Escape from Monster Manor is a first-person shooter video game developed by Studio 3DO and published by Electronic Arts exclusively for the 3DO.
| Escape from Monster Manor | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Studio 3DO |
| Publisher(s) | Electronic Arts |
| Producer(s) | Stewart Bonn Trip Hawkins |
| Programmer(s) | Leo Schwab |
| Artist(s) | Stefan Henry-Biskup |
| Composer(s) | Robert Vieira |
| Platform(s) | 3DO |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | First-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
The game was released as Virtual Horror: Norowarate Yakata[a] in Japan.
Gameplay
Escape From Monster Manor is a first-person shooter where the player character explores a haunted mansion in a 3D environment, and must defeat spiders, ghosts, and other menaces to escape.[2]
The objective of the game is to collect pieces of a sacred talisman in each stage, then make it through twelve levels to the exit to escape. Rather than having a HUD, the player's health is visible as damage to the on-screen hand and the ammunition is listed as a bar on the gun sprite.
Development and release
The game's main developer was Leo Schwab.[3] A computing and programming prodigy, Schwab was best known for his Amiga screen hacks and animations during the mid-late 1980s[4] and for developing Disney Presents: The Animation Studio for Silent Software in 1990.[5][6] Schwab joined Electronic Arts head Trip Hawkins when the latter founded The 3DO Company for the release of the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer.[7] For Escape from Monster Manor, Schwab has cited Wolfenstein 3D as the chief inspiration for the game. After some months working on a different 3DO game, Schwab and his team abandoned that project and switched to the less ambitious Escape from Monster Manor so that they could have a demo to present at that year's Consumer Electronics Show.[8] The game's source code was released onto GitHub under the MIT License on August 7, 2022,[9] with an accompanying live stream on YouTube by original developer Leo Schwab.[10]
Reception
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| AllGame |    [11] |
| Dragon | [2] |
| Edge | 5/10[12] |
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 6.75/10[13] |
| Famitsu | 30/40[1] |
| GameFan | 343/400[14] |
| GamePro | 18.5/20[15] |
| 3DO Magazine | [16] |
| Game Zero Magazine | 30.5/50[17] |
| Génération 4 | 68%[18] |
| Joystick | 73%[19] |
| MAN!AC | 73%[20] |
| Video Games | 67%[21] |
| VideoGames | 8/10[22] |
Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the game a 6.75 out of 10, mentioning some minor issues with the control but overall recommending the game for its well-rendered graphics and genuinely creepy audio.[13] GamePro praised the game's frightening graphics and audio, nerve-wracking challenge, and strafing ability.[15] A review in Edge praised the "look and feel" of the game, but criticized the simplicity of the game design and gameplay. The game was compared unfavorably to DOOM and given a score of 5/10.[12] The game was reviewed in 1994 in Dragon #204 by Sandy Petersen in the "Eye of the Monitor" column. Petersen gave the game 2 out of 5 stars.[2]