My Shivers 2 playthough

[notbobsmith]

So I just started this yesterday after getting the game from GOG a few months ago. So far so good. I've only just started, but it seems like there is a bit more of an adventure game here versus simply being locked in a building with a bunch of puzzles. One thing about FMV games from this era: really chaotic videos end up looking like a mess given the technology at the time.

[Tawmis]

I can't recall if I ever played Shivers 2. I know I played the first one.

[Collector]

Not sure I would call it an FMV. The cutscenes are with real actors, but the game itself is more of a prerendered "2.5-D" game with first person perspective.

[BBP]

It's not much FMV - really only the ending section and the start do you interact with characters.

Just be careful in the cemetery.

[notbobsmith]

I've gotten a bit further. I found about half of the sticks (don't remember what they're called right now). It's not too bad. It is still pretty similar to the first one which is a good and bad thing. I mentioned earlier that it seems more adventure game-like. So far that just means that there are some things that require an inventory item. The puzzles are pretty challenging. The bad thing is that once you get one of the sticks, you take damage as you enter the cave where you are supposed to place it and you have to search the cave to find the appropriate glyph. The first Shivers did something similar with the spirits that would attack you. In Shivers 1, you could at least avoid the spirits, here you just take the damage (some of which is restored when you return the stick) just by entering the cave. It's an unnecessary gameplay element and I ended up just finding the glyph and then restoring to minimize damage.

The game is similar to (and more or less contemporaneous to) Myst and Riven, but I think the graphics and artistic design in those is much better. The aforementioned cave is murky and difficult to navigate. The town also looks comparatively "cheap" looking. I know something strange is going on in the town, but I wonder if that is the reason for some of the... interesting choices some of the residents made in terms of decor. The Barber Shop has a Chinese theme? Why?

One odd thing is that puzzle seem to be available to do again even after you finish it. Seems like an odd choice and makes keeping track of which ones I've done more difficult.

Not sure I would call it an FMV. The cutscenes are with real actors, but the game itself is more of a prerendered "2.5-D" game with first person perspective.

I noticed that. So far only a handful of short videos. But some of the early ones (like the dream sequence) really exceeded what technology could do at the time. It was really hard to see what was going on in places.

It's not much FMV - really only the ending section and the start do you interact with characters.

Just be careful in the cemetery.

I visited the cemetery, but haven't really encountered much.

Another pet peeve: doing a tile puzzle and losing your work because of a poorly placed cursor click!

[BBP]

Bahos. You can choose to wait with the bahos until later but I tend to save, take and run.

What the first Shivers had and the second Shivers didn't was the threat - although there are some other places other than bahos where you can lose life (something with a snake, something with barrels, something with books and something with bees) the threat is pretty much concentrated at the caves - which I found so hard to navigate and so not-fun to play I didn't bother and just looked up the locations where the glyphs are.
In Shivers I saved all the time because it took me a while to find out how the Ixupi work and they're everywhere and though they tend to look silly, they give you enough of a scare to want to prevent getting caught.

I hope you find out about the plot a bit. Did you have to choose your enemy yet?

Nothing in the cemetery? Aren't you lucky...

[BBP]

Oh and FYI: In Shivers 1, all of the puzzles stay put and can be solved multiple times, except maybe some elements of the chase. I used to solve the puzzles all the time for every door since I didn't know I didn't have to. Good thing I liked the pentominoes!

So, how did you manage those door puzzles at two of the places? I intend to sit down with it once and find its solution (any walkthrough says "leave and go back until you get an easy one"), but... ya know... so much life...

[notbobsmith]

I hope you find out about the plot a bit. Did you have to choose your enemy yet?

Not yet. I have 7 of the 12 Bahos, but now am slightly stuck. I solved the puzzle in the cemetery after which I heard a click, which I think was a door opening below me. No Bahos, though.

Oh and FYI: In Shivers 1, all of the puzzles stay put and can be solved multiple times, except maybe some elements of the chase. I used to solve the puzzles all the time for every door since I didn't know I didn't have to. Good thing I liked the pentominoes!

