Slender Threads starts off exactly how you’d expect a classic point-and-click game about a small town, a traveling author/bookseller, a cast of quirky locals, and the nagging sense that something isn’t quite right. It lulls you in with its charmingly eerie atmosphere, its sharp writing, and puzzles that feel intuitive yet rewarding.
And then, before you even realize what’s happening, the game has you committing theft, vandalism, and an array of morally questionable and outright illegal actions—all in the name of solving a mystery that just keeps getting weirder.
It’s rare for a game to so effortlessly pull you into its escalating chaos, but Slender Threads does it with such subtle brilliance that you don’t even question your increasingly questionable actions. At some point, I stopped asking myself “Should I really be doing this?” and fully embraced my role as Harvey Green, the absolute menace of Villa Ventana.
A Town That Doesn’t Want to Let You Go (And Maybe Never Will)
When Harvey first arrives in Villa Ventana, the setup is classic: a picturesque little town, a few too many oddly evasive locals, and a general sense that something lurks just beneath the surface. The game is slow-burning in the best way possible, pulling you into its world with subtle hints that things aren’t as normal as they seem.
And yet, for all the supernatural undertones, the strangest things in Villa Ventana weren’t the people or the secrets—it was me.
There was a point, early on, where a relentlessly cheerful realtor was pushing a house on me. I didn’t want the house. I made that very clear. But he wouldn’t take no for an answer. So I did what any reasonable, rational person would do—I locked him in a closet and walked away.
This should have been a red flag—a moment of self-reflection, where I questioned what kind of protagonist I was becoming. But instead, the game carried on as if that was a perfectly normal way to deal with a sales pitch.
That’s the magic of Slender Threads. It guides you into making morally unreasonable choices, and you go along with it because it all feels so strangely… reasonable.
The Slippery Slope of Crime and Mystery
Once I realized that Slender Threads wasn’t going to punish me for my increasingly unhinged behaviour, things spiralled fast. By the time I found myself in a town museum, casually vandalizing the exhibits to acquire a much needed item , it barely registered as something worth questioning.
It wasn’t long before I was also:
✔️ Breaking and entering into places I absolutely should not have been
✔️ Stealing objects left and right (if I could click it, I took it)
✔️ Wrecking a doctor’s office in a drug-induced haze (a sentence I never thought I’d write)
✔️ Becoming an unwitting agent of fate for some of the town’s residents
✔️ Having tea with the gardening club
At no point did the game feel like it forced me into these actions. It simply presented them as solutions—and somehow, it all felt completely natural. Every object I stole had a purpose, every crime I committed solved a puzzle, and every questionable decision led me deeper into a story that slowly, masterfully unravelled into something far bigger than I expected.
A Mystery That Doesn’t Just Unfold—It Unravels
At its core, Slender Threads is a game about control—or lack thereof.
You start out thinking you’re just a curious outsider, poking around where you shouldn’t. But as the game progresses, there’s this creeping realization that you’re not as in control as you thought. The town, its people, and the events unfolding around you start to feel less like something you’re investigating and more like something you’re being pulled into.
That’s what makes the experience so compelling. It doesn’t rely on cheap twists or forced horror—it slowly wraps around you, making you question whether you’re the one driving the narrative, or if you’re simply following the thread that’s already been spun for you.
The Perfect Blend of Classic Adventure and Unsettling Atmosphere
For all the chaos, the heart of Slender Threads is still a damn good adventure game.
✔️ The puzzles are smart, logical, and rewarding. No moon logic here—every solution makes sense in the game’s world.
✔️ The dialogue is sharp, funny, and dripping with personality. Harvey is both a relatable everyman and an agent of absolute destruction, and the townsfolk are all just off enough to keep things interesting.
✔️ The art style and atmosphere are beautifully crafted. The town feels alive, even as it makes you feel like an outsider who shouldn’t be there.
Unlike many point-and-click adventures that leave you with a cluttered inventory of useless junk, Slender Threads makes sure every item serves a purpose—even if that purpose is incredibly weird and slightly illegal.
The Best Mystery You Didn’t Realize You Were Part Of
By the time I reached the end of Slender Threads, I wasn’t sure who was truly in control—me, the town, or something else entirely. What started as a simple small-town mystery had spiralled into something unexpected, unsettling, and impossible to put down.
And maybe that’s the best kind of mystery.
A gripping, eerie, and wonderfully twisted adventure that will have you committing crimes with surprising ease.
Just… if you visit Villa Ventana, maybe leave your moral compass at the town border. You won’t be needing it.
Get the game on steam below:
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