Is Poltergeist: Pixelated Horror just kind of like a "pixel version" of the Genesis game Haunted?
I have never played haunted, but I've played PPH.
It's a puzzle game. You start each 'house' with a set number of possible supernatural tools [say, 2 moving objects, 1 possession, 1 apparition]. Each house has individuals scattered about, and you need to use those tools [each of which has a specific effect] to scare everyone out of the house.
There are various complexities thrown in -- for example, if someone is sitting on a couch, you can't shake the couch unless you first scare the individual once to make them stand. Individuals also often have 2 or 3 scare points, so you carefully need to herd them about so that you can scare several with a single tool.
Eventually, the game throws in special units [psychics, skeptics, ghostbusters, etc] that each can prevent certain types of tools, so you need to adjust to that.
Some of the puzzles end up being quite complex. Each set of 10 or so missions is in a different time period. Overall, I'd say the game is quite dry but it's not bad -- I do a set of 10 missions, forget about the game for a few months, do another set, etc. Skip unless you love puzzle games, but don't spend more than a buck or two and be prepared for it to be dry.
