The Hat Man: Shadow Ward on Steam - User reviews, Price & Information
Quick menu
Based on a true story, discover the horror of the Canton insane asylum as you attempt to rescue your daughter. Experience the scariest game of 2014.
The Hat Man: Shadow Ward is a horror, indie and first-person game
developed and published by Game Mechanics LLC.
Released on June 10th 2016 is available on Windows and MacOS
in 7 languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Portuguese - Brazil and Russian.
It has received 3,329 reviews of which 2,178 were positive and 1,151 were negative resulting in a rating of 6.4 out of 10. đ
The game is currently priced at 9.75⏠on Steam.
The Steam community has classified The Hat Man: Shadow Ward into these genres:
Media & Screenshots
Get an in-depth look at The Hat Man: Shadow Ward through various videos and screenshots.
System requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
- OS *: Windows XP/Vista/7
- Processor: 2.0Ghz - Low budget CPUs such as Celeron or Duron needs to be at about twice the CPU speed
- Memory: 1 GB RAM
- Graphics: Radeon X1000/GeForce 6 - Integrated graphics and low budget cards might not work.
- Storage: 250 MB available space
MacOS
- OS: Mac OS X 10.5.8 or newer
- Processor: 2.0Ghz
- Memory: 1 GB RAM
- Graphics: Radeon X1000/GeForce 6 - Integrated graphics and low budget cards might not work.
- Storage: 250 MB available space
User reviews & Ratings
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
The Hat Man at it's core is a Slender Man clone with a few new brushes of paint for distinction. Consider this recommendation with a caveat -- only purchase if you are a fan of the Slender Man series. You play as a mother (or father) of your presumed missing institutionalized daughter. The hospital you last checked her in has not replied to your messages so naturally, you head over to investigate. The game begins with you riding up an elevator to the lobby of this hospital. To your surprise, you arrive to a desolated, dilapitated and somber hospital -- no one at the front desk, no nurses and all the doors seem locked. Graphics are nice, controls are easy -- again, Slender Man-esque. You walk up a set of stairs to a room where you find your daughter's journal. After reading it, the game begins . You are transported to the Shadow Ward . I would like to emphasize to qualities of the Shadow Ward that serve as divergence points from the classic Slender Man series. If you stay too long in the room that teleports you to the Shadow Ward, (i.e. collecting journal papers or just looking around) strange shadow figures will start to appear and attack you. This happens occassionally throughout the game and the way to counter it is by pointing your flash light at them. Nothing revolutionizing, but a good small detail as far as Slender Man-esque games are concerned. This next quality is arguably the most reedeming quality of the game and one that I honestly wish more horror games would experiment with . After breaking a door with an axe you enter a maze in the hospotal where your task is to collect the missing journal entries while also escaping the Hat Man. The interesting part here is that the maze is constantly randomized. There are a few checkpoints that are stable but to the routes and locations of the journal entries are entirely randomized every time you hit a checkpoint or every time you restart the area. I think this is very ingenious and at least to my experience, something not most horror games do. I think it's a curious application of RNG that serves to disorient, displace and confuse the player. More so when you have Slender Man's cousin chasing after you. In other aspects, the story is easy to follow if you read the journal entries and the soundtrack is good as far as this niche sub-genre of games is concerned. All in all, The Hat Man: Shadow Ward is a worthy attempt at a Slender-clone. It decidedly has its faults, does not revolutionize the genre, but it also has just enough redeeming qualities to appeal to hardcore fans of the horror sub-genre. If you enjoy the way I review games, join and follow my curator group! It comes with a fun discord channel for horror fans to chill and game. [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/malkavianmadness]Malkavian Madness
Expand the review
The Hat Man: Shadow Ward + Creepy Soundtrack + Trading Cards + Horror game set in a deserted asylum + The voice-overs are so well done + You have to collect the missing pages + Not bad graphics - You can choose to play as Father or Mother for no good reason - Can't walk backwards - Your character has no personality whatsoever and basically - Too many bugs The game is not so terrible
Expand the review
Hat Man is scary! It is legit creepy. The only thing that irritated me were some of the mechanics in the game. Getting stuck on the monsters with no where to go (like on Stairs etc). If you want to know what this game is like, if you've ever played Slenderman (the original), it's just like that, in that you have to pick up papers (pages) to proceed. It just needs to be patched up a bit more and some of the 'player tested' mechanics adjusted, but it's definitely a nice little romp for cheap. My livestream viewers were creeped out more than once. The way you are stalked by the monsters has to be the most tense and excited I have been in awhile. If you'd like to watch me play a bit of the game. Take a peek in the video below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwR0EAs6ZaU
