I’ll admit, while I like Weather Factory’s Cultist Simulator, I always felt like it was a bit too smart for me. I never quite managed to wrangle the time-management aspects mixed with the myriad of things that I needed to juggle. However, I’m always a fan of things that involve delving into the occult or the hidden realms that people don’t acknowledge. There are mysteries in the world that exist whether we believe in them or not, and I adore games that bring those concepts to the forefront with fresh ideas.

Book of Hours is a more low-key affair than the hectic intensity of managing a cult, and by its very premise, it should be. There is a vast difference between being the leader of an eldritch cult in the pursuit of forbidden power and being a Librarian. You aren’t just any Librarian though, you are one in pursuit of knowledge, both known and unknown, seen and unseen.

You are the newest caretaker (and restorer) of Hush House, an occult library that was devastated by a fire. This very much exists in the same world as Cultist Simulator, and it becomes obvious even by its very name. The name Book of Hours refers to The Hours, godlike beings that are mysterious occult entities hidden in the “Secret Histories” of 1930’s Britain.

Gameplay is simple, as you explore the area around (and in) the Hush House, you’ll engage in what the developers call “Crafting RPG” gameplay. Every item, character, concept, memory, and everything in between is represented by a card. Interacting with people may require cards for more tangible things like money. Alternately, if you’re discussing something or uncovering information, you may need more esoteric things such as knowledge or memories.

Every bit of discovery or progression you require has a cost. Different mysteries have aspects associated with them. So, in order to investigate more esoteric things, you might require an aspect tied to that particular “wisdom” of which there are seven categories. At the same time, different characters and people that may assist you are skilled in certain fields. A blacksmith for example may be stronger in Forge and Light than say…a painter.

The problem is, Book of Hours doesn’t do a very good job of helping you understand what you need to be doing. Part of the puzzle is that the game throws you in (much like its protagonist) and expects you to figure things out. Your progression will likely only be as fast as you are at picking up how things work. Granted, if you’re a veteran of Cultist Simulator I doubt you’ll have too many issues. However, if you are like me and have a hard time cracking the code of it, it may take you longer.

The good news is, Book of Hours isn’t a punishing game in the way Cultist Simulator was. Seemingly the worst fate you can accumulate in a quick span of time is simply getting stuck. It is a puzzle through and through. Considering there are a variety of paths you can take; it is a puzzle you may want to play multiple times.

I’m not sure that Book of Hours is a game that suits everyone. There were times when I was confused about how I should proceed, growing frustrated as in-game days passed me by with no progress. However, much like any form of learning, I found myself (and my in-game librarian) growing to understand more and more the various necessities I’d need to restore Hush House. This patience didn’t solve everything, but it helped.

With every crafted item and every villager (or passerby) that you ask to assist you for the day, your pace will grow and Hush House (and the books within) will flourish. It is the impatient player who will struggle to get past the first few hours of the game here. However, if you can get there…it is an intriguing and immersive experience.

The developers have commented that they will likely be adding a way for players to take notes in-game, as note-taking is very important if you want to get anywhere. Even if it is something as simple as marking down what books are on what shelves, or what aspects you need to study something specific, there is a lot of information thrown your way.

Accompanied by the beautiful music and ambiance Weather Factory has curated, the lore and immersive world Book of Hours thrusts you into is nothing short of enthralling. To sum this up, in a far more concise manner than Book of Hours would, the game tends to favor form over function.

Because of an entire lack of tutorial, I can’t recommend this at all to the casual player. The various mechanics are at times difficult to understand until you bang your head on them with a bit of brute force. With that said, understanding the various mechanics does lend a sort of satisfying feeling of accomplishment, so if you’re willing to put in the time, I think you might enjoy it.

I should also applaud the developers for making various text-accessibility options available. In addition to font sizing, you can turn on a high contrast mode or even utilize “accessible card text” which I assume is more helpful for dyslexic players. My one concern (due to a lack of understanding) is whether that high contrast mode would make the game more accessible for the colorblind.

Each aspect is represented by a color, and I can imagine that people with various colorblindness issues might struggle to tell them apart at a glance. Each aspect does have its own symbol, so I can’t say it would be an entire barrier to enjoyment. The high contrast mode could possibly mitigate it as well, but I can’t be sure.

With that said, the UI itself is a bit of a problem. Navigating (holding right click) to move across the map can be incredibly slow, and there’s no “fast travel” option to simply click and move to a specific location. The text size can be a little bit small on max settings for the visually impaired, but I didn’t have too many issues with it.

Being able to tell what aspects are required to do/investigate something also can be frustrating as you’ll have to make a series of actions, only to undo them if you don’t have the required aspects. Also, as previously mentioned there is currently no way of taking notes in-game, and there is no central journal to record information that you’ve learned unless you copy/paste it yourself.

In a lot of ways, Book of Hours is superior to Cultist Simulator if you are looking for a quieter, more contemplative foray into the world of the Secret Histories. The lore is intriguing, the characters are unique and have exciting tales behind them, and the atmosphere of Book of Hours is nothing short of top-notch.

However, by expanding their scope to a game that is less like a board game and more like a narrative RPG, the developers at Weather Factory have showcased their own limitations as a two-person team. I don’t say that to be mean, I say that simply to suggest that Book of Hours needs some technical understanding that (by their own previous admission) this two-person dev team doesn’t have.

If they’d managed to add a few quality-of-life additions, tweaked the UI a bit, and polished things off a bit, Book of Hours would have gone from a beautiful, calm, good game, to a potential masterpiece. I know they are working to take various community suggestions into account in future updates. Hopefully, that will help smooth some of the rough edges a bit.

Weather Factory did a good job with Book of Hours as a two-person team. Not many could produce such a rich, immersive experience with only two people. However, I hope that the next game in their catalog will either focus on their strengths or encourage them to hire one or two more people who can help them smooth out some of these technical issues. Till then, Book of Hours is a decent game, with room to grow.

A PC review copy of Book of Hours was provided by Weather Factory for this review.

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Book of Hours

0.00

6.5

Score

6.5/10

Pros

• Gorgeous Artwork
• Immersive Atmosphere
• Dense and Enticing Lore
• Calm and Low-Stress Gameplay Mechanics
• Text-Accessibility Options

Cons

• No Tutorials
• Learning the Mechanics can be Frustrating
• No Journal to Look Back at Lore You've Read
• Missing Some Quality of Life Elements.
• UI Needs Work