'Daemonica': A Game to Die For
In "Daemonica," you'll often have to do the wrong thing for the right reason.
(Meridian 4)
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"Daemonica" will take you back to the classic era of computer adventure games, though with some nice modern twists such as realistic weather and lighting effects.
You play Nicholas Farepoynt, an investigator of sorts in medieval England. Nicholas has a big secret: He is also known as Haresh al-Dorem, one who can speak with the dead. Speaking with dead people helps you uncover murderers and other deviants, though to say your methods would not meet the approval of the locals is an understatement.
The interface is a classic top-down view. Click where you want to explore, talk to people, pick up objects or even fight -- the game will select the correct action. You are hired to go to an out-of-the-way town where a girl has been murdered. As you work, the dead begin to pile up, and the town becomes increasingly frightened and suspicious, making your work more difficult.
You investigate by talking with residents and picking up clues at crime scenes. You also happen to be an alchemist and can create various potions -- such as one that induces sleep and can be used to incapacitate annoying guards.
When it comes time to speak with a dead person, you have to take his or her body down to your cellar and hang it up there -- not exactly the kind of thing to endear you to the locals. Then you have to drink a potion that just about kills you. But before you pass over into the spirit world, you use the secret language of Daemonica to command the forces there. This part of the game is a bit like a puzzle because you have to know how the people you want to speak with died, when they were born and what would attract them. One wrong answer and you are dead yourself.
In the living world, you sometimes have to fight, which is done with simple mouse clicks. Combat is the weakest part of this mystery adventure but thankfully does not occur often and with a little thought, can often be avoided.
"Daemonica" is a creepy mystery game that is easy to play but difficult to solve. It will have you doing some very bad things, all in the name of good.
-- John Breeden
Daemonica Teen, PC ($30) Meridian 4
