This Strange Realm Of Mine

Review

Ever wonder what would happen after your last intake of oxygen? Well, it is obvious - you’ll die! Your body will either rot six feet under or will be badly overcooked. But what about your spirit? Will it float in the atmosphere, in space, or be sucked somewhere hot and fiery? Wherever you end up, it’ll be a place where you can reflect on your life. This is the Strange Realm of Mine.  

This Strange Realm of Mine is a combination of First Person Shooter, Puzzles and Horror, with a touch of poetry.

The first thing you need to do is to create your character (I made mine as green, as it should be ;-)). Then select the difficulty you’d like to play; and the last thing is . . .  you die! What a marvelous start!

The first few levels are truly fun and more based towards the FPS elements of these 3D-style games that we all love. Strange creatures will come at you from every angle, and, they will jump sporadically trying to avoid your shots. You’ll come across locked doors, some of which can be opened by activating a lever, others by shooting a painted eye across the corridor, and yet others by connecting the right segments together. After all the excitement, you’ll meet Ulrich at the safe haven, the Limbo Tavern. He is a resourceful fellow and you will be able to ask him questions to discover why you’re here. Then, when you’re ready, he’ll open the tavern door for you to access your next quest.

You’ll be playing in a fantasy world - in the sewers or even in space - and you’ll even swap from FPS to a small platformer level to keep you even more entertained, which is absolutely brilliant, in my opinion. You’ll meet characters as you progress through the game and you can invite them to thesafe haven. You guessed it. . .  The Limbo Tavern. My favourite character has to be the rat who composes very interesting, well –written poems, which you can read every time you successfully clear a level and make your way back to the tavern. The other characters will share their own experiences (so to speak) which you’ll discover when you talk to them.

As a gamer, I really enjoy the diversity of this game which includes the story, the poems, the fighting and the messages that come with it.  It’s very cleverly done!

Graphically, I loved the 3D pixel style. The soundtrack is fabulous and the controls are very responsive. The only downside is the length of the game. If you’re like me, you’ll finish the game in about five hours.