Curse of Resthaven Review

(Code provided for review)

Hilltop Studio’s Curse of Resthaven has been on my radar for a while now (you can read my earlier impressions of the demo here), and after sinking twelve (plus) hours into the full game, I can confidently say it did not disappoint. And I’m not even done yet.

Resthaven has three timelines, each offering a different path through its mysteries. Finishing my first playthrough answered some questions, but it certainly didn’t solve everything. And honestly? I’m okay with that. I was more than ready to dive back in and see what else Hilltop had tucked away.

Because if there’s one thing this game understands, it’s how to keep you asking questions.

Secrets About Secrets

At the heart of Curse of Resthaven is a mystery involving the disappearance of Amalia, the niece of Resthaven’s new Governor, Ambrose, and an island seemingly trapped in a perpetual Groundhog Day. But that’s only the beginning. Resthaven is full of people with their own problems, suspicions, and secrets, and there’s always another thread to pull.

The plot surrounding Amalia’s disappearance kept surprising me, particularly as I discovered how certain residents became involved in the larger mystery. I’ll keep the details to myself because half the fun is uncovering these connections for yourself, but Hilltop does a wonderful job of making Resthaven feel like a place where everyone has a story to tell. (Just maybe not to you.)

And in a year full of games featuring juicy mysteries, you’d think I’d be getting a little tired of them. BUT I’M NOT. Resthaven has secrets. Some would say SECRETS ABOUT SECRETS.

The writing is a HUGE part of what makes it all work. Interrogations require you to trust your gut, remember previous conversations, and figure out who might know something about a particular event. Sometimes it’s about asking the right person the right question. At the right time. Other times, it’s about remembering a detail from an earlier encounter and realizing it might mean something more in a later loop.

With the time-loop structure, I occasionally found myself taking notes about discoveries from previous loops to streamline later interrogations. That’s just how I roll. (Writing helps me remember things.) Thankfully, Hilltop provides plenty of in-game support, including conversation histories and a detailed quest area, so you don’t have to rely on a notebook to keep track of everything.

Some NPC dialogue does become a little repetitive over time, but I never found myself feeling as though the game was asking me to repeat tasks just for the sake of it. Even when I wasn’t sure how to trigger the next event or wrap up a day, I could advance time to accommodate shop openings or scheduled meetings. It’s a small touch that makes a real difference.

Three Responsibilities, One Very Strange Island

As governor of Resthaven, Ambrose has three main responsibilities: interrogations, trading, and expeditions. Each feels like a natural part of the job rather than a collection of unrelated minigames.

Interrogations are obviously where the bulk of the mystery unravels, questioning island residents about various goings-on about Resthaven, from the demise of your predecessor to what they knew about Amalia and the work she was doing.

And when I wasn’t out sleuthing,**** trading was a welcome change of pace. As part of being Resthaven’s Governor, one of your mandates is to improve the financial standing of the island. Merchant ships come with goods to sell and requests for items to purchase, while you use that coin and resources to upgrade the island’s vendors. It’s a relatively stress-free system, but there’s still a thrill in seeing how far you can push a trading partner before they finally say, oh, hell no.

Depending on your circumstances, maintaining relationships with the other kingdoms can get a little tight, adding some welcome tension to the governor’s economic responsibilities.

Finally, there’s expeditions, excursions that take you beyond Resthaven’s walls. Also part of your mandate as Governor, you can gain resources and coin and valuable knowledge.

These encounters use a card-based narrative system that’s one part roguelite, one part deckbuilder, and one part choose-your-own-adventure. They’re drawn from a pool, so they can play out differently between attempts.

I’ll admit, I didn’t immediately warm up to expeditions during my time with the demos. Something clicked when I played the full game, though. Part of that was understanding the mechanics better, but part of it was learning to use the tools available to Ambrose. Consulting Agata, the seer, and hiring companions when my trading ventures left me with some extra coin helped me approach these journeys more thoughtfully.

I began to appreciate expeditions as more than an unpredictable detour from the main story. They’re another way to explore the island’s mysteries, and the black-and-white presentation creates a striking contrast with Resthaven’s bleak but muted colors. Where the town feels worn down and familiar, the monochromatic expeditions bring the feeling of the unknown.

The music deserves a mention here, too. It’s wonderful, and paired with the game’s use of color, it helps establish an atmosphere that feels distinctly its own. (And make sure to visit the Black Pony Tavern, friends!)

More Than ‘Another Roguelite‘

Here’s the thing: Curse of Resthaven uses roguelite-inspired mechanics, but I don’t think “roguelite” alone does it justice. The trading, interrogations, and expeditions all serve the larger experience of being governor of an island where something is very, very wrong.

Twelve hours in, I’m still uncovering answers, and the promise of two more timelines has me eager to keep going. My first ending left me satisfied with that particular thread of the story while making me excited to discover what else I’d missed. That’s a difficult balance to strike, and Hilltop Studio has done a fantastic job of making me want to return.

If you’re a fan of mysteries, narrative adventures, roguelites, or management games, there’s a lot here to appreciate. More importantly, if you enjoy games that reward curiosity and encourage you to connect the dots yourself, Resthaven has plenty to offer.

Curse of Resthaven is the kind of game that doesn’t deserve to be noted as “just another roguelite.” It’s far more than that.

And I, for one, am not finished investigating.