The Neverhood
Windows - 1996
Description of The Neverhood
The Neverhood is one of the most original adventure games ever made, and one of the prime examples of how an ultra-slick style is sometimes enough to carry the game, even though we all know that substance is more important than style. Instead of using cartoons or computer animation, they built the entire set of the game with 2 tons of clay! Quite an achievement in any media, and the result is nothing short of amazing.
The storyline is quite simple. You play the role of Klayman; you wake up in a room, and you have to figure what to do from there. Rooms and puzzles are played from a third person perspective, while moving from one place to another takes form in FMV cut scenes in first person. The game is extremely appealing to all family members, and is a lot of fun to play with.
Unfortunately for all its graphical originality, puzzles in The Neverhood is nowhere near as creative. The most annoying part of the game is the room with the wall that goes on to infinity, the wall of which has the entire "bible" of the klay world (klay universe?) in it. This damned thing spans 38 (yes, thirty-eight) rooms, and believe it or not, I actually spent a few hours reading it all... and it gave me quite a headache.
As in The 7th Guest, the puzzles in The Neverhood bear no real relation to the story at hand -- they have more in common with bar bets or the logic problems you might find in Games magazine, except much more pointless and repetitive. Many puzzles are just rehashes from other Myst clones: to open a door to a new location, you'll have to solve a tile-sliding puzzle; to open another door, you'll have to match musical notes by filling a doorbell with water -- if you fail, you'll have to start over from the beginning until you get it right; to open yet another door, you'll have to guide a mouse safely through a maze so he can eat a tasty slice of cheese. Fortunately, there are usually hints available if you go to the initial room and down the ladder.
Perhaps due to lackluster puzzles and a high price tag, The Neverhood neither sold well nor won critical acclaim, despite being original and well executed. Two thumbs up for this underdog, but be warned that all the appeal lies in the style here, not so much substance. If you play adventure games for the interesting puzzles and situations, give The Neverhood a miss. If you prefer story-oriented games with a unique style, though, The Neverhood more than fits the bill.
Review By HOTUD
External links
How to play The Neverhood Windows
To run the game on Win 7 / 8 / 10, the Neverhood Restauration Project will help you.
User LOBO has submitted a new fix available on this page, and points to this video tutorial.
Captures and Snapshots
Comments and reviews
cinzano.bengo 2024-04-20 1 point
I remember when I was a super young girl and me and my sister were playing old games with my dad, we used to play all sorts of video games together. Those are my most precious memories of my childhood. One day dad found this game on a shelf and immediately put it on. I was little scared at first but now I'm on a hunt for old video games. Chasing back my memories.
vasounek73 2023-08-04 3 points
Nostalgie a zase to jedu.To co vývojáři odvedli je super.A věřím tomu že to dělali pro potěšení Nás Všech a ne pro peníze.A jedna perlička.Když jdete tu dálku k disketě,četli jste příběh na stěnách?Komu se podařilo napsat knihu do hry.Asi nikomu.Děkuji vývojářum že jsem nemusel pořád pařit DOOM ale hodně jsem si odpočinul u Nevrhooda.I když taky jsem měl někdy nervy že to nejde.Ale šlo.Ti co to neznaj a chtěj si to zahrád jedna rada.NEKOUKEJ NA INTERNETU JAK TI POMOC.Vyřeš Vše sám.Jinak Tě to a ani další hry bavit nebudou.
game guy 2023-05-21 3 points
Infinitely charming but yes some puzzles kinda eh. I want to replay this right now!
Kris 2022-01-24 4 points
Its amazing had to use scummVM to run it but other than that its totally okay with no problems
Domarius 2022-01-13 9 points
As @Goingmad said, Just use Scumm VM!
Copy all files from the CD image (after mounting) into a folder on your HDD, then open Scumm VM, Add Game, and point it to the DATA folder that was copied from the CD. Works perfectly.
Remember to check "Full screen" and "Correct aspect ratio" in Scumm VM. And "Filter" if you prefer. I don't think you're meant to see the pixels in this game.
C-Goody564 2021-09-16 7 points
Ah, the memories. This came in a pack of free games that came with a Gateway 98 back in '97 (I'm pretty sure that was the year) along with Close Combat 2: A Bridge too Far, Flight Simulator 98, and some other games. This one struck me as extremely unique back then, and I still get that same sense to this day. Definitely one to try out.
@Moooly I can confirm that one person who helped create this game is 55 years old.
