Shivers Two: Harvest of Souls

Last updated: March 8, 2026

Overview

Shivers Two: Harvest of Souls is a horror adventure game developed and published by Sierra On-Line in 1997¹. Set in the mysterious desert town of Cyclone, Arizona, the game follows the player as they search for their missing friends from the rock band Trip Cyclone who have disappeared while filming music videos². As the second installment in the Shivers series, the game maintains the first-person slideshow interface of its predecessor while introducing significant technical improvements³.

The game incorporates Native American mysticism and supernatural horror elements, requiring players to collect twelve ceremonial prayer sticks called Bahos to free their friends’ souls from an ancient curse⁴. Sierra On-Line “clearly listened to the many criticisms by gamers on Shivers during the design of this sequel,” resulting in enhanced gameplay mechanics and improved production values⁵. The game features an innovative soundtrack by the fictional band Trip Cyclone, with clue-riddled music videos serving as integral puzzle elements⁶.⁷⁸⁹

Game Info

Developer: Sierra On-Line¹ Designer: Marcia Bales, Willie Eide¹⁰ Publisher: Sierra On-Line¹ Platforms: Windows, PC¹¹ Release Year: 1997 Series: Shivers Sierra Lineage: Core Sierra

Story Summary

“Welcome to Cyclone, a bizarre little town on the edge of madness in a remote corner of Arizona”¹². The player arrives in this isolated desert community to discover that their friends, the members of rock band Trip Cyclone, have mysteriously vanished while creating music videos². The town appears largely abandoned except for a sinister masked figure called Darkcloud, “a faceless creature, who preys on everyone’s fears” and has been tormenting Cyclone for years¹².

As the investigation unfolds, players discover the disappearances are connected to ancient Native American curses involving Kachina masks, ceremonial prayer sticks called Bahos, and sacred petroglyphs¹³. A cryptic message reveals “I have your friends. Only the warrior can free them”³, setting up the central quest. The antagonist Darkcloud taunts the player with “They thought I liked their music. They were such pawns”³, suggesting the band’s apparent success was part of an elaborate supernatural trap.

The game’s plot weaves together rock music culture with Native American spiritual traditions, as players must navigate between the modern world of the music industry and ancient mystical forces to rescue their friends and uncover the dark secrets of Cyclone¹⁴.¹⁵

Gameplay

Interface and Controls

Shivers Two utilizes an enhanced first-person slideshow interface with 360-degree rotation capability, allowing players to look around environments completely¹⁶. The game introduces the Vision 360 engine for panoramic views and Dynamic Sounds technology for surround sound simulation⁵. Players can pan the environment 360 degrees horizontally with up/down movement of 30 degrees, providing more immersive exploration than typical static adventure games³.

The interface includes a full inventory system, representing a significant improvement over the original Shivers which only allowed holding one item at a time¹⁶. Players use mouse and keyboard controls to navigate the environment, examine objects, and solve puzzles¹⁷. The game features SVGA 640x480 resolution with 256 colors, standard for mid-1990s adventure games⁵.

Structure and Progression

The game employs a non-linear structure that sets it apart from contemporary “Myst-clones.” As one reviewer noted, “One great thing about the Shivers games as opposed to other Myst-clones is their extreme non-linearity”¹⁸. Players can tackle the 18 major puzzles plus geometric puzzles for the twelve Bahos in various orders, with dynamic elements ensuring each playthrough offers different experiences³.

The core objective involves collecting twelve ceremonial prayer sticks called Bahos, which must be returned to an altar room at Devil’s Mouth Canyon to rescue the missing band members¹⁹. However, carrying Bahos drains the player’s life essence, adding strategic resource management to the puzzle-solving gameplay²⁰. The game features three different endings based on player choices and actions throughout the adventure⁵.

Puzzles and Mechanics

The puzzle design incorporates both traditional adventure game logic challenges and elements specific to the Native American cultural theme. Players encounter door puzzles, petroglyph interpretation challenges, and various mini-games scattered throughout Cyclone²⁰. The random puzzle factor was influenced by Mixed-Up Mother Goose Deluxe, according to designer Marcia Bales²¹.

