Remedy Review

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Remedy: An Adventure Game

Review by TogerMarch 2005

I love going on vacation. I can get away from the everyday grind and relax, visit friends or shop and eat ’til I drop. It’s fun until you get bad news. What if a good friend—who happens to be a detective—suddenly dies? What if you thought your friend’s most recent case was the reason for his untimely demise?  Would you consider investigating the case on your own?

Such is the premise of Remedy, a new independent game from Swedish husband/wife team Mikael and Eleen Nyqvist.

Remedy’s story begins when Carol Reed, a young English girl who’s vacationing in Sweden, receives a letter telling her that her friend, Conrad Vogel, a local detective, has suddenly died. Included in the letter from Conrad’s sister is a letter from Conrad telling Carol about a strange case he’s been working on where he could use Carol’s help.

Gameplay is standard point-and-click through node-based environments, with the viewpoint always through Carol’s eyes. Players who may suffer from motion sickness should have no problem, as Remedy’s camera does not pan. The interactive cursor changes from directional arrows for movement to gears for using an inventory items or a hand to open/close doors or pick up items. Accessing your inventory is simply a matter of moving the cursor to the top of the screen to open the inventory bar. A right-click or press of the Esc button will bring up the save/load/exit options.

As with other games using the Adventure Maker engine, movement is limited to the four basic cardinal directions—meaning entry to some locations is only accessible from a precise spot, which you may only see from one specific direction. In one particular location, I found myself doing the “one forward step, look right, look left, repeat” shuffle, which caused me to lose track of where I was in relation to the rest of the room.

Remedy’s puzzles mainly consist of the inventory-based variety—picking up whatever isn’t nailed to the floor and using it in the appropriate place. There’s even an instance where you’ll combine inventory items to make something new. You won’t come across any situation too mind-crushing to figure out. There are no timed sequences, labyrinths or dying, although there is a small musical puzzle and one involving colors.

If you’ve ever wanted to live inside your favorite watercolor, then you’ll love the look of Remedy. Backgrounds were photographed in Norrköping, Sweden with a digital camera and then processed in Photoshop to give the appearance of a watercolor painting—everything has soft, blurry edges. In some instances, zooming in for a closer look will give you more detail.

As with other Myst-style games, Remedy is a somewhat solitary quest. You will meet and interact with a handful of characters whose still images are superimposed on the lush backgrounds—their photographs will change as you proceed through the subtitled dialogue tree.

As you chat up the locals or discover clues, new locations will open up for you to investigate. A handy map is available to access the various locations. Remedy is very linear—not that there’s anything wrong with that—but you will find that not all can be solved when you first encounter a problem. There is a small amount of traveling back and forth.

Remedy’s original music score was charming and very soothing, although I will admit that while stuck in the first location, the snippet of music that looped got a tad annoying. Once I was free of that location, the rest of the music faded into the background.

Voice work was pretty good, especially since the actors were all friends and/or family. A couple of the characters sounded a little flat, but it wasn’t too bad. Several times, I had trouble hearing what was being said, as the sound would suddenly drop in volume.

Strangely enough, there isn’t a lot of ambient sound during the game—even while wandering through the city. It would have been a nice touch to hear the sounds of a bustling city, even if the still photographs didn’t show it.

As I read over this review, it occurs to me that I’ve given the impression that I didn’t really enjoy Remedy—in truth, Remedy is a soothing, albeit extremely short, diversion.  I was somewhat surprised when it abruptly ended after only three or four hours of play. I especially enjoyed looking at the game; unfortunately, while my inner graphic junkie loved it, the gamer in me was left wanting more. The End

The Verdict

The Lowdown

Developer: MDNA Games Publisher: MDNA Games Release Date: November 2004

Available for: Windows

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Screenshots

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System Requirements

Pentium 400 MHz 32 MB RAM 2 MB video card 300 MB free hard disk space Windows 98/00/XP

Where to Find It

MDNA Games $15 (includes worldwide shipping)

Prices/links current as of 03/01/05Links provided for informational purposes only.  FFC makes no warranty with regard to any transaction entered into by any party(ies). 

      Copyright © Electric Eye Productions.  All rights reserved.  No reproduction in whole or in part without express written permission.

