Mister Jack

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Whitechapel, 1888. Dr. Watson's daughter goes after the Ripper.

Platforms: Browser, PC
Stores: itch.io
Price: Pay what you want
Rated: 4.7/5 from 22 ratings on itch.io; in Scream Jam 2024 it ranked 1st for story and 2nd for sound design out of 558 entries, and 12th for enjoyment
Players: 1
Controls: Mouse: point and click to walk, talk, look and pick things up.
Made by: Duck Made Of Wood, hankworx and LBRTY
Released: 2024

Play on itch.io Scream Jam 2024 entry and results

What frightens In Whitechapel in 1888, after the murder of Mary Ann Nichols, Dr. Watson's daughter Sheila hunts Jack the Ripper through fog, rain and gaslight; you examine mutilated bodies, including one drawn from the newspapers' autopsy reports, follow a figure in a top hat down blood-red alleys and in the end must grab whatever is at hand to fight back. The makers warn of flashing lights and graphic violence.
Content: graphic violence, mutilated corpses, flashing lights.

Mister Jack is a pixel-art point-and-click horror game made for Scream Jam 2024, where it placed 1st for story. Sheila Watson, daughter of Dr. John Watson, sets out to catch Jack the Ripper after the Whitechapel murders of 1888, among foggy streets and mutilated bodies. It plays in the browser or on Windows.

About Mister Jack

Mister Jack is a horror adventure by Duck Made Of Wood, hankworx and LBRTY, made for Scream Jam 2024, where it ranked 1st for story and 2nd for sound design among 558 entries. It is on itch.io for the browser and Windows, with full voice acting, and the makers state that no generative AI was used. They recommend the download over the browser version, which can take a while to load and has some audio bugs.

London, 1888. Sherlock Holmes is dead and Dr. Watson has retired. His daughter Sheila, who studied medicine with him in secret because women could not train as doctors, has read every case file. When Mary Ann "Polly" Nichols is found murdered in Buck's Row, Whitechapel, on 31 August, Sheila decides to catch the killer before more women die.

You walk Sheila through side-view pixel-art rooms, a crowded pub and rain-soaked, foggy streets, question witnesses, examine bodies and courtyards for clues and listen your way through the dark. The makers based every character except Sheila, a mixer and a drunk patron on real people connected to the murders, and drew Annie Chapman's body from the autopsy descriptions printed at the time. In the last part you must grab what you can to fight back.

It is a dark, fictional story inspired by the Ripper murders, with graphic depictions of mutilated corpses. A player compared its look to The Last Door. It suits players who like Victorian horror adventures and true-crime settings.

How to play Mister Jack

Play it in the browser on itch.io, or download it for Windows (recommended by the makers; name your own price).
Click to walk Sheila around and to talk, look at and pick up things.
Part one: ask questions to find out where to find an eyewitness.
Part two: find every clue on the body and in the courtyard.
Part three: listen carefully for clues to find your way; part four: quickly find objects to fight back.

Screenshots

A figure with a lantern stands over a body in thick fog and rain at night

A foggy, rain-swept Victorian street at night with a woman in red, a man and a horse-drawn carriage

Sheila and her father by the fireplace in a red parlour, with the line Death is nothing out of the ordinary in the East End

A Victorian pub with patrons at the bar and tables under bright chandeliers

Tips

Take the download if you can; the makers say the browser version may load slowly and have audio bugs.
Exhaust every line of questioning before moving on.
Play with sound on: the voice acting and sound design carry the story and the third part.

Questions

Is Mister Jack based on a true story?

It is a fictional horror story inspired by the real Jack the Ripper murders of 1888; most of its characters are based on real people, but Sheila Watson is invented.

Is Mister Jack free?

You name your own price on itch.io, including nothing.

Is Mister Jack gory?

Yes. The makers warn of graphic violence, including mutilated corpses, and flashing lights.

How did Mister Jack do in Scream Jam 2024?

It ranked 1st for story and 2nd for sound design out of 558 entries.