Amanda the Adventurer 3 [REVIEW] – A Clever and Chilling Finale

After two unsettling entries that steadily grew in both scope and ambition, Amanda the Adventurer 3 arrives as the conclusion to MANGLEDmaw Games’ VHS-fuelled horror trilogy. What began as a deceptively innocent puzzle game about a creepy children’s show has evolved into one of the more unique and creative indie horror series out there, and whilst the third game doesn’t reinvent its formula, it certainly refines it. It ties up loose ends, sharpens the puzzles, and offers players a fitting farewell to Amanda, Wooly, and the disturbing world behind Hameln Entertainment… what more could you want?

Check out some screenshots down below:

Amanda the Adventurer 3 picks up immediately after the events of the second game, with Riley now trapped in the depths of Hameln Entertainment’s facility – the source of the cursed tapes and the countless disappearances surrounding them. The story quickly dives into familiar territory: watching haunted VHS episodes, solving puzzles that blur the line between fiction and reality, and piecing together what truly happened to Amanda, or rather, Rebecca. It’ll be a formula that’s familiar to returning players, but uncovering each secret behind what’s going on remains as engaging as ever.

Like the previous entries, it’s a relatively brief experience, but its tight structure helps the pacing stay focused from start to finish. That compact design has always been part of the series’ charm, with the smaller environments, direct puzzling focus, and uneasy tension never overstaying its welcome. But most rewarding of all? This finale brings us face-to-face with the people and experiments responsible for everything that occurred across each game, with it satisfying (and even somewhat unsettling) to finally get some answers… even if a few mysteries remain intentionally vague. Either way, fans who’ve been following the breadcrumbs since the attic days will be satisfied with the conclusion, and whilst there’s still plenty of ambiguity left for fans to interpret, all of the major threads – the fate of Rebecca, the true purpose of the tapes, and Hameln’s twisted experiments – reach a meaningful resolution.

“Amanda the Adventurer 3 is exactly the kind of finale fans were hoping for – a more refined version of everything that made the series stand out in the first place that also answers all of the questions that have been building between each release.”

One of the biggest improvements in Amanda the Adventurer 3 comes with the puzzle design. The first game was charmingly simple within its confined attic setting, whilst the second occasionally veered into frustration with a few overly cryptic moments – Amanda the Adventurer 3 feels like it nails it, with the puzzles clever, thematically tied to the tapes, and encouraging careful observation without punishing players for missing small details. There’s even a subtle hint system in place that helps nudge you in the right direction when you’re stuck, which keeps the pacing smooth without leaving players frustrated for too long.

The escape-room structure remains intact too, with players uncovering more of the area around them, gathering clues, rewinding tapes, and so forth as they play. It’s a loop that the series has finely-tuned between each game, and while it doesn’t introduce much that’s new mechanically, it’s still engaging. Completionists will find plenty to hunt for too, with secret tapes and alternate outcomes rewarding those willing to replay and dig deeper into Hameln’s darkest corners. Much like the earlier games, Amanda the Adventurer 3 rewards curiosity, and there’s genuine satisfaction in uncovering ever little secret lurking around you.

Check out some screenshots down below:

That being said, there are a few moments in the game where inconsistencies creep in. Sometimes it’s unclear when the game expects you to pause a tape or solve a puzzle mid-sequence, and failing to act at the right moment can feel a little tedious when you don’t quite know how to progress. The inclusion of unskippable cutscenes also makes revisiting earlier sections a little tiresome, if only because you’re constantly retreading previously seen content trying to work out what you might need to change. These are minor irritations rather than deal-breakers so it’s hard to hold it against the game too much, but they do show that whilst Amanda the Adventurer 3 has refined a lot of its core loop, there are still some imperfections.

Visually, Amanda the Adventurer 3 continues the series’ low-budget, analog-horror aesthetic, with the environments simple and functional rather than detailed and character models still looking a bit awkward… but it works. This visual style has stuck around from the first game, and as soon as you start playing, you’ll instantly feel welcomed back into the strange world of Amanda the Adventurer. It does take a darker tone than previous entries, especially with the more unsettling environments that are less subtle than the attic or library, but it still feels consistent with everything you’d have seen before. If I was being completely honest, I’d say I found this locale less interesting than in the previous two games, but it still offers plenty of intrigue and lots of unique sights for the player to discover.

Developer: MANGLEDmaw Games
Publisher: DreadXP
Platform(s): PC (Reviewed)
Website: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3657210/Amanda_the_Adventurer_3/