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14 Responses to Fear Factor

  • Fear Factor | Tap-Repeatedly.com | Reality Topics Blog

    […] nobody@flickr.com (graftedno1) wrote a very interesting post today.   Here’s a quick excerpt:My greatest fear is to be trapped alone in a confined space with a blind human, in total darkness. They have a heightened sense of smell and hearing, and. […]

  • Matt "Steerpike" Sakey

    Lewis, you made me think of the scariest moments I’ve experienced in gaming, and we’re very similar people.

    Bioshock had two moments – the dentist and the flooded room filled with mannequins.

    Thief had Return to the Cathedral, which was terrifying to me. Thief 3 had Shalebridge Cradle, which is so scary it ought to be fined.

    System Shock 2 kept me on the edge of my seat, but it was more lonely panic than true fear.

    Korsakovia was so scary that I uninstalled it.

    And STALKER. Oh, god, the haunted labs in STALKER. The latter two games don’t have scares like that. Few games do.

    It’s especially rare for a game to have more than mere “moments” – for a game to be scary from beginning to end, that’s a triumph.

    Wonderful article. As if Gregg’s review wasn’t enough to convince me that Penumbra is not something I have the courage to play!

  • DPenn

    I’m with you Lewis … I’m a bit of a puss. I just have a hard time wrapping my head around the idea of dread as entertainment.

    Still, I’m drawn to dark stories when they have something interesting to say, whether it’s a game like Thief or a film like, say, Gaspar Noe’s Irreversible. So I’ll push through, sometimes peering through my fingers.

    The trouble with games, though, is that if you look through your fingers, you’re probably just going to have to play through the scenario again. :~)

  • Mike "Scout" Gust

    I wanted to play this game. I downloaded the demo but the controls were just too wonky for me to get my head around. I liked the atmospheric vibe a lot. I think I’m a bit desensitized from an overdose of horror movies in my youth so I don’t so much get the dread thing from these games as a nice creepy vibration. If only the controls were better…

  • Lewis B

    @ Mike, what’s wrong with the controls bud? As someone who despises poor control schemes, Penumbra’s is just like any other FPS, except to examine things you right click on them.  To use things you left click.  I’m not sure that can be considered difficult 🙂

  • Gregg B

    @Steerpike: Yeah my greatest shit-scared moments were with those games too. A few spoilers below people, so beware.

    Bioshock – Haha, I remember the dentist. I didn’t really find the game that scary overall but the bit where you go into the wine cellar and notice a mannequin facing the wall and after upgrading your weapon it’s stood directly behind you motionless and quiet just for a moment before attacking you. I shat a brick. I also missed that bit originally until Lew told me about it.

    System Shock 2 – same as you really, more unremitting tension all the way through rather than specific terrifying moments. Oh actually, theres a bit where you call a lift and it breaks then you realise a service droid is coming to fix it… I do remember having sleep issues after my first encounter with the cyborg ninjas though.

    Thief: The Dark Project – The Sword and Return to the Cathedral and Down in the Bonehoard and well, loads of them. The Sword made me break out into goosebumps though because there was a bit where you could hear this creepy giggling which seemed like it was following me about then it suddenly changed to this horrible throaty noise. What made matters worse was that the EAX (bless you Creative) made my foot steps sound like somebody else was there with me. That level was incredible, a bit too incredible as it seems I missed great chunks of it because I was so eager to leave.

    Thief II: The Metal Age – Trail of Blood where you end up in that opening with those damn tree beasts. God the first time I saw one of those hurtling towards me I actually died shortly afterward. Do you remember that Mechanist child walking around on one of the levels? That was a little creepy.

    Then there’s Penumbra: Overture – quite a few bits but I’m not mentioning them here.

    Oh and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. – The brain scorcher lab just because it was so damn quiet. My imagination seriously got the better of me there. Those stuffed animals and heads I’d seen in various buildings led me to believe that those creatures were lurking somewhere in the Zone, specifically that lab.

    @Mike: My control setup was perfect after some tweaking (as well as the simple weapon swing fix). If you ever fancy giving it another go, give me a shout and I’ll let you know my setup.

  • Lewis B

    I’m not sure why guys, but one of my starting paragraphs had gone missing, even though I copied it straight from the original source, and It was fine earlier. 

