Nuville Horrors

It takes guts (sorry) and a certain amount of bravura to open, with fanfare, a Halloween-themed sim two days after Halloween. But so it was with Nuville Horrors, which greeted its first visitors today, November 2nd. Designed by Suetabulous Yootz and Anya Ohmai, the build welcomes arrivals at a landing point that explains the admission fee structure: L$100 for a single pass (twelve hours), or L$800 for "permanent access throughout the time we open," which runs through February 2. Usually a bundled package fee like that would suggest that one would want to return at least eight times, and that going for L$800 would be the wiser deal. The need to return to any sim like this eight times in a short amount of time suggested rich rewards, so I was curious as to what I'd encounter, with "a ride to enjoy and 50 gifts" included.

I opted for the L$100 twelve-hour deal, and boarded the bus, which whisked me off toward Nuville. Along the way the bus traveled through a number of Halloween-oriented scenes, observable only from inside as we sped by, but they looked encouraging and well-designed—I had to resist the temptation to exit the bus. (A view out the front window of the bus is pictured at the top.) Finally, we arrived at the terminus and were deposited at the steps of a hotel (middle image), where we received a HUD and a basket. From there, the adventure continued inside, up one floor at a time (all essentially identical, lower image) and door to door. Knocking on hotel room doors often resulted in the receipt of a treat or prize. Occasionally a door would open, revealing a sparsely decorated room, and several of these, too, contained prizes. But after about the fifth or sixth floor, I must admit I was beginning to wonder if this was all there was to it–and indeed it was. I found it, frankly, a bit boring. And the prizes? Well, various pieces of candy to wear or eat (often the same item in different colors), a raven to perch on your shoulder, a scarecrow greeter, sunglasses that say "boo," and so on, plus a few Halloween-oriented avatars, all of which add up to 50 items. For me, it's mostly stuff that will head into the trash or at best be stuffed away for almost a year. Let's just say I'm glad I didn't fork over the additional L$700.