Realms of the Haunting

The Pros: It's a classic! It has a rich story with lots of lore. Great puzzles with a FPS format. I remember playing this when it was relatively new. Having no walkthroughs or tips on how to play it took a fair amount of time to get through. The Cons: The control mapping is...something to be desired, BUT! the mapping has been changed for steam, so it is better than the original believe it or not! Cut scenes are cool, but the people are all bad actors. They probably got them discount at a porn convention. You have to pay attention in cut-scenes to know where you need to go at times. Some puzzles aren't that instinctual, or are a bit clunky. I do recommend this game though. It is very unique! I wish they would remake it, or adapt it into a movie of sorts. Just clean up the cheesy parts and we're good!

A mix of free walk-around, point-and-click adventure like Tex Murphy (Under a Killing Moon, Pandora Directive, Overseer) with combat inspired by Dungeon Master or Might and Magic, a lot of FMV, 13h of playtime, and a semi-open-world feeling which reminded me a lot of Clive Barker's Undying, where you continuously get back to the main house and unlock new doors and realms. It is basically Scorn with outdated visuals, somewhat of a story, and longer gameplay. I know they can't be compared, but hear me out: + Realms does a very good job of making you uncomfortable, whether it's the dark environments, the fear of unknown enemies, or the feeling of being lost. (like Scorn) + Combat is not that great and feels sluggish, but you'll get used to it, and it helps keep the fear alive. (like Scorn) + It has a distinct art style (like Scorn) which feels nice after a while, even today. + There are tons of different puzzles, platforming, and combat sections. + Every place feels and plays differently. + They really pushed the boundaries of what a game engine could do in 1996. Huge environments, seamless teleporting, MIRRORS! (Yep, there is a mirror maze. Have fun with it! And this one was really nice!) - You need to read the manual and also adjust some keybinding settings and the renderer (found in Steam Guides) to really enjoy it. Otherwise, it is frustratingly black instead of just dark. - Puzzles are sometimes illogical and cryptic, and you often have no idea where to go. (like Scorn) - It has waaaaaaay too many mazes! Remember the one from Myst? Great! Remember the one from The 7th Guest? Awesome! These are tricky mazes where "always go left" does not work to get to, sometimes, more than one goal in the maze in Realms of the Haunting. I hate mazes, but I'll have to give them credit for the diversity of the mazes, and you mostly have a map in your inventory, which would be helpful if you had a compass. (There is no "you are here" point.)