BOOK OF HOURS: WHERE OCCULT MEETS SPREADSHEETS IN A COZY LIBRARY
Welcome, aspiring librarians and occult enthusiasts, to Book of Hours - a game that answers the age-old question, "What if Dewey Decimal had a love child with H.P. Lovecraft?" Strap in for a journey that's part library management, part eldritch horror, and 100% spreadsheet fodder.
GAMEPLAY: CARD CATALOGING WITH A SIDE OF CTHULHU
Book of Hours throws you into the deep end of the occult pool faster than you can say "Necronomicon." Your mission? Restore a mysterious, possibly sentient library while trying not to lose your marbles (or your soul) in the process.
The game's core loop is simple: explore the library, find books, read books, gain knowledge, explore more of the library. Rinse and repeat until you're either a master of the arcane or you've developed a concerning obsession with card catalogs.
Unlike its frantic predecessor, Cultist Simulator, Book of Hours is more relaxed than a sloth on vacation. There's no ticking clock of doom, no constant threat of being eaten by your own hubris. Instead, you're free to putter around your spooky library at your own pace, organizing books and occasionally dealing with the odd supernatural crisis.
MECHANICS: SOLITAIRE ON STEROIDS (AND MAYBE ACID)
At its core, Book of Hours is a complex, occult-themed solitaire game. You'll spend hours matching cards, deciphering cryptic symbols, and trying to figure out why that book just winked at you. The game's systems are deeper than the Mariana Trench and about as transparent as mud, but that's part of the charm.
Pro tip: If you're not making spreadsheets, you're not playing it right. Excel skills are more valuable here than any arcane knowledge.
ATMOSPHERE: COZY COSMIC HORROR
Book of Hours nails the atmosphere harder than a caffeinated carpenter. The library feels alive (possibly literally), with rain tapping on windows and fires crackling in the background. It's like being wrapped in a warm, slightly sinister blanket.
The writing is top-notch, weaving a tapestry of lore so dense you could use it as a doorstop. Every book, every object has a story, and half the fun is piecing together the narrative puzzle.
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE ELDRITCH
Good stuff? The atmosphere is phenomenal, the writing is engrossing, and the sense of discovery is more addictive than cosmic cocaine. Bad stuff? The learning curve is steeper than a cliff face, and the game explains itself about as well as a mime with laryngitis.
FINAL THOUGHTS: TO READ OR NOT TO READ?
Book of Hours is like that weird, brilliant friend who talks in riddles and makes you question reality. It's not for everyone, but for those it clicks with, it's an obsession waiting to happen.
Is it perfect? Hell no. Is it fascinating? Abso-fucking-lutely. If you enjoy piecing together esoteric puzzles, managing arcane libraries, and don't mind the occasional existential crisis, this game is your jam.
Final Score: 9 out of 10 Sentient Tomes
It's dense, it's obtuse, but damn it, it's brilliant. Book of Hours is a love letter to the weird and wonderful, wrapped in a package that's equal parts frustrating and fascinating. Just be prepared to lose a few hundred hours of your life and possibly your sanity in the process.
We at NLM received a key for this game for free, this however didn’t impact our review in any way.