Black Rose

About Black Rose

Black Rose is a first-person survival horror game made and published by Sir Bedlam Productions. It came out free on Steam for Windows in March 2016.

You play Linda, an ordinary young woman who has heard that an old, secluded funeral home is haunted. Many of the people who worked there disappeared, and the rumour is that they were murdered. She goes to see for herself, and soon after she gets inside, things go wrong.

You move through the building with only a flashlight: wallpapered visitation rooms, stone stairways down to the basement, a cold room lined with body drawers. Notes left by the old staff tell of a lockdown system and safety-glass windows that seem built to keep something in rather than out. You collect items and clues to open the way forward, and force jammed doors by ramming them.

The twist is its score. You earn Close Calls by getting near the enemy without being caught, so the counter in the corner climbing is your warning that it is right behind you. The store warns that the first enemy is volatile and catches you quickly if you stay close too long, and its screenshots show a pale woman with glowing eyes waiting at the end of a hall. Players describe chases you survive by keeping your distance until the threat leaves, and checkpoints spaced far apart, so being caught can cost a lot of progress.

The game has a timed mode and a story mode that puts more weight on the funeral home's history. It suits players who want an old-school free jump scare game in a dark building and who do not mind some trial and error.

How to play Black Rose

1. Add Black Rose to your library free on Steam and install it on Windows.
2. Choose timed mode or story mode from the menu.
3. Explore the funeral home with your flashlight, reading notes and picking up items that open the way on.
4. When something appears, keep moving and keep your distance; your score rises while it is close.
5. Hold Space to force jammed doors, and press on to the next checkpoint.

Tips

• Watch the score in the corner: when it starts climbing, the enemy is close even if you cannot see it.
• Do not chase a high score with the first enemy; the store warns it catches you fast if you stay near too long.
• Read every note; the workers' letters point to what to look for next.
• Checkpoints are far apart, so take your time between them rather than rushing into the dark.
• Set your screen and audio options before you start a run.

Questions