Last House On The Block is an entrant in the 2020 Interactive Fiction Competition.  All of this year’s entries can be played here.

Mr. Harrison, who has lived in your neighborhood longer than anyone who can remember, has died.  Mr. Harrison was the neighborhood hermit, a quiet elderly man who lived in a big house and who rarely talked to anyone.  Everyone assumed that he had to be rich.  Because Mr. Harrison had no family, the city is going to come to his house and take everything.  That leaves you with only one chance to explore his house on your own and find the money that you’re sure Mr. Harrison had secreted away.

Just from the set-up, Last House On The Block sounds like it’s going to be horror game but actually, it’s a slice-of-life.  You explore Mr. Harrison’s house and see how the old man lived.  In order to discover where Mr. Harrison hid his secrets, you’ll have to pay attention to ever detail and start solving puzzles early.  From the very start of the game, you’re presented with a puzzle that will either lead to you having a friend to help with your search or leave you with the next-to-impossible task of doing it all by yourself.  Some of the puzzles are more difficult than others.  Luckily, the game does have a walk-through.  I had to refer to it several times but there’s not a single puzzle in the game that can’t be solved on your own.  You just have to pay attention.

Last House On The Block is a good example of a search-and-explore type game.  I appreciated and enjoyed the care that went into describing each room in the house.  By the end of the game, I could visualize every aspect of Last House On The Block.  It can be played here.  The walk-through is here.