Vaguely spooky games with jump scares compromise their genre now. It's sometimes hard to tell who these games are meant for, though - some seem like they're meant to be played, while others seem designed to be watched. While there are some absolute treasures in the sub-genre, there are also some games that seem to do the bare minimum to get players. Granny falls somewhere in that continuum - and figuring out where requires taking a closer look at the game.

An escape room at its heart

At its heart, this game is an escape room. Your goal is to get out of a haunted house in five days, solving many puzzles and finding a few different items so that you can escape. While you're doing so, though, you're going to be hunted by the spectral Granny.

a bit like Five Nights or Amnesia

You'll have to do your best to avoid here, as getting caught will bring your run to an end. It's a bit like Five Nights or Amnesia, though without the charm or the innovation of either of those games.

Terribly awful graphics

This game looks awful. If you were to strip away everything but the backgrounds, this would still be an ugly game. When you throw in the Granny model, though, you're getting something that's even worse.

While there's something to be said for games that have an intentional throwback feel, that's not the vibe for which this game is going. Instead, it's ugly in the way that a computer game from the early 2000s would be - it just lacks the excuse of being almost two decades old.

The audio, on the other hand, is fine. While it's probably wise to give it a pass for being part of a mobile game, one can't help but wish that a little more effort had been put in here as well. It's nowhere near as bad as the visuals, but it's still exactly what you would expect out of a free game.

What type of game is this?

It's kind of hard to figure out what type of game this wants to be. On the one hand, you're going to spend a lot of time-solving puzzles here. Doing so is more a matter of trial and error than any real skill or intelligence, though.

The game is unreasonably hard to figure out

The game is unreasonably hard to figure out, but once you grasp it, there's not any challenge. You'll be able to brute force your way through most things, which does hurt the overall experience.

On the other hand, you're going to be playing an elaborate game of hiding and seek as you solve those puzzles. Granny is following you, so you'll need to hide and be as quiet as possible. Doing this successfully is tough because of the game's design, and the various bugs in the game don't make it any easier.

The two parts of the game do work together as intended, though, which is one of the few things that are worth praising about this game.

Not that fun to play

In all honesty, Granny isn't an enjoyable game to play. It's neither as scary nor as charming as most of the other games in this sub-genre, nor does it have enough unique mechanics to recommend it as a novel look at where the genre could be going. It's not an offensively bad game, though - it's just mediocre.

If you are looking for a quick scare or you want to try out some new puzzles, this game is fine. If you're looking for something special, though, you'll want to keep looking.

TL/DR

Granny is a horror/escape game that requires players to find their way out of a house while being hunted by the titular spirit.