Wardwell House

"I've been lost on the water for countless days. I'm dehydrated, starved, exhausted, and I think I'm losing it. The water's not shallow enough for me to have run aground. How could I have drifted here?" —The Father, Wardwell House

Wardwell House is a Horror Video Game that was released in 2015. It was developed and published by Moolion Inc. for the iOS, the Mac, the PC and Steam.

There is an island off the coast of Massachusetts. It is on this island that our hero has ended up. Since he is dehydrated, starved, exhausted and maybe losing it, he has no choice but to explore it. Maybe, just maybe, he will find food, water and shelter. Then again, our hero might find something even worse….

If you would like to see playthroughs of Wardwell House on YouTube, please see the following videos:

• A playthrough of the game by Alpha Beta Gamer.
• A playthrough of the game by Max Horror.
• A playthrough of the game by Gab Smolders.

Tropes used in Wardwell House include:

• Alone with the Psycho: It becomes clear that the Father is all alone on the island with Jacob Wardwell. Even though he flees Wardwell House not once but twice, Jacob catches him and kills him anyway.
• And Now for Someone Completely Different: The last scene in the fourth chapter lets the player take the viewpoint of Jacob Wardwell as he looks at the grave that he set up for the Father. The stinger lets the player play as the Son.
• Asshole Victim: Samuel Wardwell in this game is basically a malevolent practitioner of witchcraft who had killed and hurt people as well as animals. In short, he deserved to be hanged.
• Ax Crazy: Jacob Wardwell has not only become psychologically unstable, but he also presents a clear danger to others. For bonus points, the Father can find an actual axe in one of the rooms of Wardwell House.
• Baleful Polymorph: The Father will find a document signed by Samuel Wardwell showing a man whose head has been turned into that of a bull. The implication is that Samuel invoked this trope on the man.
• Big Bad: Jacob Wardwell.
• Big Fancy House: Wardwell House starts out like this. However, as the game goes on, the Father will discover some dark secrets in there.
• Black Cloak: As the Father travels through the wilderness, he will find several of these hanging on trees.
• Bloodless Carnage: The area where the Father was killed shows no signs of blood, which is odd, considering that Jacob Wardwell killed him with a chainsaw.
• Chainsaw Good: The Father will find a bloodstained chainsaw near the entrance of Wardwell House. Jacob Wardwell uses it as his weapon of choice, and will kill the Father with it.
• Cliff Hanger: The game ends just as the Son is about to enter a house in search of his father.
• Cloudcuckoolander: The Father makes a few observations that are disconnected from the reality of his situation. However, that is justified, because he is losing it after going without water, food and sleep for days.
• Cold-Blooded Torture: In the third chapter, the Father will find a room that Jacob Wardwell seems to use for this. The tools in the room include two pairs of handcuffs, an axe, a pair of hedge trimmers and a pick-axe.
• Conspicuous Consumption: Jacob Wardwell was a very rich man. So rich, in fact, that he purchased an entire island off the coast of Massachusetts and built Wardwell House there. Not only that, but the house even has an ornamental fireplace made of expensive marble with generous golden accents.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: Jacob Wardwell was the Chairman and CEO of Wardwell Industries. He squandered company funds on gambling on horse racing and failed to attend a single board meeting for months. Not only that, but he also has 88 unanswered messages on his answering machine and the first (as well as the second) one that the Father listens to dates back five years ago.
• Creepy Cool Crosses: The graves are clearly the Christian cross with two extra pieces forming an "X" on both ends.
• Creepy Doll: The doll room in Wardwell House has a number of these…and that is before their eyes start to glow red.
• Creepy Souvenir: It is possible that the black cloths are these. In any case, the human hand nailed to that one tree is definitely this.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: In the third chapter, the Father will find a document that has an illustration of a woman being crushed with a pile of treasure that is increased in weight on top of her one coin at a time while she looks up at what is happening to her in agony. The fact that the document is signed by Samuel Wardwell indicates that he was fond of dishing these out to people.
• Curb Stomp Battle: Even though the game does not show it, it is strongly implied that the Father was subjected to this by Jacob Wardwell. Justified, because the Father was weak from dehydration, hunger and exhaustion, and had no weapon, whereas Jacob was armed with a chainsaw.
• Curiosity Killed the Cast: In the second chapter, the Father finds a bed and is tempted to sleep in it, but he is curious enough to explore the rest of Wardwell House. Considering that he dies by the end of the game, this trope was definitely in effect.
• Dark World: In the third chapter, the Father ends up in this version of Wardwell House.
• Deal with the Devil: It seems that Jacob Wardwell made a pact with his grandfather, Samuel Wardwell. After that, Jacob became a serial killer.
• Deliberately Monochrome: The environment surrounding the Father is portrayed as black and white. The purpose of this seems to be to make hotspots (indicated as yellow squares) easier to see and to show the general mood of the game. However, it gets subverted, by showing the scene with the Father's grave as well as the stinger with the Son in full colour.
• Didn't Think This Through: In the second chapter, the Father thinks that he might be able to repair the boat with some of the fallen tree branches near it. Unfortunately, there is no indication that he has the tools necessary for that job. Justified, because he is dehydrated, starving, exhausted and probably delirious.
• Dissonant Serenity: In one letter found in the third chapter, Jacob Wardwell admits to watching his family dying in a fire and feeling nothing over it.
• Don't Go in The Woods: Since the game starts with "Chapter 1: A Walk In The Woods," it is hardly surprising that the Father does exactly this. He finds Wardwell House, which is inhabited by Jacob Wardwell, a serial killer. He goes into the woods twice in an attempt to escape, but the first attempt results in him ending up back at the house, and the second attempt results in Jacob Wardell catching him and killing him.
• Double Meaning Title: The last chapter is titled "Chapter 4: To A Better Place." The literal meaning refers to going to some place that is better than the place where one is at. The idiomatic meaning refers to heaven or happiness after death. The Father wanted to get off the island and get home. However, Jacob Wardwell murdered him. Hopefully, the Father went to heaven after everything that he had been through.
• Downer Ending: The Father gets caught and killed by Jacob Wardwell. However, the Son is still alive and arrives on the island at least 20 years later trying to find his father.
• Dramatic Thunder: In the second chapter, as the Father makes his way back to the boat, he hears this. He is unhappy with this turn of events, because he is sure that his broken boat will not be able to handle a storm.
• Drone of Dread: The soundtrack includes this, which will play at certain points of the game.
• Face Heel Turn: As the third chapter indicates, Jacob Wardwell started out as a good man with flaws, but once he squandered all his money, he decided to turn to the occult and became a serial killer.
• Fade to Black: The scene with Jacob Wardwell at the Father's grave ends in this way. The stinger also ends in this way.
• Failure Is the Only Option: The Father's goal is to get food, get water, get some rest for a few days, fix up his boat, and leave the island. The Father does not achieve any of these goals. The Son's goal is to find his father, but the chances of finding his body are remote at best.
• Family Business: Hollister Wardwell built the company, Wardwell Industries, and was its Chairman and CEO. His son, Jacob Wardwell, eventually took over as Chairman and CEO. Unfortunately, he did such a terrible job that the board had to elect someone else as the new Chairman and CEO. According to one newspaper clipping in the credits, Wardwell Industries was the largest company in Boston, but losing company funds caused four steel mills to close and thousands of employees to be laid off.
• Featureless Protagonist: The game never reveals much about the Father other than that he is a man and that he has a son. The same goes for the Son as well, apart from strongly implying that he is a twenty-something or thirty-something man.
• Follow in My Footsteps: Hollister Wardwell (an honest corporate executive) wanted Jacob Wardwell to be like him and Samuel Wardwell (a malevolent practitioner of witchcraft) wanted Jacob Wardwell to be like him. Jacob tried to follow Hollister's example and failed, so he decided to follow Samuel's example and become a serial killer.
• For Doom the Bell Tolls: The soundtrack includes church bells, which will play at certain points of the game.
• Foreshadowing:
  • In the first chapter, the Father mentions that he thinks that someone is following him, and he also finds a lantern that had not been in one spot for long. There is someone else on the island, and that someone is stalking him.
