one of my faves from the more recent years.

If you like puzzle\adventure games, try Shivers!
(other than Gabriel Knight)

Thank you very much, good folks, for taking time and helping me on my quest!

I won't mark any reply as answer to my question, simply because I think all of them are an answer in their own.

I wasn't exactly a fan of adventure games, but The Ninth Gate combined with The Dark Mirror surely revived the appetite.

At the moment, I have (the ones I think are worth mentioning):
** Syberia and keeping an eye for Syberia 2, but these are mostly for my girl who loves the game (I finished both).
** I also started the other day Beneath a Steel Sky (for the first time) an although I'm at the very beginning I find its humor lovely (just love Joey attitude :-) ).
** Have Gabriel Knight: SoTF here, on GOG, and I read only good things about it.
** Gemini Rue: I watched some fragments of gameplay on YouTube, not to get spoilers, but enough to make an impression - and I like what I see (I heard Primordia is also one heck of a game).

Thank you again !

You can try Post Mortem (the first part of Still Life trilogy). It's a detective story with some occult elements... but is this really something paranormal going on? By the end I wasn't sure.
If you don't mind a bit of action (believe me, I suck at action games and I loved this one) - Deadly Premonition leaves you with many questions about the nature of the game's world (the character is clearly... well, eccentric and you can't be sure about anything he sees or says).
And every fan of horror adventures should try Harvester Games' Downfall and The Cat Lady :) Both have some not-sure-if-paranormal-or-in-character's-head moments.

I think that Post Mortem, while not terrific, is the closest to the 9th Gate style. Because of the setting, of the discreet level of supernatural beliefs, and the vaguely Corso-like protagonist (minus the deviousness, I guess).

After this, I'd put the frogware Holmes series, mostly the Awakening. Also an investigation involving weird cults and beliefs.

And lastly, I suppose, the Gabe Knight.series. Though the style gets farther away. 1st is more Angel Heart. I haven't played the 2nd. 3rd is too sunny for that style.

Also, have you considered reading the Club Dumas ? Ninth Gate is only half of the plot, plus it's a Perez-Reverte and as far as I know all his novels are awesome.

I would highly recommend

- The Dark Fall Trilogy (The Journal, Lights Out and Lost Souls);
- Downfall;
- The Cat Lady;
- Sanitarium;
- Realms of the Haunting;
- Scratches;

and, to an extent (I'm not sure how these will fit with your basic requirements -- different genres and/or subject matter --, but I get a very similar vibe from them, so they might be worth a look into):

- Lone Survivor;
- Deadly Premonition;
- I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream;
- Waxworks;
- Harvester;
- Ether One;
- Dracula Trilogy (especially the amazing Dracula 3);


[EDIT] An honorable mention to

- Alone In The Dark: The New Nightmare;