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Amanda the Adventurer

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Amanda the Adventurer
Logo for the first game, featuring Amanda and Wooly
Genre(s)
Developer(s)MANGLEDmaw Games
Publisher(s)DreadXP
Platform(s)
First releaseAmanda the Adventurer: Pilot Episode
April 8, 2022
Latest releaseAmanda the Adventurer 3
Fall 2025

Amanda the Adventurer is a indie puzzle horror video game series partially inspired by the Nickelodeon children's show Dora the Explorer, developed by MANGLEDmaw Games and published by DreadXP. The series started as an entry into a game jam in April 2022 and was developed into a full game in April 2023 after it was acquired by DreadXP. The game spawned a trilogy, with Amanda the Adventurer 2 in 2024 and Amanda the Adventurer 3, which is scheduled for release in 2025.

The series centers upon the protagonist Riley, who has become involved with the mystery surrounding the fictional children's show Amanda the Adventurer.

Gameplay

During both games, players must solve puzzles and locate VHS tapes containing episodes from the children's series Amanda the Adventurer.[1] While screening the tapes, players can interact with Amanda and her companion Wooly the Sheep, which can in turn impact the player's environment and game endings.[2] The player assumes control of Riley, a non-gender-specific character who is tasked with investigating the mystery surrounding the show and the sinister company, Hameln Entertainment.[3] There are a few secret tapes to unlock such secret endings. Each decision players make can affect how the game ends.[4]

Plot

Amanda the Adventurer (2023)

Riley Park receives a goodbye letter from his Aunt Kate, who bequeaths them her home in Kensdale, Ohio while mentioning a VHS tape in her attic. After arriving at Kate's house, Riley discovers that the tape contains an episode of Amanda the Adventurer, a children's series which started out as a live-action show before it became a 3D cartoon after it was acquired by a studio called Hameln Entertainment. During its run, parents became concerned about some of the show's plots and messages. Several children also went missing while watching the show, which caused Kate to investigate it.

As Riley plays the tape they found, they are introduced to the show's titular protagonist, Amanda, and her timid and friendly sidekick, an anthropomorphic sheep named Wooly, who are both able to fully interact with Riley. By completing various puzzles, Riley discovers more tapes of Amanda the Adventurer, each one being darker than the last. Depending on the player's choices, Riley can discover additional, secret tapes that give out more information about the series, Hameln Entertainment, the series creator Sam Colton, and his adoptive daughter, Rebecca, who played Amanda.

The game has several different endings which depend on the path that Riley takes. One ending in particular, called, A Gruesome End, shows Riley being consumed by a skeleton-like demonic entity resembling Amanda. In the game's true ending, Riley plays the final tape, where Amanda tells them that she is "out there somewhere"[5] before causing the TV to glitch violently, forcing Riley to use a brick and throw it at the television, destroying it. If the player found all five secret tapes before achieving the true ending, Riley will discover a masked figure entering the attic.

Amanda the Adventurer 2 (2024)

Following the events of the first game, the masked figure tells Riley that she is a friend and associate of Kate's. The figure later takes Riley to Kate's former workplace, the Kensdale Public Library, where Riley is again tasked with finding more VHS tapes while the masked figure stays outside to keep watch and uses a walkie talkie to communicate with Riley, informing them of whatever activity is occurring.

As Riley finds and watches all of the tapes in the library, they interact further with Amanda and Wooly, whose adventures are frequently disrupted by a new possum character named Chickenscratch on the show. During these interactions, Riley must also avoid the wrath of Amanda's entity, who will attack them if Amanda is unsatisfied with Riley's actions. After Riley finds all of the tapes, the masked figure begins to destroy each of them before the Entity attacks and seemingly kills her. Finding a blank VHS tape, Riley flees through an escape tunnel that was installed in the library.

