‘The Ballads Of Reemus: When The Bed Bites’ Review – Great Infestations
Have you ever wanted to play a fictional exterminator with a small wallaby purple bear sidekick whose fights are relied upon to save a town from anthropomorphic bed bugs? Of course you have! Wait, are you sure because The Ballads of Reemus: When the Bed Bites would be perfect for you. Playing as the beer jut toting exterminator, Reemus, you must solve all the world’s infestation problems. Using those ever popular point and click mechanics you’re out to save the medieval town from destruction.
The game is based on the web game/series, The Several Journeys of Reemus, which is a throwback to the old LucasArts adventure games of the 1990s. Developed by the original series’ designers and animation, The Ballads of Reemus is filled with all sorts of crazy predicaments and puzzles that need similar tactics to the rubber chicken with the pulley in the middle (made famous by the older adventure games).
Technically, The Ballads of Reemus isn’t going to crush your PC, but it is filled with a slew of different environments to puzzle through so there’s no loss in variation to keep your eyes occupied. Let me be frank, these puzzles will keep you guessing. Not in any sort of frustrating way fortunately, but there are definitely some zany combinations and you will be put to the test. This is the case especially during the climax of this first title, luckily getting there is some of the best adventuring I have seen in a point and click game.
Right from the start you can tell the art and characters are fully realized. From the expressions on the faces to the unfortunate events that take place; ClickShake knows how to animate, flat out. Everything is colorful, flows well and the cut scenes paint a great picture for the hilarity about to ensue.
Where the game truly shines is in the dialogue and writing. Yes, this is definitely why you should play through The Ballads of Reemus and where the most amount of enjoyment was found by me. The friendship and overall relationship between Reemus and his singing companion, Liam, had me laughing out loud sometimes. Even with a small team, the guys at ClickShake have some great voice talent and I found myself trying other combinations even when I knew the right answers just to see what Reemus would say.
While the dialogue is well worth your time there are some parts that are much less interesting. When the guys at ClickShake go outside the point and click genre, The Ballad of Reemus falls short. Albeit, these moments are few and far between, but still are just not that fun to play. Unfortunately, going into detail about these events would be a huge spoiler regarding as to how the game ends, so it will be left at that.
For the $10 price tag you get a fun and challenging point and click adventure game that feels like it has plenty to say. All of what it tries to present is filled with tongue-in-cheek humor that any video game fan, or pop culture fanatic would find hilarious. The plentiful back story is also available on ClickShake’s website for consumption to give you a feel for the humor and mechanics. There’s also a playable web demo which you can try out right here.
I had a good time playing through The Ballads of Reemus: When the Bed Bites and adventure fans should take note of ClickShake’s new avenue for their games. This is a great start and shows the potential for upcoming releases, even though some parts of The Ballads of Reemus fall short technically. Hopefully we will see more of beer gut sporting Reemus and his purple bear, Liam.
You can find out more information about The Ballads of Reemus: When The Bed Bites over on the official website. The full game, both the digital version and Collector’s Package can be purchased from the official store.
Review summary Pros:
Great art/animation, Hilarious Dialogue, Classic adventure challenge, Unique Premise
Cons:
Short, Few mechanic misses
Rating: 78%
