You wake up. You’re in a creepy house that you don’t recognize. A geriatric psycho is trying to murder you. You need to solve the puzzles of the locked house and get out.
Sound familiar?
If your first guess was DVloper’s mobile horror game Granny that came out last month, then… well hey, you wouldn’t be wrong. But brand-new to Google Play and Steam (Early Access) comes Pudding’s Grandpa — a game where you must unlock the puzzles in this creepy house and get out before a bloodthirsty Grandpa hears you and murders you to death.
Here are some tips on how to stay alive long enough to do that!
1. It’s okay to die.
So staying alive may be the point of the plot, but it’s not exactly integral to the point of the game. Every time you die, it just saves your progress and allows you to get a little bit further every time.
(Also, if you’re one to scare easily, it’ll definitely take the edge off, since your death by bludgeoning is a little underwhelming. Plus, you’ll probably see it a lot.)
There also isn’t a great deal of information going in as to how to play, so a lot of it really is “learn by doing.” Blindly walking into things makes enough noise to catch ol’ Grandpa’s attention and send him running after you.
2. Don’t be afraid to drop stuff.
Just remember where you left it. Since you can only carry one thing at a time, what you’re holding onto may not be what you need to solve the current part of the escape puzzle. Did you find the Green Key right away in the first room? Great! But you haven’t found the corresponding lock for that key yet, though, have you?
There are other keys. Keep exploring. You’re going to find some creepy things lying around (e.g. previous victims), and once you (and your character) gets over the fright, take a closer look, rifle through the bodies. You’re going to find new stuff, new keys, that can unlock other rooms with new items.
3. You can’t kill Grandpa.
That would defeat the purpose of the game. You should be able to find syringes hidden around the house that can disable him for a little while and let you run around a little without worrying about how much noise you’re making, but he’ll definitely wake up again eventually.
(Note: I didn’t actually pick up/use syringes during my play.)
There will be items hidden around the house that look perfect for committing some geriatric murder of your own, particularly against that stubby rake of Grandpa’s. They won’t work. (I tried it for you.)
4. Hide! (But if you don’t, that’s okay too…)
This game is… uh… a little broken. In its defense, it’s still new/in Early Access, so the devs promise a number of changes to the game. A large part of the gameplay is to avoid the murderous old man strolling around the rooms and hallways as much as possible while you go about your business.
If you walk in on scary stuff, your character will stop and cover their eyes until they are brave enough to see again — this essentially demobilizes you, sometimes long enough for Grandpa to storm up and rake you to death. Pay attention to the prompts near stuff like wardrobes and tables — you’ll be able to hide in/under them so that Grandpa will serenely pass you by. This would be the normal mechanics for dealing with Grandpa in the same room as you.
As mentioned, the game is a little bugged, and Grandpa most of all. You can often catch him getting stuck on stairs and walking into walls so that your way is clear and you can go about doing your puzzle-solving in peace. He might not even notice you even if you’re just across the table from him. Sometimes it’s the other way around, and he’ll teleport through doors, across rooms, etc. Sometimes he’ll still find you even when you’re hiding.
There’s nothing you can do to fix this, so it’s probably a good thing the death/save mechanic is so forgiving.
5. Other Stuff
Turn up the sound! It’s important that you can hear every little creak and clink. If you’re playing this on mobile, keep some headphones handy since the sound can get blown out a lot easier than on PC. The loud alert sounds might make you jump this way (the game relies a lot on the startle factor for its scares since the regular environment is pretty well lit), but since it’s not always evident where Grandpa is, it’ll help you locate him a lot easier.
Turn down the sensitivity. You can access this on the menu. It’s a single, simple slider, and it will make a lot of difference in navigating around the house.
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That’s all for now! Just remember to keep looking for new stuff as you gain access to different rooms and to keep an eye out for lock and key colors. You’ll make it out of there! Grandpa is a pretty short game, so even if you just poke around here and there, you’ll probably finish within 30 minutes to an hour.
Good luck!
