Rhem 4 is the fourth (and I read somewhere the last) in the line of games by German indie developer Knut Muller.Following on in the style of Rhem, Rhem 2 and Rhem 3, Rhem 4 leans very heavily on puzzles. The franchise is a continuous journey through the island of Rhem. Boarding the little train at the beginning of each installment, the player unlocks the gateway to previously unexplored parts of the island as their quests begin.
In the first installment, Rhem you learned about two brothers, Kales and Zatias, who were on the island before you.Your goal was to find a missing object for them and they gifted you the key to another train.Travelling on down the tracks in Rhem 2 you get to explore the underground section of the island in a bid to capture a picture of an “Important Artifact” for the brothers. In Rhem 3 You continue on the track and enter a third area of Rhem again to retreive another Important Artifact for the brothers and now we are set for Rhem 4.(incidently it isnt necessary to play any of the previous games or even play in sequence as each of the Rhem titles are stand alone games)
Game discription
In RHEM 4 the game picks up where the third game left off, but unlike its predecessors, this time there’s hope of an actual escape. Kales has discovered a transport system that could ultimately lead off the island, but players must first collect several parts of the key to access it. So once more it’s time to “explore this huge, fantastic world full of strange vehicles and buildings, unknown mechanisms and machines, secret passages and doorways, though players will this time meet new characters, who can help them solve some of the mysteries they will face.”
Rhem 4 is a first person point and click game with the choice of full or windows screen.The menu is displayed in two columns with floppy disc style icons with Quit, New, Load, Cursor, Options and Info selections. There are 18 saved game slots and there is an auto save when the game is exited. On hovering the cursor on the bottom part of the screen. 4 gameplay icons are displayed – The box on bottom left is the inventory, The book shows any documents picked up during play, a compass, and a wheel on the right used to access the menu.
at the start of the game you receive a letter before embarking on the train
“Dear Friend,
Many thanks for embarking on the journey to Rhem yet again. I am sending you off with the black crystal because you will likely need it. I examined it and came to the conclusion that it is the key to a still unknown part of Rhem. I am including the results of my research which you will need to activate the crystal.
All the best for your journey. Please say hello to my brother Kales for me.
Zetais”
and a video from Kales shortly afterwards details a hidden transport system leading to a second connection to the outside world. In order to activate this and also to enable your own return, you must find all nine fragments of the key to the system
….and that is the storyline. But then again fans of the franchise are not buying Rhem for a story driven adventure. Puzzles – its all about the puzzles.
The graphics improve slightly with each new installment but still remain a bit dated but again thats not why people buy Rhem.
The problem, I think, is that Rhem is still classified as an adventure game. Unfortunately for Rhem, while it has remained true to its origins, the adventure genre has progressed and developed and modern players may not appreciate having to solve a chain of puzzles with little or no interaction.So let’s just scrap this notion and move onto Rhem’s strength – its puzzles and shift it into the puzzle category
What kinds of puzzles can we expect to find? there are very few inventory based puzzles – mostly you will be unlocking doors and operating machines with keys and combinations along with logic word and number puzzles. The gaming environment itself isnt large if we were to compare it with modern adventure titles, and the game involves a lot of backtracking returning time and again to areas you have been through.It is complex,but the puzzles are logical with the clues scattered throughout the environment.While some of the puzzles are simple enough its often locating a solution held within a chain that adds to the complexity. For instance. you may have to open several doors and go through several areas before finding a clue or hints as to how to solve a puzzle in the initial room.
Summary
If it’s an adventure you are looking for then this may not be for you however, Rhem 4 is a puzzle lovers Paradise and if you liked the previous games or are a Myst fan, then you will love this. It offers non-linear gameplay, a non violent setting and a shedload of very challenging puzzles old school style.
