Sixty years after the events of The 7th Guest, television producer Robin Morales goes missing while investigating murders that occurred in Harley-On-The-Hudson, New York. Carl Denning, a reporter and Morales’s lover, has gone in search of her. The story of Morales’s disappearance and Denning’s search gives us The 11th Hour, a sequel to The 7th Guest, which upped the ante in terms of gore, violence, and sex.
The gameplay of The 11th Hour is fundamentally the same as that of The 7th Guest, mixing puzzles and cut scenes to tell its dark and twisted story. The developers at Trilobyte initially planned for the game to include a number of “R-Rated” sex scenes. Rumors swirled that a more graphic version existed (think the “Hot Coffee” mod of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas). The rumors led the developers to announce that the “R-rated” content had been cut, with the scripted scenes never making it to the filming process.
Players follow Robin’s story for the first portion of the game. She meets Eileen Wiley, the only known survivor from The 7th Guest. The story then introduces a previously unknown character, Samantha Ford, who was with Eileen at the Stauf Mansion (the home of Henry Stauf, the principal antagonist of The 7th Guest). As we learn Eileen and Samantha’s story, we hear about a ghostly sexual assault, one illegal abortion, and the birth of a Damian-like demon child named Marie.
Robin eventually goes to Stauf Mansion. While there, the house begins psychologically toying with her. As the house’s control over Robin grows, it provides her an offer: becoming the president of her own television network.
Carl’s story follows him through a game show at the Mansion orchestrated by Stauf called “Let’s Make a Real Deal.” The game’s final challenge presents Carl with the choice between one of three doors. Behind each door is one of the women in the game: Robin, Samantha (who appears on a television screen behind one of the doors), and Marie (who has grown into an alluring adult). The ending of the game depends on which door Carl ultimately chooses.
In his horror classic The Shining, Stephen King once wrote, “Monsters are real. Ghosts are too. They live inside of us, and sometimes, they win.” The 11th Hour explores these dark monsters and shadows, that try to prey on all of us.