  • The Father finds a tree with carvings on it, and mentions that he and his son carved on a tree back home. You get to play as the son himself in the stinger.
  • The Father will find what looks like a human leg lying around in the wilderness. Not only that, but he will also find a human hand with flesh still on the bone nailed to a tree. It is safe to assume that he ended up in pieces at the end.
  • The Father will also find graves marked with creepy crosses placed around in random locations. He ends up in such a grave in a different location.
  • In the second chapter, the Father will find a horse's head and a bloodstained chainsaw just outside the entrance to Wardwell House. Jacob Wardwell wears the horse's head as a mask and uses the chainsaw to kill people.
• Go Mad From the Isolation: The Father reveals that this happened to him because he had been all alone on the water for over five weeks without any resources.
• Hallucinations: The Father reveals that at one point on the boat, he had a hallucination in which he saw the waves rise as high as skyscrapers and come crashing down on him, but when he came to his senses, the water was serene and peaceful.
• Harmful to Minors: As Ella Wardwell reveals in her diary, Jacob burning her cat alive right in front of her left a scar in her mind that will remain forever.
• Hearing Voices: The Father will find a letter written by Jacob Wardwell revealing that Jacob has been hearing a voice (presumably that of his grandfather) in his head for years. He tried to fight against it, but in the end, he gave in to it.
• Heroic Mime: The Father never actually speaks, but text will appear to communicate his thoughts to the player. The Son is one, too.
• Historical Villain Upgrade: Historically speaking, Samuel Wardwell was a fairly wealthy carpenter as well as a fortune-teller. When he was accused of witchcraft, he confessed, possibly to avoid being executed. However, he ended up recanting his confession, possibly because he thought he was going to be hanged in spite of his confession and he decided to die telling the truth. In this game, Samuel Wardwell apparently engaged in using magic to crush a woman under treasure and sacrificing animals and humans. In other words, this version of Wardwell got the hanging that he deserved.
• Honest Corporate Executive: As far as it can be determined, Hollister Wardwell, the father of Jacob Wardwell, was this. Hollister had built Wardwell Industries and expressed the hope that his son would lead the company to prosperity and remove the previously tarnished reputation of the Wardwell family.
• Hope Spot: When the Father flees Wardwell House for the second time, it looks like he has a chance to reach his boat while being pursued. Unfortunately, he discovers that his boat is missing, and turns around to see Jacob Wardwell starting his chainsaw.
• Horror Realism: Disregarding the (possibly) supernatural parts of the story, there is the idea that your spouse or parent could give in to their worst instincts and go so far as to murder you. On top of that, the idea of someone committing murders and never getting caught is something that has happened in real life. In addition, the idea that someone could get lost for over five weeks and end up dehydrated, starving, exhausted and delirious is something that can happen in real life. Not to mention the idea of someone going missing and their loved ones spending decades of their lives trying to find that someone.
• Horse Racing: Jacob Wardwell bought a mare named Eclair and betted heavily on her in this sport. It went well at first, but once Eclair suffered a leg injury, Jacob ended up losing his money.
• Hunting the Most Dangerous Game: It is strongly implied that Jacob Wardwell engages in this on his island whenever someone comes ashore. In the fourth chapter, he pursues the Father, lets him get to where his boat should be, and finally kills him.
• In the Blood: Samuel Wardwell was apparently as evil as they came. It seems that Jacob Wardwell had tried to rise above his evil lineage, but he failed.
• Jigsaw Puzzle Plot: As the Father explores the island, he will find documents and information regarding the plot. However, it is up to the player to put the pieces together and figure out what is going on.
• Just Toying with Them: In the third chapter, Jacob Wardwell locks the entranceway door to Wardwell House behind the Father when he comes in, and then locks the door to the doll room behind the Father when he comes in. It becomes clear that Jacob could have just killed him at any time, but he wants to have fun first.
• Karma Houdini: Jacob Wardwell kills his family, loses his company, kills the Father, and gets away with everything.
• Lineage Comes From the Father: Jacob Wardwell became Chairman and CEO of the company that his father, Hollister Wardwell, built, and he wound up turning to witchcraft like his grandfather, Samuel Wardwell. Nothing whatsoever is mentioned about his mother or his grandmother.