If the player found all four of the game's secret tapes, Riley watches an alternate version of the last Amanda the Adventurer tape in the library, where the possum hears the masked figure's voice calling out to Riley and tries to cry out her name before Amanda and Wooly dispose of him. After this instance, the player can obtain a secret audio cassette tape which recorded Kate's last words to Riley, warning them to not watch the tapes, but rather destroy them before she died in a car crash. Overhearing this, the masked figure reveals herself to be Joanne Cook, whose younger brother Jordan was one of the children who disappeared while watching the Amanda the Adventurer show. Convinced that Jordan was trapped in the tapes and that destroying them was the only way to bring him back, Joanne took advantage of Kate's trust in Riley in order to smash the tapes, which indirectly led to Kate's death. As Joanne vows to set things right, she urges Riley to take the tapes and escape. In the surrounding darkness, Joanne is severely mauled by another demonic entity that resembles Wooly (which Amanda's entity seems to be terrified of), while Riley escapes with the blank VHS tape.

Amanda the Adventurer 3 (2025)

Following the events of the sequel, After Joanne's gruesome demise at the hands of the demonic entity tied to Wooly, Riley escapes the library through a hatch and continues to investigate in an abandoned Hameln Entertainment facility to uncover the truth.[6]

Development

The first Amanda the Adventurer game was released in 2022 as part of DreadXP's Found Footage Jam on Itch.io.[‡ 1] The game, which has been referred to as Amanda the Adventurer: Pilot Episode, was developed by Ontario-based[‡ 2] developer MANGLEDmaw Games, along with Arcadim and SinsterCid.[‡ 3] In October 2022 DreadXP made an announcement that they had acquired the title for Amanda the Adventurer and would work with MANGLEDmaw to create a full game.[7] A demo of the full game was premiered at PAX East in early 2023.[8]

The first full Amanda the Adventurer game was released on April 25, 2023, via Steam and featured localized subtitles for multiple languages.[9][10] The game was given a release on the Nintendo Switch in September of the same year and, in 2024, Amanda the Adventurer released to the PlayStation and Xbox.[11][12]

A sequel entitled Amanda the Adventurer 2 was released to Steam on October 22, 2024.[13]

A third game entitled Amanda the Adventurer 3 was announced on April 25, 2025, which will serve as the finale of the series.[6][14][15] A demo featuring a prologue was released on June 19.[16]

Other media

Music video

On December 17, 2024, the official Amanda the Adventurer 2 X account published a tweet announcing the release of a song for the game, which released on December 20, 2024.[‡ 4] In the song, Amanda is voiced by her in-game voice actress Blair Greene-Osako.[‡ 4][17][‡ 5]

Reception

After its release, the first Amanda the Adventurer game became popular with online gaming streamers and per PCGamesN, videos relating to the game received approximately 1.5 billion views on YouTube.[18] Vice.com praised the game for its aesthetics and puzzles, as well as the choice to make the game start off "disarmingly sweet and wholesome".[19]

GamesRadar+ reviewed the first game, warning readers that some of the game's visuals could be disturbing and that it did not end with any definitive answers, while also noting that "otherwise, Amanda the Adventurer is a startlingly effective horror game deceptively wrapped in the aesthetics of an old analog horror game and retro children's TV shows".[20] Prima Games was also critical of the game ending with too many unanswered questions; they also praised the game's writing, world building, and puzzles.[21] TouchArcade reviewed the first game's Nintendo Switch port, stating that it was an overall good port but that "I feel like the change to how you interact with preset options rather than inputting on a keyboard like in the PC version holds this back from its true potential".[22]

Hardcore Gamer reviewed the second game, stating that it was "a fun adventure title that delivers solid puzzles, great performances and a nice mixture of dread and humor, but a few sloppy decisions and a lack of anything substantial in either the gameplay or story areas hold it back".[23]