MOOOLY 2021-09-02 1 point
My first best game ever since 1997 1999 2000 . wah it was a huge memories to me the neverhood on pc also it call skull monkeys in PlayStation one i remember . thanks for all peoples who create this game i wonder now how old are they now .
CasjinGamer209 2021-05-22 -2 points
Oh wait, it runs on ScummVM, too.
All you have to do is download ScummVM onto your computer, select the 'Add Game' button, then select the Neverhood folder or ISO in your downloads section. And press the Ok button.
janek 2021-03-21 3 points
I was a few years old when I started playing this game, came with the first computer we had in our home. This is such a trip, I have tears in my eyes - thank you for making this so available.
heimerdong 2021-03-17 0 point
for the few hours i was playing i was having the time of my life, absolutely amazing game. not sure why but the second time i tried to run it i got cd rom errors :(
Chaosynth 2021-02-15 -2 points
Cutscenes are super choppy, can't figure out what's causing it. any ideas?
pc gamer83 2020-11-17 1 point
very original and funny, sometimes frustrating, still a must play as they dont do such games anymore, using clay I mean.
9x forever 2020-11-01 0 point
i suggest anytoiso link here https://crystalidea.com/anytoiso to convert from nrg to a usable iso
willie trombone 2020-10-31 1 point
i used scummvm. i also got the game from archive.org. it worked well and both sites are legit. best game ever.
olek 2020-05-09 3 points
I've done all acc to Fix instruction but still can not start the game.
system: Win7 64bit
problem1: DDERR_UNSUPPORTED - clicked OK then
problem2: Unable to initialize DirectDraw
Dxdiag:
DirectX 11
DirectDraw Enabled
Direct3d Enabled
AGP Enabled
Any help, sugestion?
RubyRiolu 2020-03-06 -4 points
I downloaded a U4 remake less than 5 minuites ago, but it's super slow, so I guess I'm going with this version.
TittyKitty 2020-02-17 0 point
@BEELZEBUBBA Where was that? I remember my dad having the game around that time and he borrowed it, but never gave it back.
Beelzebubba 2020-02-03 2 points
I loaned the CD to a "friend" in '97 and never saw it, or the friend, again. I especially loved the soundtrack. It reminded me of Leon Redbone.
kidman 2019-11-05 -4 points
in 90 its been very butiful l game all plastic like material and grafix 3d its) 3d objects ?))) and in chilhoot i think another / i think its not a plastic cartoon a true gtrafx objects
GoingMad 2019-05-23 14 points
Runs nice in ScummVM. Just needed the data folder from the cd. No worries about installing or special settings.
MONGRONG 2019-02-07 -1 point
if you run on upper version windows Vista, you don't need windows 8.1 fix or "WAVistaWin7.exe" etc.
just set compatibility "Windows 95", "256 Colors" AND "RUN AS ADMINISTRATOR".
lynsey 2018-12-23 1 point
It said my file was corrupted (downloaded it from this site) Tried the powershell (before I found out it was corrupted) and it said "object not found". I have no idea what this means or why my file that I downloaded from this website was corrupted. I've been trying to play this fricken game forever and Zero download links have worked. I just want to find one that isn't corrupted, and actually works. AGH
Lexi Harris 2018-12-08 3 points
This game is awesome my sixty two year old dad talked my kids into it and they love it
LOBO 2018-06-27 0 point
I wanted to add a couple of hints for this game. When the game runs in first person, the sound and animation lag. Not sure what if anything can be done about that. By hitting ENTER and typing the word (you won't see any fields) FASTFORWARD and pressing ENTER once more, the animation speeds up in the parts with a 3rd person perspective.
Visit your mailbox, located below the Flytrap room, to help you solve your next puzzle.
Save often to avoid re-playing Neverhood scenes.
LOBO 2018-06-25 14 points
"THE NEVERHOOD" for Windows 10 (is compatible):
1. Download the game & manual ("Save Game" function works fine - patch seems unnecessary and has security alerts)
2. Unzip "The-Neverhood_Win_EN"
2. Convert Neverhood.nrg (Nero file) to an .iso file ("nrg2iso" is free ("nrg2iso20" doesn't seem to work))
3. Mount "Neverhood.iso"
W10 "PowerShell" command for mounting/dismounting an ISO (to open Powershell, search Windows for "Powershell" Desktop App):
