Anchorhead

Anchorhead is an award-winning work of Interactive Fiction written and programmed independently by Michael Gentry, and is heavily inspired by the Cthulhu Mythos. The game is set within the titular town of Anchorhead, which rests firmly within Lovecraft Country. You play the role of a nameless woman who has moved into town with her husband Michael, and quickly becomes enmeshed in the dark, disturbing goings on -- to say more would be to spoil a truly excellent plot.

The game is notable, in addition to its great writing and overall polished feel, for breaking the typical structure and conventions of an Interactive Fiction game; the narrative is broken up into "days", during which you must complete required courses of action in order to proceed to the next day.

Incidentally, you can find it here. The list of awards should really speak for itself.

"There's a fly buzzing around here somewhere."
 * Afterlife Express: Discoursed upon in a book of folklore and superstitions.
 * Ancient Conspiracy: It goes all the way back to the town's founding.
 * And I Must Scream: One ending involves.
 * Arc Words: "He always returns to his blood", "the buzzing of a fly" (or variants thereof), and "red-rimmed eyes" are three very prevalent phrases in this game.
 * Author Avatar: Michael, who shares his name and personality with the writer of the game.
 * Backstory: There's quite a bit of it. You'll need to put some of it together (reading newspaper articles, etc.) to advance the plot.
 * Big Bad:
 * Big Fancy House: The Verlac mansion.
 * Big Screwed-Up Family: The Verlacs. And how.
 * Body Horror:
 * Book Ends: Both at the beginning in the deserted office, and at the ending scene which, you hear that:

" "
 * Chekhov's Gun: (caution: massive spoiler here) Your.
 * Closed Circle: Your car broke down and has been towed away to the city of Arkham, and your purse and phone are in it. The only phone you can find doesn't work; the road out of town leads into wilderness. In addition, as, Michael outright refuses to leave, and you're determined not to go without him.
 * Cobweb of Disuse: Between you and an intriguing-looking iron key in the corner of the Verlac mansion basement.
 * Corrupt Hick:
 * Cosmic Horror Story: Arguably --
 * Cult: Guess what -- is in it.
 * Demonic Possession: has possessed, and intends to do the same to


 * Diary: You can find two of them, belonging to
 * Easter Egg: Try actually screaming or crying at various points in the game.
 * Also, try listening to your husband singing in the shower.
 * Eldritch Abomination: 
 * Eye Scream: At least two, both by you (in self-defense, although one involves you losing your mind and calmly clawing your own eyes out, but the other you'll need to do to defeat a certain monster).
 * Genre Savvy: The shopkeeper hints that he (or a friend of his) has been through his own Lovecraftian story, and recognizes that you're in the same situation.
 * Go Mad From the Revelation: Several of the The Many Deaths of You. Some of the ways to do this include.
 * Guess the Verb: Expertly averted.
 * Inventory Management Puzzle: A partial aversion -- you can carry almost all the items you'll ever need in the pockets of your trenchcoat, but you can only hold so much in your hands at any one time.
 * It Got Worse: Hoo boy.
 * Kill It with Fire: You'll start to see this late in the game, if you make it that far.
 * Kleptomaniac Hero: Since you're playing an every(wo)man-style character, this incongruous behavior is initially lampshaded.
 * The Little Shop That Wasn't There Yesterday: Source of a key artifact you'll need to win the game.
 * Madwoman in the Attic: William,
 * No Name Given: The player's character is never addressed by name, even by Michael.
 * Nonstandard Game Over: The game has a large number of grisly ways to die, including insanity and suffering a Fate Worse Than Death.
 * Actual deaths include getting Yeah, it's a pleasant game.
 * Old Dark House: The Verlac mansion, which has hidden passageways, unsettling paintings, windows painted shut, and an.
 * Orderlies Are Creeps: Chuck, the orderly of Danvers Asylum, enjoys reading pornographic magazines and making crass remarks.
 * Parental Incest:
 * Portrait Painting Peephole: You can Croseus Verlac's portrait in the sitting room.
 * Extra Fridge Horror and Paranoia Fuel when the player remembers that, when you're in the sitting room, it sometimes appears to move subtly, "like the eyes are looking directly at you".
 * Shout-Out: Numerous, to the original Cthulhu mythos and its authors. Among them are the city of Arkham, Whateley Bridge, the Miskaton University library...
 * The magic shop's violin (and the violin music you can hear in the lane nearby) are an extended reference to The Music of Erich Zann, also by Lovecraft.
 * The paintings in the mansion's gallery are horrifying, fantastical, and detailed to the point of photorealism. Paintings by Richard Pickman, in Pickman's Model (a short story by Lovecraft), were said to have the same qualities.
 * Schmuck Bait: Don't stand on the altar while you're practicing the flute.
 * Spooky Painting: Croseus Verlac's painting in the sitting room.
 * Take Your Time: In dire situations, the game averts this, sometimes to frustrating effect. Most of the time, however, you do get to take your time, since the first three days don't advance to evening until you've solved all the major puzzles for that day.
 * Tome of Eldritch Lore: The book in the church.
 * Town with a Dark Secret: All of it.
 * Unexpected Inheritance: How you got to Anchorhead in the first place.
 * Textgame Cruelty Potential: You are gonna have to do some nasty stuff to escape the horrors of Anchorhead. You have the potential to do much worse than necessary, including.
 * You Cannot Grasp the True Form: Plenty, and usually includes Go Mad From the Revelation.
 * Textgame Cruelty Potential: You are gonna have to do some nasty stuff to escape the horrors of Anchorhead. You have the potential to do much worse than necessary, including.
 * You Cannot Grasp the True Form: Plenty, and usually includes Go Mad From the Revelation.