The Hugo Trilogy
In an interview with Adventure Classic Gaming, David P. Gray said he started designing games while he was writing underwater weapons software for the UK Ministry of Defense. “The vector graphics system was just too perfect for writing an Asteroids clone,” he explained. In 1990 he released Hugo’s House of Horrors, a solo project that took a lot of inspiration from the first Leisure Suit Larry game as well as the haunted house clipart he purchased for the opening scene. Over the next two years, he released Hugo II, Whodunit? and Hugo III, Jungle of Doom! For the final game in the series, he brought Gary Sirois on board to create all original art. In 1995, all three games were rewritten for Windows, adding a new point-and-click interface, as well as new titles for each one.
Quite a few people grew up with these games, which doesn’t surprise me. They’re ideal shareware games. They’re fun, challenging, and their flaws mostly add to their charm. I grew up with a Mac, and hadn’t heard of them until recently. This was my first time playing them.
- The Hugo Trilogy from developer David P. Grey
Includes the original DOS versions, the updated Windows versions, and a hint book. You’ll need a Windows computer to run the installer, but the games can be played in ScummVM on other platforms. - The Hugo Trilogy on GOG
Available for Mac, Windows, and Linux. These are the 1995 versions, packaged in ScummVM. - David Gray interview on Adventure Classic Gaming
- Hugo’s House of Horrors on Wikipedia
- Hugo II, Whodunit? on Wikipedia
- Hugo III, Jungle of Doom! on Wikipedia
Hugo’s House of Horrors
After wrapping up Mystery House, I decide to check out Hugo’s House of Horrors. It’s the first game in the Hugo trilogy, which was renamed “Hugo’s Horrific Adventure” in later releases.
Hugo II, Whodunit?
Let’s fire up Windows 98 SE and check out the next game in the Hugo’s House of Horrors trilogy: “Hugo II, Whodunit?” or “Hugo’s Mystery Adventure”.
Hugo III, Jungle of Doom!
It’s time for the final game in the Hugo’s House of Horrors trilogy: “Hugo III, Jungle of Doom!” or “Hugo’s Amazon Adventure”. This one has art by a professional artist and it’s set in the jungle due to his talent at drawing trees.