Realms of the Haunting

About Realms of the Haunting

Realms of the Haunting was made by Gremlin Interactive and first published by Interplay for MS-DOS in 1996. It is a hybrid of its era: a first-person 3D engine for exploring and fighting, point-and-click puzzle solving, and long full-motion video scenes filmed with live actors.

You play Adam Randall, a pastor's son who, after his father's death, goes to a remote mansion in Cornwall to find out what happened. The house is haunted, and more than that: it stands over a place sealed in the beginning by the Seven Seals, the centre of all realms of existence and the balance between good and evil. Something is breaking those seals.

You walk the mansion and the realms beyond it in first person, picking up and examining items, solving puzzles and fighting what attacks you with the weapons you find. The store promises bizarre universes, from the modern-age mansion to a medieval, surreal world full of monsters. Video scenes carry the story between them.

The horror is old-fashioned and atmospheric: wallpapered corridors that go on too long, rooms of skeletons, possessed men in video, and a story of demons rather than jumpscares. It is long, dated in its controls and full of 1990s acting, which many players count as part of its charm. It suits players curious about horror from the PC's CD-ROM era and fans of The 7th Guest or Harvester.

How to play Realms of the Haunting

1. Buy it on Steam or GOG.
2. Explore the mansion in first person and pick up everything you can.
3. Examine and combine items to solve the puzzles that block your way.
4. Fight off the creatures that attack with the weapons you find.
5. Watch the video scenes; they carry the clues and the story.

Tips

• Save often and in more than one slot; it is a long game from 1996.
• Check every room of the mansion again after new events; doors and objects change.
• Keep ammunition for the realms beyond the house, where the monsters are tougher.

Questions