References

  1. ^ McMullen, Chris (2023-05-05). "Is Amanda the Adventurer Scary?". The Escapist. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
  2. ^ Holthe, Emmy (2023-06-16). "Every Ending in Amanda the Adventurer (& How to Unlock Them)". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
  3. ^ Sheehan, Gavin (2024-10-09). "Amanda the Adventurer 2 To Be Released In Two Weeks". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
  4. ^ Vincent, Hadley (2024-10-22). "All Amanda the Adventurer 2 endings and how to get them". Dot Esports. Retrieved 2025-04-04.
  5. ^ Smith, Mina (2023-05-11). "Amanda the Adventurer: All Endings and Lore Explained". Game Rant. Retrieved 2025-06-04.
  6. ^ a b Wilson, Mike (2025-04-27). "'Amanda the Adventurer 3' Announced for PC, Coming Later This Year [Trailer]". Bloody Disgusting!. Retrieved 2025-05-02.
  7. ^ Korngut, Josh (2022-10-27). "DreadXP Now Aquire Horror Games 'Amanda the Adventurer' and '[I] doesn't exist'". Dread Central. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
  8. ^ Wilson, Mike (2023-03-27). "DreadXP Confirms Found Footage Horror Game 'Amanda the Adventurer' Release Date With New Trailer [Watch]". Bloody Disgusting!. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
  9. ^ Korngut, Josh (2023-04-25). "'Amanda the Adventurer': DreadXP Unleashes 90s-Nostalgia Nightmare Onto Windows PC". Dread Central. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
  10. ^ Sheehan, Gavin (2023-03-27). "New Horror Title Amanda The Adventurer Slated For April Release". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
  11. ^ Wilson, Mike (2024-10-04). "Edutainment Horror Title 'Amanda the Adventurer' Comes to PlayStation, Xbox on October 10 [Trailer]". Bloody Disgusting!. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
  12. ^ Wilson, Mike (2023-09-12). "Edutainment Horror Game 'Amanda the Adventurer' Heads to the Nintendo Switch September 19th". Bloody Disgusting!. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
  13. ^ Wilson, Mike (2024-10-10). "'Amanda the Adventurer 2' Launches on Steam on October 22 [Trailer]". Bloody Disgusting!. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
  14. ^ Romano, Sal (2025-04-25). "Amanda the Adventurer 3 announced for PC". Gematsu. Retrieved 2025-04-25.
  15. ^ Sheehan, Gavin (2025-04-25). "Amanda The Adventurer 3 Has Been Announced For Steam". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved 2025-04-25.
  16. ^ Wilson, Mike (June 20, 2025). "Demo Now Available for Edutainment Horror Title 'Amanda the Adventurer 3' [Trailer]". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  17. ^ "Amanda the Adventurer 2 credits (Windows, 2024)". MobyGames. Retrieved 2025-03-08.
  18. ^ "Viral horror game boasting 1.5 billion views gets surprise sequel". PCGamesN. 2024-05-10. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
  19. ^ Jenkins, Dwayne (2024-10-21). "Hey, Sequel to Horror Classic 'Amanda the Adventurer' Is Coming out Tomorrow". VICE. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
  20. ^ Gerblick, Jordan (2023-05-19). "I played viral horror game Amanda the Adventurer and I want my full nights of sleep back". gamesradar. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
  21. ^ Fama, Daphne (2023-05-05). "Amanda the Adventurer Review | Childhood Nostalgia meets Demonic Mystery". Prima Games. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
  22. ^ Musgrave, Shaun (2023-10-03). "SwitchArcade Round-Up: Reviews Featuring 'The Legend of Nayuta', Plus 'Disgaea 7' and Other Releases and Sales – TouchArcade". TouchArcade. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
  23. ^ LeClair, Kyle (2024-10-25). "Review: Amanda the Adventurer 2". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved 2024-11-09.

Primary sources

In the text these references are preceded by a double dagger (‡):

  1. ^ "The DreadXP Found Footage Jam". itch.io. Retrieved 2025-04-04.
  2. ^ "MANGLEDmaw Games". itch.io. Retrieved 2024-11-19.
  3. ^ "Pilot Episode and Brand New Demo! - Amanda the Adventurer". Itch.io.
  4. ^ a b @AmandaAdvnturer (17 December 2024). "This Friday, December 20th, @TheJakeneutron will debut the official "Play My Way" music video starring Amanda herself, @BMoonVA!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  5. ^ "BlairGreeneOsakoVO". BlairGreeneOsakoVO. Retrieved 2025-03-08.
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