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3.5Cats_AndHalfAFish

Rhem SE.1 - Knut Muller.

August 02, 2020 game review, point&click, puzzle
Seventeen years later.

'Rhem 1' - Knut Muller
"Rhem 1 - The mysterious island." - Knut Muller (2003, 2017)


I've just finished Rhem 1 'The mysterious island' (SE) for the very first time in the 15 or so years since I first started playing it !
I feel on top of the world !!!

This game is on my (short) list of all-time favorite games.
It's difficult, but logical. It involves examining -everything- and making lots of notes. And it involves making maps.
What is there not to love ?

Rhem 1 - my notes.
Rhem 1 - notes I took.
Rhem 1 - my map.
Rhem 1 - part of my map.


Usually, I do a 'what I liked' and 'what I didn't like' after I've finished a game. But with this one ... I just don't have any negatives.

OK, OK. If I really -have- to name something ... a mouse click does not always represent the same distance in the game. This makes creating a map a bit tricky. There. Done.


So, let's just look at some screenshots from the game (no spoilers) :

This is somehow what I think of when I think about Rhem1. I called this area 'the oil fields' the first time I got here. And the name has stuck (I know it's water) ...

'Rhem 1' - the fields


The next screenshot still makes me feel a bit uneasy. Because of where it's leading to. And because of how much time I had to spend trying to make it do what I wanted it to do.

Rhem 1 - rotating doorway.


I actually quite enjoyed the puzzles in the next area (for once, I didn't feel completely lost) :

Rhem 1 - pentagon.


The next screenshot is of an area that actually reminds me of Riven (remember the lake with the little submersible ?).

Rhem 1 - reminds me of Riven.


Yes, Rhem 1 does sometimes look quite beautiful ...

Rhem 1 - ocean view.


And finally ... There's something I have to disclose ... 😳

After about 55 hours of gameplay, I got stuck. Like -really- stuck. No clue what to do next.
So ... I had to cheat.
Three times.

Three times I did not think about checking the backside of a door !
#tsss #shakingHead #shameOnMe #IllDoBetterNextTime #promise


So. In conclusion. Do I think these were 64 hours well spent ? (Probably more than double that, with all my other attemps included.)
Heck yeah !


Note : if you need a walkthrough, this one is pretty good (by Louis Koot).