Realms of the Haunting

If you want to get lost in a terrible old mansion, this is the one to do it in. The stories of Heaven and Hell are flavor for the real meat of this thing - getting lost in the mysterious dark and terrifying light of the dreamscapes this author produces. Whether you find yourself in Heaven or Hell, you will never be bored by this lovingly painted little gem... unless you get lost in that damn maze at the end. Frickin' maze!

I don't normally write reviews (I'm too eager, running off to the next game !), but I did feel that this game deserved some of my time. I played A LOT of video game 15 to 20 years ago. Somehow this one slipped under my radar. Lucky me that I picked it up here on GOG based on a gut feeling. My gut was right. The in game video still holds up by modern standards. The story line was better than I expected. The combat was reminiscent of some of the old school, 1st gen Doom experiences. Fun and definitely had its creepy moments (and that's as a grown man, with the lights on !). If you haven't played it yet, I highly recommend it.

Having a lot of interest in the horror genre, I bought this based on the description along with the very good reviews of other users here. I knew nothing about it beforehand, and only played a few games on the PC back in the early 90's. One of those I played a good bit were the Doom games, so this feels pretty comfortable as it's built with that engine. The game itself is a wonderfully balanced mix of exploration, puzzle solving, and combat. Atmosphere is truly great here, as the house starts dark and empty, leading you deeper into a mystery that eventually has you crossing dimensions and facing biblical demons. A lot of reference, with plenty of flavor and background for those who want it. Probably the most attractive thing to me is the FMV sequences. I've played a few games like that, mostly with very cheesy acting and not so great effects (still classics though). This is absolutely NOT one of those. The acting herein, in my opinion, is on par with the greats such as Wing Commander, Tex Murphy and the like. It goes a long way toward allowing you to immerse yourself in this world and really play the part of your character. That is a huge selling point to me. I always believed you can easily tell when a developer truly cares and believes in what they are creating, it's as true today as it was in my youth and this stands as a perfect example of that fact.

This game, i have played and completed about 40 times. the story is excellant, yes the graphics are dated, but its from an era that had gameplay in the games and not great visuals The story is good and worthy of a sequel, and its got a great twist at the end This and Gabriel Knight 2 The Beast Within should be in everyones collection

Everything about this game is so great - the music, the FMV sequences, the atmosphere, the action, the puzzles -- well, now that I mention the puzzles, the platforming sequences are a pain in the butt, but they are great otherwise. My only gripe with it, besides the aforementioned platforming sequences, is that the enemies in the game look kind of cartoonish to me and clash with the rest of the art style of the game. Definitely worth picking up and playing again and again and again.