Expand the review
A solid, low-budget first-person survival horror closely linked to Slenderman: The Eight Pages , housing a fair amount of haunting images and thick atmosphere, evoking a handful of steady cold shivers and durable tension within its short run, mostly due to the eerie and restrained sound design. Your daughter has gone missing from the asylum where she was being treated for attempting suicide. Once you enter the vacant facility, investigating her whereabouts, you begin looking for pages from your daughter's journal while being hunted by a dark presence wearing a hat. The basic gameplay of finding a bunch of objects to unlock new areas for further exploration is quite easily comprehensible, yet it may be a fair disorienting challenge to obtain all 20+ pages since the randomly altering level design relocate the pages on each playthrough; though once you pinpoint the location of a page, whispery voices are in effect and narrowing it down become child's play. The stiff level design is utterly mediocre at best and visually it is quite dull, but the ridiculously awkward voice-over is the shattering winner to listen to and hence should have been left out. Also, the poorly written dialogue comes out far more silly rather than intriguing, and finally - considering the source material that is based on real events - the outcome turns out quite immaterial. At a discount however, coupled with appreciating solid scares, Game Mechanics' short piece of indie horror, regardless of being a Slender copy, earns a night's attention. 5,5 / 10
Expand the review
Prepare to die screamingâŠor more likely laughing at the horrendously bad voice acting of âThe Hat Man: The 20+ PagesââŠâŠwaitâŠ.wrong game (and more on the voice acting later). Alas, just as has happened with so many other indie horror games in recent years and with the advent of the Slender series, âThe Hat Man: Shadow Wardâ (the âfor realâ name) falls victim to the same âcollect questâ gameplay mechanic. This means that you need to find a set number of pages from your daughterâs diary to complete the game. Ultimately, thatâs the basis of the game: you either play as the father or mother in search of said daughter, who has gone missing from the seemingly empty asylum she was committed to which is now populated by shadow people/The Hat Man (BTW â the idea of shadow peeps is based loosely on fact and there are many documented cases, and even some decent movies, about people that have seen or had encounters with these so-called âShadow Peopleâ). Thankfully, you donât just search for pages as you also need to find some other items to progress deeper into the asylum and defeat The Hat Man (who I guess is like the pimp of the shadow peeps) to get your daughter back. One of the more unique attributes of this game (though itâs been done before) is that sound is utilized to pinpoint the location of pages/other items you need by means of whispery voices. Also, the sound design of this game isnât half bad for being a budget title, with some of the sound effects/ambient music being pretty creepy in my opinion. Now as promised, I must go back to my earlier comment about the voice acting. Granted, this game is super short and can be beat in less than half an hour, so you may think that voice acting wouldnât be too important in such a gameâŠ..but it kinda, sorta totally is. Essentially, itâs hilarious. No, seriously, Iâm not joking. I mean, itâs so stupendously bad that itâs good (I donât know how that works; it defies the human intellect to comprehend how that can be) but itâs true. I figure most people will laugh at it, though some may actually want to cry at how bad it is. And for all those 100% achievement unlock Steamers out there â prepare thine selves!! There is actually an achievement for listening to your daughter reading the pages of her diary as you collect them. Sure, this game can fairly easily be â100%âdâ and the aforementioned achievement is easy enough to unlock, but donât go joy-puking your faces off just yet as I seriously believe that listening to all of the pages may very well land you in an asylum. I personally just barely managed to keep my sanity intact while unlocking this achievement, so donât say I didnât warn you. This game can be fun for like 2 hrs tops, but I wouldnât recommend it at full price, even if it is a budget title. With decent voice acting, who knows, perhaps this game could have been terrifying. As it is, it will likely be overlooked by most gamers, but it is somewhat interesting and good for a laughâŠ.or cry, so give it a shot.
Expand the review
Similar games
View all
Slender: The Arrival
Slender Man returns more terrifying than ever. You're on your own. No one to help you. No one to hear you scream. Relive the horror all over again with cutting edge visuals for the 10th Anniversary Update and experience survival horror at its finest.
Passing Pineview Forest
Passing Pineview Forest is a free mini-prequel set in the universe of Pineview Drive. Behind the abandoned house on Pineview Drive lies ominous Pineview Forest...