Rock music videos serve as more than atmospheric elements—they contain actual clues essential for solving puzzles. The official strategy guide promises “interpretations of every clue-riddled music video”⁶, highlighting their integral role in progression. Players can also redesign existing puzzles and share them as .txt files, with the Sierra Internet Gaming System (SIGS) allowing real-time online chat for collaborative puzzle-solving⁵.

Reception

Contemporary Reviews

Publication	Score	Notes
Adventure Classic Gaming	3/5 (Good)	“Both a visual and an audio feast”5
GameSpot	8.7/10	Praised intelligent plot22
Next Generation	2/5 stars	Criticized as “just a puzzle game”22
CD-Action	7/10	May 1997 review22
Génération 4	3/6	French gaming magazine, June 199723
Glitchwave	3.18/5.0	User aggregate rating18
IMDb	8.2/10	User rating24

Philip Jong of Adventure Classic Gaming awarded the game 3 out of 5 stars, praising it as “an interesting and immersing horror adventure, backed by rock music mixed with Native American history”⁵. However, Next Generation was less enthusiastic, arguing “It might be the best puzzle game of its type, but it’s still just a puzzle game that involves lots of mouse-clicking and leaps of logic to uncover its ancient mystery”²².

GameSpot’s Kevin Hunsanger provided a more positive assessment with an 8.7/10 score, noting that “The plot in Shivers II is hauntingly intelligent”²⁵. The game received a mixed critical average of 72% according to multiple review aggregators²⁶²⁷.

Modern Assessment

Retrospective reviews have been generally positive, with Adventure Gamers calling it “A thoroughly enjoyable game that stays true to its predecessor, but doesn’t cut any new ground in terms of game play”³. User reviews on Metacritic average 8.3/10 based on six ratings, with one reviewer stating “Even in 2011, it’s better than 95% of the adventure/puzzle games ever made”²⁸.

Modern players appreciate the atmospheric soundtrack, with one noting “The soundtrack is so good, so supportive to the plot, that it’s hard to believe the pop group that did it doesn’t actually exist”²⁸. One Glitchwave reviewer praised the non-linear design: “One great thing about the Shivers games as opposed to other Myst-clones is their extreme non-linearity”¹⁸, though the same reviewer criticized that “Obviously, the acting and production of the FMVs is absolutely abysmal (standard for a 90s Myst-clone)“¹⁸. The Collection Chamber blog noted “It’s not particularly scary, but it’s a hell of a lot creepier than the first game”¹⁴, though ultimately concluded “Is Shivers 2 a better game than its predecessor? In my opinion, no”¹⁴.

However, the game faces technical challenges on modern systems, requiring unofficial patches and workarounds for compatibility with 64-bit operating systems²⁹. The original 16-bit setup executable will not function on 64-bit operating systems²⁹, leading community modder Squirtthecat to create an alternative installer first released in July 2008 and last updated in August 2020³⁰. Known issues include div-by-zero exceptions under XP/Vista, panning speed problems on modern CPUs, and black lines appearing in cut-scenes³¹.

Development

Origins

Sierra On-Line developed Shivers Two as a direct response to criticisms of the original 1995 Shivers game⁵. The development team spent two years attempting to improve upon the predecessor’s foundation while maintaining the core appeal of its puzzle-focused gameplay³². Unlike many sequels, Shivers Two is “not a sequel to the first game” but rather “a completely different adventure with a new location and totally new characters”²⁶.

The game was designed by Marcia Bales and Willie Eide, with Bales specifically noting the influence of Mixed-Up Mother Goose Deluxe on the random puzzle generation system²¹. This design philosophy aimed to increase replayability by ensuring that “dynamic puzzles change from game to game”³³.

Production

The development team created two new game engines specifically for Shivers Two: Vision 360 for panoramic environmental views and Dynamic Sounds for enhanced audio immersion⁵. The game was built using pre-rendered 3D graphics and full-motion video sequences, standard for high-end adventure games of the mid-1990s³⁴. The game received an ESRB Teen rating for its horror content¹⁷.

