Cosmic and Lovecraftian horror Short horror

The Terrible Old Man

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Three robbers, one feeble old man, and a house they should not enter.

Platforms: PC
Stores: Steam
Price: Free
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (89% of 683 reviews)
Players: 1
Controls: Mouse: a traditional point-and-click interface.
Made by: Cloak and Dagger Games
Released: 2019

Not on iPhone or Android. The Terrible Old Man is on Steam and PC. It is not in the Mobile part of the site you came from.

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What frightens Three men of loose virtue overhear in a tavern about a rich, feeble old man in the town of Kingsport and plot to take his treasures. Through unsettling hand-drawn scenes, you follow the robbery to the old man's house, where the candlelit window shows shelves of strange bottles, and Lovecraft's story of what waits inside plays out.
Content: mild graphic violence, alcohol use.

The Terrible Old Man is a short, free point-and-click adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's story by Cloak and Dagger Games. Three thieves in a tavern hear of a rich old man in Kingsport and plan to rob him, in unsettling hand-drawn scenes that lead to his door.

About The Terrible Old Man

The Terrible Old Man was first made in 30 days for the MAGS game jam in 2015 and re-released on Steam in October 2019 by Cloak and Dagger Games, with polished graphics, more content, new music and achievements. It is free.

It follows Lovecraft's short story closely. Three men of loose virtue are drinking in a local tavern when they overhear the story of a rich and feeble old man who lives in town. They plan to take his treasures, and one night they drive to his house.

You play it as a traditional point-and-click adventure, talking, looking and walking the robbers through the tavern and the dark streets of Kingsport. The art is hand drawn and deliberately unsettling, with sallow faces and dim rooms, and animated cut scenes tell the rest of the story. The fear is quiet and old-fashioned: the dread of a house you should not break into, and a short sharp end.

It suits players who like Lovecraft adaptations and short point-and-click horror, and anyone who wants a free evening's story.

How to play The Terrible Old Man

Download it free from Steam.
Click on people and objects to look at and talk to them in the tavern.
Follow the robbers' plan through Kingsport by choosing where to go and what to use.
Watch the animated cut scenes as the night reaches the old man's house.

Screenshots

The Terrible Old Man screenshot: three robbers by an old car beside a stone wall and green gate on a dark Kingsport street

The Terrible Old Man screenshot: a sallow man asks What do you think of Kingsport? in a lamplit tavern

The Terrible Old Man screenshot: three grim men drive through the night in an old car

Tips

Look at everything in each scene; descriptions add to the story's mood.
Read the original Lovecraft story after playing to see how closely it follows it.
It is short, so play it in one sitting with the lights low.