Don't Knock Twice
Don't Knock Twice is a first-person horror game based on a psychologically terrifying urban legend. One knock to wake her from her bed, twice to raise her from the dead. Supports VR on HTC Vive and Oculus Rift for the ultimate horror experience!![[Chilla's Art] Okaeri | ăăăă](https://shared.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/1147960/header.jpg)
[Chilla's Art] Okaeri | ăăăă
Okaeri is a VHS Japanese psychological horror game about a middle school girl and her mother who recently moved to a new house.
Among the Sleep - Enhanced Edition
Among the Sleep: Enhanced Edition is a new and improved version of the award winning first person horror adventure. In the game you play as a small child trapped in a weird nightmare where you go looking for your mom.
Devolverland Expo
Devolverland Expo is a first-person 'marketing simulator' set within an abandoned convention center after the annual Devolver Digital game expo was mysteriously canceled.
White Day: A Labyrinth Named School
Notorious cult-classic Korean horror. Sneak into school at midnight to return your sweetheart's diary and get caught in a terrifying game of cat and mouse. Explore haunted hallways, solve classic survival horror puzzles and escape the clutches of a killer Janitor who is out for your blood.
Doorways: Prelude
Doorways is an immersive horror adventure, featuring a complex story and deep atmosphere.
Apsulov: End of Gods
In this future viking horror you awake in a sanctuary of steel and concrete, built to research and exploit the worlds of Yggdrasil, and to house an artifact, buried in the earth aeons ago.First person with a futuristic Norse mythology story. Horror adventure in the realms of Yggdrasil.![[Chilla's Art] Aka Manto | 蔀ăăłă](https://shared.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/1130620/header.jpg)
[Chilla's Art] Aka Manto | 蔀ăăłă
Aka Manto (蔀ăăłă Red Cloak), aka Red Cape or Red Mantle, is a Japanese urban legend about a masked spirit who wears a red cloak, and who appears to people using public or school restrooms.
Don't Be Afraid
Don't Be Afraid is an adventure horror game, that allows you to personate a boy, kidnapped by a psychopath. You have to survive, escape and find out how you were kidnapped. Exploring the gigantic, mysterious house of your torturer, you will soon reveal many secrets, hidden inside itâs wallsâŠ
Minds Eyes
You venture through your mind, trying desperately to wake up from your nightmares. Will you make it out?Frequently Asked Questions
The Hat Man: Shadow Ward is currently priced at 9.75⏠on Steam.
The Hat Man: Shadow Ward is currently not on sale. You can purchase it for 9.75⏠on Steam.
The Hat Man: Shadow Ward received 2,178 positive votes out of a total of 3,329 achieving a rating of 6.41.
đ
The Hat Man: Shadow Ward was developed and published by Game Mechanics LLC.
The Hat Man: Shadow Ward is playable and fully supported on Windows.
The Hat Man: Shadow Ward is playable and fully supported on MacOS.
The Hat Man: Shadow Ward is not playable on Linux.
The Hat Man: Shadow Ward is a single-player game.
There is a DLC available for The Hat Man: Shadow Ward. Explore additional content available for The Hat Man: Shadow Ward on Steam.
The Hat Man: Shadow Ward does not support mods via Steam Workshop.
The Hat Man: Shadow Ward does not support Steam Remote Play.
The Hat Man: Shadow Ward is enabled for Steam Family Sharing. This means you can share the game with authorized users from your Steam Library, allowing them to play it on their own accounts. For more details on how the feature works, you can read the original Steam Family Sharing announcement or visit the Steam Family Sharing user guide and FAQ page.
You can find solutions or submit a support ticket by visiting the Steam Support page for The Hat Man: Shadow Ward.
Data sources
The information presented on this page is sourced from reliable APIs to ensure accuracy and relevance. We utilize the Steam API to gather data on game details, including titles, descriptions, prices, and user reviews. This allows us to provide you with the most up-to-date information directly from the Steam platform.
Additionally, we incorporate data from the SteamSpy API, which offers insights into game sales and player statistics. This helps us present a comprehensive view of each game's popularity and performance within the gaming community.
Last Updates| Steam data | 25 April 2025 12:14 |
|---|---|
| SteamSpy data | 27 April 2025 09:26 |
| Steam price | 30 April 2025 04:47 |
| Steam reviews | 29 April 2025 00:01 |
If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about The Hat Man: Shadow Ward, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.
- SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about The Hat Man: Shadow Ward
- SteamCharts - Analysis of The Hat Man: Shadow Ward concurrent players on Steam
- ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck The Hat Man: Shadow Ward compatibility
Game modes
Features
Online players
1
Developer
Game Mechanics LLC
Publisher
Game Mechanics LLC
Release
10 Jun 2016
Platforms