So, how did you manage those door puzzles at two of the places? I intend to sit down with it once and find its solution (any walkthrough says "leave and go back until you get an easy one"), but... ya know... so much life...

It just seems a little odd to make it so that a puzzle can be done repeatedly. Like I said, it can lead to confusion as to whether or not you did the puzzle already. I made that mistake with the petroglyphs in the cave. The first time I finished one, the game leaves the screen, so I wondered if I did it right. I went back to the glyph and it was unfinished, so I did it again when I probably didn't need to.

The door puzzles at the bakery and barber shop? Those were tricky, but I figured it out. There's usually a pattern to get the block to move where you want it. I'm still trying to figure out how to open the doors to the warehouse and Savings and Loan, but I think I need more information first.

[notbobsmith]

Still kind of stuck. I have the doors to the Saving and Loan and Warehouse that I can't open, but it feels like I need a clue from somewhere in order to open them. The same goes for a lock that's in the Sheriff's office.

[BBP]

Oh bother, I left my gamebook upstairs... (I have a notebook I pen game walkthroughs in - since I noticed I had a lot of loose sheets of gaming info that I didn't want to lose, decided to put it all in there - to this day, if I play a new game, I write the solution in there )

The clue for opening the Saving and Loan is in the "Was I Even There" video, check your Flashback file. The hint to opening the warehouse is in something you can find at the cemetery. For the sheriff's office: there are 2 locked things but the passwords are both in the sheriff's office

[notbobsmith]

Haven't looked at the hints. I figured out the Sheriff's office. I was missing the key hidden in the horn of the bull skull. It didn't reveal too much more, though. Still, I am moving forward.

[BBP]

That's good to hear!
Hopefully you can make sense of the story - there are so many characters that you never see, you only hear their voices on the answering machine tapes - puzzling that and other clues together should help you figure out what went on in the town.

Thanks to your walkthrough I found out what the hiker's body is doing in the fridge at the supermarket. It's hinted to in one of the diaries...

[notbobsmith]

I have a vague idea of what has been happening, but I have been having a hard time keeping track of the characters. Names get mentioned on the answering machines, but it's sometimes tough to keep track of who is calling who or when someone is talking to someone else.

[BBP]

I can fully understand that. Here's a list of them plus some minor infos. I put this under spoilers but this is general information to help you tell who's who::

Band:
Dave Laughton - guitarist, Wendy's boyfriend, car fixer and chess player
Wendy Terreras - bassist, Dave's girlfriend, left phone messages early in the game
Olivia Farmer - keyboard player, artist, keen on the fellows
Lyle Weber - drummer, Mike's brother and Pearl's nephew
Mike Weber - lead singer, Lyle's brother and Pearl's nephew, works at Pearl's café

Phil Dunlop - owns the gas station and the store. Father of Jason. His symbol is the snake.
Jason Dunlop - Phil's son, he took over the gas station management, goes missing early on.
Richard Talbot - works at gas station after Jason goes missing. Dim-witted. Gets along with Theresa from the church.

Keith Hickson - bakery owner, widow, daughter deceased.
Nadine Hickson - Keith's deceased wife
Norah Hickson Wharton - Died in an accident involving Phil, Tad, George and Charles
Max Wharton - Norah's husband. Checked out all books at the library. Symbol is the book

George Bellairs - minister of community church. Symbol is the cross.
Babs Bellairs - George's wife, she goes missing.
William Bellairs - son of George and Babs, goes missing
Theresa Bellairs - George's daughter, goes missing

Stewart Warensky - Video technician
Tad Matthews - mayor, owner of the bank. His symbol is the bear claw.
Charles Spencer - motel owner, son of barber Ivan. The man you meet at the start. His symbol is reminiscent of the pot and can be found in his motel as well.
Ivan Spencer - barber, first to disappear
Pearl Larsen - Mike and Lyle's aunt, café owner, has a house full of birds.
Burt Thompson - a drunk who lives at the edge of town in a trailer - also an artist. His symbol is the eye
Andrew Washington - sheriff. His symbol is the star.

[notbobsmith]

Still kind of stuck but trying to tough it out. I did find a new location that I had missed. "Max's", I think. But yet another locked gate. The graphics made it easy to overlook.