One notable casting choice was Jason Lindsey as a Trip Cyclone band member, who later became known for his MetalJesusRocks YouTube channel²¹³². The game ships on two CDs—one containing the game itself, the other featuring multiple endings and the complete Trip Cyclone soundtrack³⁵. Music composition was handled by Guy Whitmore along with the fictional Trip Cyclone band³⁶. One GOG wishlist user noted the practical importance of the second disc: “I hope you would be able to work out Shivers 2 as it did require you to put in the second disk to finish the game”³⁷.

The player reviews on MobyGames capture contemporary enthusiasm, with one reviewer declaring “Shivers Two is an excellent game from Sierra. It takes what made Shivers great and expands on it, adding a ton of amazing features”²⁶, while another praised “The music is simply the best of the genre, very atmospheric and moody”²⁶. Yet another reviewer placed the game in historical context: “Adventure gaming took a slightly darker tone in the 1990s, with the introduction of CD-ROM technology and a willingness to target a older, more sophisticated audience”²⁶.

Technical Achievements

The Vision 360 engine represented a significant advancement in adventure game technology, allowing full 360-degree environmental rotation with vertical movement capabilities⁵. The Dynamic Sounds technology provided surround sound simulation on standard stereo systems, enhancing the atmospheric horror elements⁵. The game rendered at SVGA 640x480 resolution with 256 colors and required a minimum 486DX/2 66MHz processor with 12 MB RAM⁵.

The game included pioneering online features through the Sierra Internet Gaming System (SIGS), enabling real-time chat and puzzle sharing capabilities³. Players could redesign puzzles and email them as .txt files, creating an early form of user-generated content⁵. However, these online features are no longer functional due to the discontinuation of Sierra’s servers³. The game shipped on two CDs totaling approximately 1.1GB—one containing the core game, the other featuring multiple endings and the complete Trip Cyclone soundtrack³⁸.

Version History

The original 1997 release was followed by version 1.0.0.2, a CUC International release that modified the spider puzzle and relocated Norah’s second hypnotism sequence¹⁰. The game was marketed under the alternate title “Harvest of Souls” in European territories³³.

Easter Eggs and Trivia

Shivers Two contains several connections to other Sierra games and hidden developer references. In the library, a book written by Hubert Windlenot—the professor from the original Shivers—can be found, providing a subtle link between the games despite their separate storylines¹⁰. One of the Trip Cyclone band members can be seen wearing a Shivers sweater in a photograph within the game³⁹.

The photograph of the corrupt sheriff found in his office is actually a photograph of Al Lowe, the famous Leisure Suit Larry creator, though Al does not voice the character³⁹. The jukebox in the game contains songs from the deluxe version of Mixed-Up Mother Goose³⁹, and the elevator music also appeared in Phantasmagoria: A Puzzle of Flesh³⁹.

Cut content discovered in the game files includes a dummied out animation for the Stone Ixupi’s shadow that was never implemented in the final release³⁹. A scoring glitch allows players to look at the same inventory item repeatedly while points continue accumulating, potentially exceeding the intended maximum score of 800,000 points⁴.

The game uses an alphanumeric code system where A=1, B=2, and so forth, wrapping around at Z=26⁴. Various random events can be triggered by walking around or clicking things repeatedly in specific sequences, including glowing red eyes with growling sounds in a secret passage and a man-eating plant that moves if positioned correctly³⁹.

Legacy

Shivers Two represents one of Sierra’s final successful entries in the supernatural horror adventure genre before the company’s financial difficulties in the late 1990s³⁵. As one reviewer noted, it was “the only sequel released before Sierra got into financial trouble”³⁵. The game’s influence can be seen in later horror adventure titles that similarly blend modern settings with ancient supernatural themes.

