Requires a Mac with an Intel processor.

Game Media

By Brad Cook

“I have never doubted the truth of signs, Adso; they are the only things man has with which to orient himself in the world.” William of Baskerville speaks those words in Umberto Eco’s novel “The Name of the Rose,” whose story of murder among a cloistered order of medieval monks was the inspiration for The Abbey.

The Abbey

William’s statement, delivered to his apprentice, also applies to this game, in which you play the role of Leonardo, a former royal adviser tasked with delivering 13-year-old Bruno to the remote monastery where he is to begin his training. As the pair make their way along a rain-swept mountain pass, a mysterious hooded figure tries to kill the boy — he fails, and Leonardo isn’t able to catch him. Upon arriving at their destination, Leonardo learns that a monk named Anselmo recently died, but not everyone is sure it was an accident.

The abbot tells Leonardo of strange supernatural occurrences in the library, which have caused some of the monks to believe the Devil was responsible for the death. He asks Leonardo to investigate the odd goings-on, leading the inquisitive monk to wonder about a possible connection between them, Anselmo’s death, and the attempt on Bruno’s life. What could be the truth of those signs?

A Tangled Web

As Leonardo carries out his task with help from Bruno, he becomes acquainted with the abbey’s residents, including the prior, Segundo, who does not appreciate the presence of outsiders, and the busy head librarian, Umberto, who has little time for idle chit-chat. Umberto — named in homage to Eco — also demands that Leonardo obey the strict rules governing who can read the tomes he oversees. Toward the end of the story, Leonardo crosses paths with Nazario, the Grand Inquisitor who arrives to take over the investigation; the two have a past connection that was not friendly.

The Abbey’s storyline takes place over the course of four chapters, during which Leonardo tries to unravel the terrible truth behind Anselmo’s death while contending with new murders that complicate the situation. In the role of Leonardo, you must converse with other characters and collect objects required to complete goals. You’ll learn much about the complex relationship dynamics between the abbey’s residents and discover that even the simplest tasks consist of multiple steps.

For example, gaining access to the scriptorium, where you’ll find a key piece of parchment that belonged to Anselmo, requires Bruno becoming a copyist. Before that can happen, you’ll need to locate a quill for Bruno to use as well as look for a specific book for him to copy from during his test. Both of those steps involve intermediary tasks to perform for other characters, such as gathering bitterwort for Arcadio, the seemingly senile gardener who will trade it for the book in question.

An Accomplice

Leonardo is a man of reason who doubts the whispers of supernatural goings-on in the library, but what he discovers during his investigation is far more sinister. He soon learns that some of the other monks don’t appreciate the sharp analytical skills he brings to his job, and their resentment eventually endangers Leonardo’s life when the Grand Inquisitor accuses him of committing a crime.

Ultimately, uncovering the truth behind a plot that reaches all the way to the Vatican requires you to become, in essence, Leonardo’s accomplice, playing the game of monastery politics in order to succeed. As Eco writes in the postscript to “The Name of the Rose”: “What model reader did I want as I was writing? An accomplice, to be sure, one who would play my game.”

Game Hardware
Check out our systems for your best gaming experience.

Recommended Systems For Gamers

Two men conversing in a room.

Stumbling Block. Prior Segundo expresses his dislike for Leonardo’s investigation.

Characters searching a large room.

Leave No Stone Unturned. Could anything in the Abbot’s reception area provide a clue?

Characters inside an old shed.

A Makeshift Graveyard. Leonardo will make a tragic discovery in this old shed.

If you liked this game, check out:

System Requirements:

 
An abbey in the rain.

The Name of the Game

Umberto Eco’s career has been marked by his interest in semiotics, the study of communication through signs and symbols, whether alone or in groups. He published several non-fiction books before putting his medievalist training to use for “The Name of the Rose,” which saw Italian print in 1980 and was translated to English three years later. A film based on the story, starring Sean Connery as William of Baskerville and Christian Slater as Adso, was released in 1986.

As in The Abbey, William and Adso investigate a murder at a monastery, where other deaths soon occur. William casts aside the assumption that demonic possession is the culprit and uses the scholastic method to uncover the truth. Even though his final assumptions do not exactly fit the events, he does solve the mystery in the end.

Eco’s story was later adapted two more times, in the 1988 computer game The Abbey of Crime and in the 1996 board game Mystery of the Abbey. The former opens with the disappearance of a monk and requires players to not only collect required objects but also obey the abbot’s strict rules — violate too many of them and the abbot will end the investigation prematurely. The latter is similar to the board game Clue, requiring players to move from room to room questioning other players as they try to determine the identity of the murderer.

 

Tips and Tricks

 
Do you have comments for this game article? Send us a note.