Blackwood Manor, a rich and pristine estate from the Victorian era was recently acquired by Michael Arthate, a lone novelist looking for an environment of solitude in rural England to complete his novel. Little does he know of the past that haunts the place but as he walks into the dormant mansion, his paths cross those who lived there through the relics they left behind and he is unwillingly involved in a mystery that goes into the paranormal. The house itself is luxurious in every way. At first glance one realizes the class of educated nobility that lived here. Complete with patterned wallpapers adorned with classic oil paintings framed in mahogany wood and teakwood floors patched with elaborate carpets, antique European furniture tastefully selected for the many rooms of the three tiered house, hand painted vases and polished brass candelabras. But the eerie silence in this place speaks only of tragedy and death. As Michael trifles through books, memos and disintegrating hand written notes, he realizes the house belonged to an explorer whose subject of interest was an African tribe. Living alone the loneliness and past memories haunted him to the brink of madness. Scratches in the night, whispers in the dark and Michel would soon know what his predecessor was relating in his diaries. The gameplay is panoramic i.e. still- painted 360 degree views that lets one stand at a particular point and simply look all around with the mouse, clicking on interactable objects for a closer view or picking them up. Moving around is based on predetermined points each with its own panoramic view. Games such as this usually have the combine-items-and-use-them logic or the traditional contraptions that one has to figure out and Scratches share of traditionalism is not much to talk about. Nothing close to what Myst had to offer. The story continues with Michael exploring the multitude of rooms, reading through volumes of text to reveal the dark secrets that haunt the mansion. His quest to unveil the mystery exposes him to nightmares, shown as visual sequences and posing as the only heart gripping moments of the game. Other than that gameplay itself hasn’t much charm to it, unless one likes to admiringly gaze at aristocratic living conditions artistically exhibited in a 2nd generation graphics engine. Looking at the visuals one feels the old fashioned, grim and depressing atmosphere that the developers have tried to create, but the artwork is not the only thing that is old. The panoramic environments are still as death. In times of today, even panoramic or non-3-D backgrounds are animated with moving shadows and lightings, and yet in the world of Scratches, the water is a static image and the clouds in the sky don’t move. If only an up-to-date engine was used to develop the game, the tense atmosphere would actually materialize rather than forming only in the minds of the gamers. What would have been even better had the game been designed completely in 3-D giving gamers the freedom to move around and this would have added bone-chilling dimensions to the games premise especially during conclusive moments. Sound is an important feat for such games and seems to be reasonably well executed. The only issue was that most of the games dialogues were not audible and had to be read off the screen, adding to the dull experience. Music as always was the painful cliché consortium of the piano and violin, with the rise and fall of the strings and strokes in time with the game’s mood.The Directors Cut edition features an aftermath level showcasing a journalist who revisits Blackwood manor before it is demolished and reincarnates the horrors within. The game also has a small bug where the main door doesn’t open but fortunately has a patch available on the net. Scratches is like an absorbing and intriguing horror novel that is being narrated by a grumpy old lady, and hence is recommended to all those traditionalist adventurers who are inspired not by technological aspects of the game but that of the story, and do not mind holding on to a slow yet fascinating novel that picks up later on. For every other stereotype, don’t bother with this one.