The Excavation of Hob's Barrow

The Excavation of Hob's Barrow

Fair · Narrative · 2022

Steam Deck Verified

The verdict

NO RUSH.

Fair at $14.99. Buy it if you want it.

Length
7h
Value
$2.14/hr
Reviews
92% positive
It needs 7% off ($14.00) to be worth it, though reviews keep it under BANGER.
Watch this gameOne alert when it is worth buying.
Length
7h
main story (HowLongToBeat)
Completionist
8h
100% (HowLongToBeat)
$/hr
$2.14
price ÷ main-story length
Price
$14.99
as of Oct 1
Reviews
92%
3,329 reviews, as of Sep 26
Metacritic
80
critic score
Players
350K
owners, SteamSpy estimate
Released
2022

Minimum on the Steam store: 1 GB of memory, 640x360, 32-bit colour: 700 Mhz system minimum, 2 GB of storage. Runs on Windows, macOS, Linux.

The Excavation of Hob's Barrow is a folk horror narrative-driven adventure. Explore the isolated moors of rural Victorian England as you uncover the mysteries of Hob's Barrow. The answers lie in the soil...
Description from the Steam store page.

What drives the score

How to read this

Grades run S to D, read from the buyer's side. ▲ marks a lift, ▼ a drag or a dock, ? an input we do not have, • a fact this genre's score does not use. How the grades work

Raising the score
Reviews92% positive
Gates the score. Weak reviews cap it, and nothing reaches BANGER without strong ones
Holding it back
Value$2.14/hr
Price per hour of game. It moves the score inside the ceiling reviews set
For context
Length7 hours
How much game you get. Hours feed the value per dollar
Reach350K+ owners
How many own it, by SteamSpy's estimate (an old snapshot). Context here: this game's score does not use it
MonetizationNot known
No monetization record for this game, so nothing is assumed either way
Refunds0 of 464 reviews
Steam-purchase reviews sampled whose writer refunded the game. Nothing is docked
AI contentNone disclosed
From the developer's own Steam disclosure. No disclosure is not proof of none, so it does not move the score

The value story

August 2026 is where it bottomed out, at $5.99. Its cuts run 40 percent off as a rule. There have been 29 in the 4 years tracked, about 7 weeks apart.

Against its own genre it lands in the top 6 percent on value. It is pricier than 79 percent of its genre, and better reviewed than 94 percent. Among the games that feel like it, A Date in the Park (free, scores 69) beats it on value, while it beats Little Misfortune ($19.99, scores 59).

The press gave it 80; the people who bought it give it 92 percent. A 12-point gap in the buyer's favour.

Of the 464 Steam-purchase reviews this site sampled, none come from buyers who refunded the game, sampled from reviews written September 2022 to August 2026.

Valve rates it Steam Deck Verified, and at 7 hours it is short enough to finish on one.

The drop-off

68% start to 10% rarest
050100rarestfirst achievement

No achievement in this game marks the ending, so there is no finish rate. The curve runs from the most-unlocked achievement to the rarest, and its shape is where players stop. Steam global achievements

Players

7 players online when we last checked, on Sep 28, 08:47 UTC.

Player counts from the Steam Web API.

What players say

I'll edit this review at some point, but you should RUN, not walk to this game. The Excavation of Hob's Barrow is an absolute gem that does everything right. It's moody, it's got exceptional writing and an inspired voice cast, and the puzzles never feel cheap or too difficult. A true classic for the ages.
VarkhanRecommendedafter 6.4h2 found this helpfulRead on Steam
A thing of desolate beauty. The combination of the striking visuals, stellar voice acting (especially Samantha Béart as Thomasina and Sally Beaumont in three different roles), and haunting soundtrack by The Machine, The Demon (which you should definitely pick up, too) make this game one to add to your collection as soon as is humanly possible. Ignore reviews that suggest the ending is 'bad' or somehow...
KingBubbidyRecommendedafter 8.4h2 found this helpfulRead on Steam
Great atmosphere, amazing art and music. Gameplay and puzzles are ok'ish. Definitely worth it on discount.
benasiseRecommendedafter 7.5hSep 2026Read on Steam

Steam reviews, mixed to match its Steam ratio and rotated daily. Opinions are theirs.

Cite this score

BANG Score badge
The Excavation of Hob's Barrow scores 67/100 on the BANG Score (fair value) as of Oct 2, 2026. The BANG Score rates what a game is worth for the money. Via Steam BANGERS. https://steambangers.com/game/1182310/the-excavation-of-hob-s-barrow
Embed the live badge

Reviews set the ceiling, and price against real length moves the BANG Score inside it. How it works, and where it is weak → Steam reviews as of Sep 26, price as of Oct 1.

A number here look wrong? Tell me and I will check the inputs.

Critics vs players+12
Critics
80
Players
92
Player favorite. The critics underrated it.
Metacritic critics · 3,329 Steam player reviews

Tags

Steam user tags as SteamSpy recorded them

Details

DeveloperCloak and Dagger Games
PublisherWadjet Eye Games
GenreNarrative
Released2022
Achievements40