A. Mounting: Copy & Paste into Powershell (leave quotes): Mount-DiskImage -ImagePath "C:\wherever\Neverhood.iso"
B. Dismounting: Copy & Paste into Powershell (leave quotes): Dismount-DiskImage -ImagePath "C:\wherever\Neverhood.iso"
C. Note the allocated drive letter.
4. Create a "Games" folder in your "C:\\" drive.
5. Unpack ("7-Zip" is free) "The Neverhood Fix.rar" files (3) to the "Games" folder
"The Neverhood Fix.rar" (edit: fix is available on this page)
6. Confirm the 2 .reg files (R-click, "Edit")
A. "Nvrhood Registry Fix.reg":
The default points to the "D" drive. Change (if necessary) to the actual drive letter where "Neverhood.iso" is mounted (ie. ("Data Drive"="whatever drive:\\")
B. "NeverHood Windows 8.1 Fix.reg":
1. If a different folder than "Games" is used (not recommended) do the following. Otherwise do nothing.
A. Change "C:\\Games\\Neverhood\\Nhc.exe" to "C:\\whateverFolderName\\Neverhood\\Nhc.exe"
B. Edit "Nvrhood Registry Fix.reg":
1. Change "Installed Directory"="C:\\Games\\Neverhood" to "Installed Directory"="C:\\whateverFolderName\\Neverhood"
2. Change "Run File"="C:\\Games\\Neverhood\\NHC" to "Run File"="C:\\whateverFolderName\\Neverhood\\NHC"
When you're all set, merge the 2 .reg files (double-click)
7. Run "Nhc.exe"
@rodrigounda 2017-06-20 43 points
I stll have a CD copy of it.
I'm saving for my daughter 18's birthday....
she's only 2.
:)
Kidswatter 2017-04-09 1 point
The only solution for games that don't support windowed mode that I know is to use a window hooker like DxWnd that allows you to run games in windowed mode. There are plenty of tutorials on how to set it up and to my knowledge, it works great,
@AMIVICKY
AmiVicky 2017-03-27 1 point
So I was able to get it to run, but for capturing purposes (I want to stream this), is there any way I can change the resolution and volume? There are no volume settings in the game, and I can't get the game out of fullscreen. Any help would be greatly appreciated :)
Raymond Figueroa 2016-12-29 1 point
Hello, i wanted to say something about this. mainly this:
How did you get this game? its literally impossible. second, Thank you for this i missed playing the Neverhood when i was little. Keep up the good Work.
HYPERTiZ 2016-11-18 0 point
This is sadly why emulation is required these days;
to archive the hard works of those game developers that gives them free exposure of their works but also to experiece those lost gems that cant be played through original hardware or physical means.
themolluskk 2016-10-22 -1 point
the original restoration project is no longer active, but following the link on the page provided here will redirect you & give you installation instructions.
SO happy to finally find this game!
3alwesh 2016-08-26 1 point
Hi!
For anyone having an issue with running on windows 10 see this tutorial on youtube, it got the game working for me!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBdUwwzrlMs
Thepancake953 2016-07-08 2 points
@le-me
It works great when using it on Windows 10, but when I go into certain areas on Windows 7 a command line shows up and the game crashes. Great game though 10/10.
Vicky 2016-07-05 3 points
This game is AMAZING. I played it in college, then again as a young adult, then with my ex-husband, then with our eldest boy and now with my boyfriend and my little boy. Yes... is that good. I do take years apart between playing it thou.
While it may look for children and you can certainly play it with them (and they'll laugh their heads off), the puzzles are DEFINITELY for older people as they grow in complexity throughout the game... although having a kid with me the first time around would've helped a lot, as you have to... think like a child! :D
A game that is 100% better to tackle in family: everybody will have their opinion on what to do, where to go or how to interpret the puzzles.
Made by adults for adults, the music, the humor, the graphics all make of this a true GEM of human creativity.
The sacrifice of getting it to work, even if you have to buy an old PC to play it or struggle with an emulator, is VERY well worth it.
One of the BEST games you will EVER play and one that would leave beautiful memories printed in your mind, specially if shared. ;)
Virginia Ramunda-Marty
CorTat 2015-11-22 -3 points
To run this, you'll need to download Daemon Tools Lite, then open the .nrg file with it.
Master Mind 2015-07-24 -1 point Windows version
how do you run it after the download, please help.
XXPedia 2015-07-16 -1 point Windows version
Ok, so I have no idea how to run the game because it's a .nrg file. Help.
yuxiya 2015-07-14 0 point Windows version
oh my God!!! Finally i found it.. very interesting adventure game, when my dad bought for me when i was still a kid (Thank you "www.myabandonware.com" you're save my good memory)
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Windows Version
595 MBGame Extras
Various files to help you run The Neverhood, apply patches, fixes, maps or miscellaneous utilities.
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