The Manhole: Masterpiece Edition

The Manhole: Masterpiece Edition is a refreshed version of the classic adventure game The Manhole, which was the debut title of Cyan Worlds, studio known mainly due to the iconic Myst series. The original black-and-white installment of the game was released in 1988 on Macintosh, and a year later - already in color - on PCs with MS-DOS. In 1994, Broderbund Software released an improved version, The Manhole: CD-ROM Masterpiece Edition, which was refreshed after several years on popular digital distribution platforms such as Steam or GOG.com, as well as mobile devices.

Story

In The Manhole, we play the role of a child who, after opening a manhole, discovers a magical beanstalk, leading to fantastic worlds. During the gameplay, the protagonist explores new locations, encountering characters from fairy tales (e.g. Alice in Wonderland).

Mechanics

The Manhole is a simple educational point-and-click adventure game for younger audiences. The game does not have a specific goal, so the game cannot be completed or lost. Exploring and interacting with the characters we meet is the heart of the game. From the very beginning, the whole game world is available, where we can navigate by clicking the mouse in the desired direction. In each of the locations, there are plenty of hidden animations and sounds, called by clicking on a selected object, as well as informal conversations with highly educated animals, such as Mr. Rabbit or Mr. Dragon.

Technical aspects

Compared to the original version of The Manhole, Masterpiece Edition features mainly improved audio-visual setting. In the game, the color palette has been expanded, spoken dialogues, music and sound effects have been added. However, this is still a retro game, reminiscent of a classic adventure games from the turn of the '80s and '90s of the last century.

Last updated on March 9, 2020