    Incase you missed it due to some technical issue you might want to re-read just after “Well no she wouldn’t in truth, but in Penumbra: Overture you don’t want to move anyway.” at the very start for those who’ve already read the article. Apologies 🙂

  • Mike "Scout" Gust

    Lewis, it was the weapon swing. It had this terrible, unresponsive feel to it, like trying to hit through molasses. I couldn’t stand using it. I tried the .ini fix as mentioned in the review but it didn’t seem to help. Of course this was the demo…but that shouldn’t have made any difference. I might try the second game instead as I guess they did away with the weapons thing.

    I’m see your first paragraph just fine. It’s the dialogue, right?

  • jdeuel

    I like the argument that weapons can remove fear, but even loaded to the teeth with ammo in AVP’99 the Marine missions were frightful because the enemy was anywhere at any time.

    As for Penumbra Overture, if the controls are anything like the original Penumbra they need to hack in some Wii-Remote 3d controls. I did not like using my mouse for 3d movements.

  • Gregg B

    @Mike: I’ve read that many people avoided conflict altogether in Overture which incidentally is something forced upon you in Black Plague. As somebody who has been renovating a house over the last 6 months with no DIY experience I can safely say that swinging a hammer is significantly easier in real life than it is in Overture without the fix. The fix balanced that for me.

    I’d highly recommend completing the first Penumbra because it’s one big build up to Black Plague which spoils the ending to Overture in the intro. And it’s a great ending too. Just so you know!

  • Lewis B

    @ Steerpike, those moments you mention are all my worst too!!  Do you remember the Robot labs in SS2? Absolutely terrifying, waiting for robots to burst out on you! 🙁 oh and have you ever player Condemned?

    @ Mike, The use of weapons in Penumbra is different to say HL2, where the player is physically holding the weapon, as in Penumbra it floats slightly infront of you.  However, if you change the control method to normal weapon swing, it’s no different!  Speak to Greggi and he’ll tell you what to do 🙂

    @ jdeuel, AVP the original and its sequal were scary however what type of fear do you think it is? I don’t think it’s anything more than sheer tension.  Having a Smart Gun makes you feel incredibly powerful.  I can honestly say in Penumbra the fear is sheer unrivalled terror, where you actually have to force yourself to play on.  It genuinly is that scary! 🙂

  • Jason Dobry

    It’s so true, an arsenal of weapons and ammo rapidly deflates any sense of horror or uneasiness in any game for reasons you already mentioned. Sakey, I thought Bioshock was more “lonely panic,” while I was pretty much always terrified in System Shock 2. I really, really, REALLY did not want to enter The Many’s nursery, and my weapons were so unreliable and ammo so scarce that I never felt safe.

    Silent Hill was terrifying for the same reasons. Ammo was rare and I frequently had to rely on my pipe for self-defense.  Even when I had ammo, the game mechanics prevented my character from being anything other than marginal with any firearm.

    Fear had one moment for me: I was climbing up a ladder, and as I reached the upper platform, my guy briefly looked down as he climbed off. As my perspective looked up again, that Ring-esque little girl was RIGHT THERE, reaching for me. I screamed and she was gone.

    What else…the original Aliens vs. Predator sent me into a locker room and I could only hear the facehuggers scurrying about somewhere within. I had to go in there. I advanced about three steps before the damn thing screamed and filled up my screen with its repulsive underside as it implanted me with its spawn. My roommate made fun of me for weeks for screaming like a girl child.

    Korsakovia–meh.  I was too annoyed and frustrated by the box rearrangement/jumping puzzles to be scared. I uninstalled it after an hour of play, I think. Maybe the scary parts were later, but I doubt it.

    As for Penumbra, I did play through about half of it before other games distracted me. I remember unease and creepiness, but no sweaty fear. I think I’m to blame here, or, more precisely, my daughter, who was still an infant at the time and generally allowed me only to play during the day for 45 minutes at a time. I was denied total immersion and the fear effect suffered. Maybe I should give it another go after I finish Call of Pripyat since she sleeps through the night now. With any luck, Penumbra will keep me from doing the same.

  • Gregg B

    I played the demo of F.E.A.R. but that ladder scare is the only bit I remember. Christ, that made me jump. I’m not too good with cat scares.

    Also I felt exactly the same about Korsakovia. It was creepy at first but then it began to irritate me far too much and it just soured the experience. I stopped playing as a result. Not to mention, when I realised I could bash those smoke-things with my crowbar they didn’t bother me nearly as much.

  • Online Up

    Great article. I look forward to reading more in the future.

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