• Malevolent Masked Men: Jacob Wardwell wears the head of his horse, Eclair, as a mask.
• Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Did a magic spell really cause the Father to end up back at Wardwell House, or was he in such a state of confusion caused by the storm and his poor state of health that he walked back to the house without realizing it? In addition, were the eyes of the dolls glowing red because of witchcraft or because the Father was hallucinating?
• Meaningful Name: "Salem" in "Chapter 3: Son Of Salem." That name refers to the Salem witch trials that took place between February 1692 and May 1693, and when one considers that Samuel Wardwell was one of the people accused of witchcraft, and subsequently tried and executed….
• Minimalist Cast: The number of main characters in the game can be counted on the fingers of one hand. First, there is the Father. Then there is Jacob Wardwell and the Son.
• Never Found the Body: One newspaper article notes that Jacob Wardwell's body had not been found at his mansion in Andover, Massachusetts after it burned down. Little did they know that Jacob is still alive….
• No Party Like a Donner Party: It is implied that the rotten flesh hanging from one hook was a human victim. While the Father does not actually eat it, he admits that he is not far off from being that desperate for food.
• Nothing Is Scarier: At several points, you will expect something to jump out and attack you. Jacob Wardwell will not jump out and kill the Father until the end of the game. However, there is the implication that Jacob knew that the Father was on the island right from the beginning, and was stalking him and preparing to kill him at the time and place of his choosing.
• Notice This: The hotspots that you have to click on are small yellow squares. Since the environment surrounding the Father is portrayed in black and white, they stick out like sore thumbs.
• Obviously Evil: In the third chapter, the Father can sense the evilness of Samuel Wardwell just by looking at his portrait.
• Oh Crap: In the second chapter, the Father has this reaction when he hears someone come into Wardwell House and start coming upstairs. Luckily, there is a closet nearby for him to hide in.
• Posthumous Character: Samuel Wardwell, Catherine Wardwell, Eva Wardwell and Ella Wardwell have been dead long before the events of the game. The Father himself becomes this at the end of the fourth chapter.
• Ravens and Crows: In the first chapter, the Father will encounter crows as the first signs of life on the island. Later, he will find a dead crow with its wings torn off.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: All the dolls in one room of the house will suddenly sport bright red eyes at one point.
• Sanity Slippage: The Father admits that he is probably experiencing this. Considering that he is dehydrated, starving and exhausted, to say nothing of being lost on the water for five weeks, that is understandable.
• Scare Chord: This will pop up a few times, such as when the Father finds a skull sticking up from a shallow grave and when he finds a horse's at the entrance to Wardwell House.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Twice. In the second chapter, after the Father avoids getting caught by Jacob Wardwell in Wardwell House, he decides to get out and hurry back to his boat. Unfortunately, he ends up back at the house. In the third and fourth chapter, he gets out of Wardwell House and tries to get back to the boat. Unfortunately, the boat is gone by the time he gets there…and Jacob Wardwell kills him shortly after.
• Sequel Hook: The Son comes to the island 20 years later in the hope of finding his missing father.
• Serial Killer: It turns out that Jacob Wardwell has become this, and that the Father is just his latest victim.
• Shoot the Shaggy Dog: The Father was completely unable to handle the situation, he ultimately accomplished nothing, he was unable to defeat Jacob Wardwell, and he was killed by Jacob Wardwell. However, that is justified, because he was dehydrated, starving, exhausted, and probably losing it, so he had very little chance of succeeding to begin with. The Son comes to the island 20 years later to find his father, but only time will tell if this trope will also be the outcome.
• Speak Ill of the Dead: After Jacob Wardwell murdered his entire family, he refers to his father, Hollister Wardwell, as weak.
• Stalker Without a Crush: It is implied that Jacob Wardwell had been stalking the Father from the moment that he set foot on the island. It is only at the end that he goes after the Father, literally dressed to kill.
• Steel Mill: According to one newspaper clipping after the credits, Wardwell Industries has a number of these, but four of them were closed because Jacob Wardwell squandered company funds.
