A very solid intro mission to the more known "Inverted Manse."

You start off a bit flustered as you discover that the options at the three difficulty levels are : start without a blackjack and a sword; a "kill everyone" objective; or a "steal 100% loot objective." Looks like standard gameplay wasn't on the menu. What's worse, initial areas look really plain, blocky and not exactly encouraging.

After the rough start, however, and as you reach the main location things get better. You can get a blackjack, so gameplay options open up. The brushwork gets more acceptable, if inconsistent, and the mission starts to hold its own.

While the visuals might not be the highlight of the mission, the sound design is very competent. You've got a wide range of OM ambients used which work toward building a dark and foreboding atmosphere. The story is mainly delivered through readables and while it's nothing spectacular in general, the cult's premise is actually a pretty intriguing revelation.

It's not a huge challenge and has its definite shortcomings, but it's rather expected for such an early mission. You can treat it as a palatable warm-up before tackling "The Inverted Manse."