Attic Door Productions is a small indie studio based in Iowa, with members — all of whom are great fans of The 7th Guest — scattered throughout the US, Europe and Japan. Their dream has been to create a game called The 13th Doll that would tie in with the events of The 7th Guest. It’s been a long time coming and I, for one, admire their dedication.

Initially, the game was to be released as freeware. However, development did not go smoothly and it was abandoned for a few years.

When it was picked up again, the team had to start over due to advances in technology, lost files and other such issues. It was then Attic Door’s good fortune to obtain licensing rights from Trilobyte Games, the 7th Guest series license-holder. This enabled Attic Door to legally produce The 13th Doll as a commercial project.

When I first covered The 13th Doll back in July 2015, it was the hope of Attic Door to release the game by the end of 2015. But alas, this was not to be.

The developer persevered, however, and we now have a release date: October 31st, 2018 — Halloween!

Those who aren’t familiar with The 7th Guest, listen up. Once upon a time, there was an evil toymaker called Henry Stauf. He built a mansion, to which he invited 6 guests. But a 7th guest by the name of Tad managed to sneak in, and discovered that party-crashing can be a dangerous business.

Tad became trapped in the mansion, where he was tormented by nasty spirits, virus-transmitting dolls and the ghosts of other guests.

He eventually escaped, but his experiences continued to haunt him. He ended up in a mental institution.

In The 13th Doll, Tad and his doctor take what’s supposed to be a cathartic trip back to Stauf’s mansion. But things don’t exactly go as planned. To find out how they do go, you’ll have to play the game.

The 13th Doll features full motion video and live actors (as does The 7th Guest ). Actor Robert Hirschboeck reprises his role as Henry Stauf.

Other features include three environments and 25 smaller locations, an abundance of interactive objects, two playable characters, 5 possible endings and 26 mind-bending puzzles. Samples of the game’s music are located here.

Look for The 13th Doll starting October 31st on Windows, Mac, Linux and Oculus Rift.