The House on Holland Hill has you dropping off some eats to a regular client. When you see someone this often, though, you start to notice when they change.
Things seem innocent enough at first as you drop off some pizza to Breckonridge. He seems happy. I mean, his food is here, so how could he not be? Well, as you make deliveries to him over time, he seems to change. Grows a bit more quiet. Haggard. Something about him is different now, even if he doesn’t really come out and tell you. You can snoop in his windows and try to figure out what’s going wrong through your brief discussions (how often do you talk to your delivery people, after all), but you may not get many answers. But you can feel that something is off.
You have very limited options in text and in looking through windows to find out what’s up with Breckonridge, which creates this gnawing curiosity about what’s going on with him in his house way outside of town. You start peering into gaps in the windows. Trying various doors to see if you can get into the place. As you watch him deteriorate, it feels like your own desire to have answers only increases. It’s a compelling effect that kept me invested in the story and needing to know what was going on. And if you keep up with your deliveries and do what you can to help, maybe you’ll get an answer.
The House on Holland Hill makes great use out of very little. A dark house and a man growing more disheveled with every appearance isn’t much to go on, but it sets to work in the imagination in a hurry, painting many chilling ideas. It’s an excellent mystery that won’t tie you up for very long.
The House on Holland Hill is available now on itch.io.
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