• Sweetie Graffiti: The Father will find a tree bearing this out in the wilderness. This is where he mentions his son.
• Taxidermy Is Creepy: The Father will find the decapitated head of a horse with her eyes and innards removed. Jacob Wardwell bought a horse named Eclair to bet on in horse racing, but once he lost all his money betting on her, he killed her and decided to use her head as a mask.
• Tempting Fate: While exploring the upper floor of Wardwell House, the Father decides that he is the only person on the island. He is quickly proven wrong when he hears Jacob Wardwell come into the house.
• The Bad Guy Wins: Jacob Wardwell catches the Father, makes him his latest victim, and gets away scot-free.
• The Corrupter: The way Jacob Wardwell tells it, his grandfather, Samuel Wardwell, was this. He claims that he can hear Samuel's voice in his head leading him to unimaginable acts. He tried to resist him for years, but after he squandered all his money on horse racing, he gave in.
• The Cuckoolander Was Right: The Father sees another grave early on and wonders if someone else met an abrupt, violent end. Considering that he gets such a grave after being killed by Jacob Wardwell, his assessment turned out to be on the mark.
• The Ghost: The Father mentions having a son in his thoughts early on. Naturally, his son is never seen or heard. Until the stinger, where the player gets to play as the Son.
• The Hero Dies: The Father gets caught and killed by Jacob Wardwell.
• The Insomniac: The Father states at the beginning that he is exhausted. It is a good bet that he is this, since he is dehydrated, starving and probably could not sleep very well on his boat}}.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: In the second chapter, the answering machine in Wardwell House has a message whose contents consist of this. In the third chapter, the same answering machine has a different message, but the contents have a similar tone. Both messages were sent by the new Chairman and CEO of Wardwell Industries. It seems that Jacob Wardwell did not even bother to listen to these messages.
• The Stinger: After the credits roll and the four newspaper clippings filling in parts of the backstory are shown, the player gets to play as the Son, who comes to the island 20 years later and begins to explore one of the houses in search of his father.
• The Voice: The new Chairman and CEO of Wardwell Industries, voiced by Nathan Hoppe, is only heard as a voice on an answering machine.
• This Cannot Be!: Rare non-villainous example. The Father has this reaction when he ends up back at Wardwell House at the end of the second chapter.
• Through the Eyes of Madness: While a number of things in the story are really happening, the Father freely admits to experiencing hallucinations at least once. It could be that he thought he was running from Wardwell House to his boat when he actually never left. It could be that he was just hallucinating the eyes of those dolls glowing red.
• Til Murder Do Us Part: Jacob Wardwell married Catherine, and had two daughters with her. However, when she went back to Wardwell Mansion in Andover, Massachusetts, to pick up the rest of her things and collect the children after leaving him, he burned the mansion down with his wife and their children inside.
• Time Skip: The stinger with the Son takes place at least 20 years later.
• Title Drop: The second chapter begins with "Chapter 2: Wardwell House."
• Too Dumb to Live: The Father goes through the wilderness (which was covered with ominous signs) and into Wardwell House (which had a different set of ominous signs) not once, but twice! Not only that, but he fails to grab some tools and weapons along the way. Of course, this trope is justified, because he is dehydrated, starved, exhausted, and maybe losing it. It is very hard to be smart in those circumstances.
• Tranquil Fury: The two messages that the Father listens to on the answering machine indicate that the new Chairman and CEO of Wardwell Industries is feeling this way towards Jacob Wardwell. It is quite understandable, considering that Jacob squandered company funds to bet on horse racing and did not even attend board meetings for months.
• Turn Out Like His Father: Hollister Wardwell had hoped that his son, Jacob Wardwell, would turn out like him. Unfortunately, it did not happen. Instead, Jacob turned out like his grandfather, Samuel Wardwell.
• Voodoo Doll: The Father will find one in the doll room of Wardwell House.
• X Meets Y: Wardwell House is Google Street View meets The Blair Witch Project.
• You Monster!: This is the gist of Ella Wardwell's reaction to her father burning her cat right in front of her.

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I've been searching more than 20 years, dad. I hope you're still alive…