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Review – Ballads of Reemus: When the Bed Bites

Review – Ballads of Reemus: When the Bed Bites
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Platforms: Windows PC, Steam, Desura

Game Name: Ballads of Reemus: When the Bed Bites

Publisher: ClickShake Games LLC

Developer: ClickShake Games LLC

Genre: Point and Click

Release Date: April 24, 2015

Ballads of Reemus: When the Bed Bites – What We Think:

Some people just want to be the hero. Reemus is one of those people. He wants everyone to know his name; he wants be appreciated and be recognized as a hero. Ballads of Reemus: When the Bed Bites, from ClickShake Games, details Reemus’s adventure of how he saved his town from a horrible calamity. Inspired by old school point-and-click adventure games, Ballads of Reemus: When the Bed Bites is an adventure worth experiencing.

Ballads of Reemus Bed bites screenshot - Wind

Reemus is a slightly dim-witted wannabe hero who is living in the shadow of his more successful and renowned brother. Liam is Reemus’s loyal sidekick bear, and they work with each other as bug exterminators in a small town in the kingdom of Fredricus. When Reemus is tasked to remove a simple housefly from the bartender’s house, things don’t go according to plan. In the proces,s Reemus and Liam destroy the bartender’s bed. One thing leads to another, and eventually the town becomes infested with bed bugs. It’s up to Reemus and Liam to rid the town of the horrible bed bug invasion.

No Po-Mo For Sho

Reemus’s demeanor fits well within this fantastical world in which the game takes place. Trees that cook eggs and bacon, talking insects, ice cream cacti…there are no limits to the amount of strange things with which this game can surprise. Its world’s oddness keeps things fresh without ever feeling derivative or strange for the sake of strange.

Throughout the narrative you’ll go from place to place seeing the many interesting things the world has to offer. Using traditional point-and-click adventure structure, you talk to characters with dialogue trees, pick up items and find items to help you move the narrative forward. It’s simple and leans a lot more on delivering an entertaining narrative than a long, difficult, puzzle-heavy style. It reminded me a lot of Day of the Tentacle.

Puzzles were not complex or illogical but instead straightforward, which kept the game moving at a great pace. A lot of point-and-clicks will have serious pacing issues because you might stumble upon a difficult puzzle or an area that you must find a way out of but that feels irrelevant to the story. This game sidesteps all of those issues by making the very few puzzles in the game easy and the narrative more streamlined.

Ballads of Reemus Bed bites screenshot - Market

Throughout most of the game, you’ll be able to control Reemus and Liam at any given moment by switching back and fourth between them. The only gameplay difference between the two is that they’ll have different lines of dialogue, or in some cases be able to pick up items the other could not pick up. I felt that this system worked nicely, because there is no exchanging of items between characters or unnecessary backtracking. Oftentimes when you were able to switch between the two, they’d be exploring different areas to help each other out.

Although short–it took me two and a half hours to complete–the narrative was entertaining enough to keep me engaged. You’ll encounter a swamp witch who is trying to lose weight, so she captures Reemus to keep him as as tasty motivational snack. A character you encounter who looks like Winnie The Pooh steals and hides pieces of a honeycomb around the town. Another instance will have you attending a termite queen’s baby shower as she births countless numbers of babies. The scenarios in this game are fun, comical and never too serious. Ballads of Reemus: When the Bed Bites is an entertaining ride from start to finish.

Ballads of Reemus Bed bites screenshot - Sidekick

Although I had no problem with it, some gamers may feel that this title is too short and easy. I felt like the game could have used more puzzles, because the few that were in there were too simplistic. Then again, adding more puzzles would have disrupted the game’s fast pace. Those craving a more substantial, puzzle-heavy point-and-click adventure should look elsewhere.

Production values of the game are impressive; the voice acting is top notch, and characters really come to life with lively, enthusiastic voice actors. The visuals are reminiscent of Don Bluth’s animated films mixed with a modern Flash animation style. The world is vibrant and unique, and everything is drawn and colored nicely. The music is also fitting, and adds great ambiance to the game’s quirky setting.

Ballads of Reemus Bed bites screenshot - Queen

Ballads of Reemus: When the Bed Bites is an impressive point-and-click adventure game mainly due to its fun narrative and superb production values. It’s one of the most entertaining games in the genre that I’ve played in years. For those looking for a short and easy streamlined point-and-click, I recommend you check it out.

Ballad of Reemus: When the Bed Bites – Official Site

Get Ballads of Reemus: When the Bed Bites on Steam

Get Ballads of Reemus: When the Bed Bites on Desura

Watch the trailer for Ballads of Reemus: When the Bed Bites: