Stealth horror Horror escape Haunted house Short horror

The Butler

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Find twelve keys before the butler finds you, and think before you lie to him.

Platforms: PC
Stores: itch.io
Price: Free
Rated: 4.0/5 from 10 ratings on itch.io; 4.3/5 from 26 votes on Jay is Games
Length: about half an hour (the itch.io page's average session)
Players: 1
Controls: Keyboard and mouse; Q and E to answer the butler's questions.
Made by: André Bray, Cristina Mahneke, Jonathan Chouinard and Shea Galley
Released: 2018

What frightens Trapped in a dark mansion, you hunt for a dozen keys while a green-faced butler with a lantern stalks the halls looking for you. He keeps asking where you are: tell the truth and he helps, lie and he teleports you to the place you claimed, often right into his path.
Content: jumpscares.

The Butler is a free first-person horror game made in 48 hours for the MoJam game jam in 2018. You are trapped in a mansion and need twelve keys to escape, while the butler searches the house for you and keeps asking where you are, rewarding the truth and punishing lies.

About The Butler

The Butler was made in 48 hours for the MoJam game jam in April 2018 by André Bray, Cristina Mahneke, Jonathan Chouinard and Shea Galley, on the jam's theme of Truth or Dare. It is a free download for Windows on itch.io, made in Unreal Engine.

You wake in a dark mansion with no explanation. The way out is locked, and twelve keys are hidden around the house, in libraries, dining rooms and a cellar under the stairs. The butler, a green-faced figure in a tailcoat carrying a lantern, is looking for intruders and is faster than you.

His twist is the questions. Every so often he asks where you are, and you have a few seconds to answer. Tell the truth and he lights up an object that helps you find a key. Lie and, as Jay is Games describes, he teleports you to the place you claimed, making your answer true. Say nothing and he slows you down. Since a teleport can also carry you somewhere useful, deciding when to lie becomes part of the plan.

It is short and simple, a jam game without an options menu, and one player on itch.io describes dying many times before learning the house. It suits players who like games such as Granny, where you search a house for a way out while one stalker hunts you.

How to play The Butler

Download The Butler free from its itch.io page and run it on Windows.
Explore the mansion in first person and pick up the keys; the counter shows how many remain.
When the butler asks where you are, answer with Q or E before time runs out, or stay silent.
Tell the truth to have him light up a helpful object, or lie to be teleported to the place you named.
Keep away from the butler, and leave once all twelve keys are found.

Screenshots

The Butler title screen over a dark library, with Keys Remaining 12 and MoJam, April 2018 credits

The butler asks Dear friend, are you in the basement? with Q and E answers and a timer, beside shelves of books

A dark dining room of tall-backed chairs as the butler says You play well, I'll help you out, and an object is lit up

A dim cellar with a brick staircase, boxes and barrels

Tips

Learn the layout early; one itch.io player says it took many deaths to get your bearings.
A truthful answer lights up an object, so look around after you answer honestly.
A lie can be a shortcut: naming a room you have not searched sends you straight there.
Staying silent slows you down, so avoid it when the butler is close.
The game has no options menu, and its makers say it uses a lot of dynamic lighting, so older PCs may struggle.

Questions

Is The Butler free?

Yes. It is a free download for Windows on itch.io.

How long is The Butler?

Its itch.io page gives an average session of about half an hour.

What happens if you lie to the butler?

He teleports you to the place you said you were. Telling the truth makes him light up a helpful object, and not answering slows you down.

Who made The Butler?

André Bray, Cristina Mahneke, Jonathan Chouinard and Shea Galley, for the MoJam game jam in April 2018. Other games share the name; this one is the free jam game on itch.io.