The soundtrack has maintained a cult following, with fans particularly appreciating the seven-song Trip Cyclone album included on the second disc³. The fictional band’s music videos serve as an early example of integrating multimedia content as essential gameplay elements rather than mere atmospheric enhancement⁶. One GOG wishlist commenter enthused: “Shivers 2 has an awesome soundtrack and is an amazing game where you can get lost in the town of Cyclone. Not many games can do that”³⁷. The complete soundtrack and composer credits are preserved in the VGMdb database, documenting Guy Whitmore’s contributions alongside the Trip Cyclone recordings³⁶.

Despite technical obsolescence, the game continues to attract interest from retro gaming enthusiasts. A strong community demand exists for a modern digital release, as evidenced by GOG.com wishlist requests³⁷. Community modders have created unofficial installers to address compatibility issues with modern 64-bit operating systems²⁹. One reviewer from Old-Games.com concluded that “Sierra has struck just the right chord between rewarding puzzle gaming, detective adventuring and plot”⁴⁰, while another warned that “this game is not an easy romp through a theme park”⁴⁰.

Downloads

Download / Preservation

• Not currently available for digital download

See Also

• 1995 - Shivers

References

Footnotes

1. Adventure Classic Gaming Review – - Developer, publisher, platform, and release date information ↩ ↩² ↩³

2. Internet Archive - Full Game – - Plot summary and game description ↩ ↩²

3. Adventure Gamers Review – - Gameplay mechanics, technical specifications, and critical assessment ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

4. GameFAQs Walkthrough – - Core gameplay mechanics and cultural themes ↩ ↩² ↩³

5. Adventure Classic Gaming Review (Alternative) – - Engine details, system requirements, and reviewer quotes ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³

6. AbeBooks Strategy Guide – - Strategy guide features and music video clues ↩ ↩² ↩³

7. Steam Search – - Digital availability status ↩

8. MyAbandonware Search – - Additional preservation data ↩

9. SierraChest – - Sierra game database entry ↩

10. MobyGames Trivia – - Designer credits ↩ ↩² ↩³

11. Abandonware DOS Search – - Platform information ↩

12. Internet Archive - Demo – - Official plot description and setting details ↩ ↩²

13. Amazon Strategy Guide – - Cultural elements and plot themes ↩

14. Collection Chamber Blog – - Development context and thematic analysis ↩ ↩² ↩³

15. TV Tropes Shivers Original – - Narrative and gameplay analysis ↩

16. Archive.org Manual – - Interface improvements and inventory system ↩ ↩²

17. eBay Listing 1 – - Control scheme and technical specifications ↩ ↩²

18. Glitchwave – User aggregate rating and gameplay analysis ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

19. GameFAQs Main Page – - Core objective and progression system ↩

20. Weebly Walkthrough – - Puzzle mechanics and gameplay elements ↩ ↩²

21. MobyGames Main Entry – - Development details and cast information ↩ ↩² ↩³

22. Wikipedia Article – - Review scores and critical reception ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

23. UVList – Génération 4 review score from June 1997 ↩

24. IMDb – User rating of 8.2/10 ↩

25. GameSpot Cheats – - Plot assessment and rating ↩

26. MobyGames Reviews – Player review compilation ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

27. MobyGames Search – - Additional review aggregation data ↩

28. Metacritic – - User review scores and detailed player feedback ↩ ↩²

29. Game Pressure Mod – - Technical compatibility issues and community solutions ↩ ↩² ↩³

30. Game Pressure Alternative Installer – Squirtthecat’s community patch history ↩

31. PCGamingWiki – Technical compatibility issues documentation ↩

32. eBay Listing 2 – - Cast information and development timeline ↩ ↩²

33. Free GOG PC Games – - Dynamic puzzle features ↩ ↩²

34. eBay Listing 3 – - Technical specifications and production values ↩

35. MobyGames Shivers Original – - Sierra history and sequel context ↩ ↩² ↩³

36. VGMdb Soundtrack – - Music composition credits ↩ ↩²

37. GOG Dreamlist – - Community demand for modern release ↩ ↩² ↩³

38. MyAbandonware – - Preservation and download options ↩

39. TV Tropes – Trip Cyclone Shivers sweater reference ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

40. Old-Games.com Review – Overall gameplay assessment ↩ ↩²