This was one of three games that sold me on the Amiga 500. Along with Spirit of Excalibur and Awesome, I purchased Elvira and was absolutely in awe of the graphics, creepy sound and environment. This is a game that you play late at night, with the lights off. It is guaranteed to raise your blood pressure and make you sweat bullets. There is also a great deal of the campy Elvira humor that you find in so many of her movies.
I played this game for hours and hours, and I never could get enough of it. I have recently picked it back up and have been enjoying the nostalgia of my youth. The game holds up very well in today's 3D-heavy game market. It holds up well, because there is honestly nothing like it on the market. The only games that come closest to it are a couple of classics in their own right, System Shock and its sequel, System Shock 2. Elvira has inherited a large haunted castle, and it is your job to save your favorite Mistress, and cleanse the castle of the undead and the recently resurrected Queen Emelda.
Collect a variety of weapons to battle the forces of evil, and find ingredients
scattered around the castle grounds for your lovely Mistress of the Dark to create spells with. Combat with enemies is just difficult enough to make it exciting. The size of the castle and its surrounding areas is absolutely huge. Survive the gloomy catacombs, dungeon, battlements, garden maze, and more! Enemies include possessed knights, werewolves, gremlin-like monsters, skeletons, and other supernatural spooks!
The graphics are top-notch, but it is the music that really shines here. The Amiga version of the game had music that was some of the creepiest I ever heard. The sound effects were less-pronounced, but there was some digitized speech, which was rare for the time. Only the Amiga could have handled such a feat. The control is easy and streamlined. Inventory management is a breeze.
All in all, this was a game that I easily would have given a 9 out of 10. A great hybrid of classic point and click adventure, plus a first person interface make this horror title a must have. Combine those elements with superb graphics and sound, and you have a true "A" title of a "B" movie actress. This game went on to spawn a couple of sequels, Elvira 2: The Jaws of Cerberus, and Waxworks. I will be writing reviews of those games very soon. Do yourself a favor and pick up this game as soon as possible!
