The Ballads of Reemus: When the Bed Bites

Posted by Bregje van Ederen.
First posted on 07 June 2014. Last updated on 07 June 2014.
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The Ballads of Reemus: When the Bed Bites
Reemus' first extermination is to rid of the horsefly.
The Ballads of Reemus: When the Bed Bites
Reemus and Liam learn that there is a high demand for ropes in the market.
The Ballads of Reemus: When the Bed Bites
Does the bed bug bite?
The Ballads of Reemus: When the Bed Bites
Liam finds a few odd creatures living underwater.
The Ballads of Reemus: When the Bed Bites
Reemus gets a free ride on a water strider.

The Ballads of Reemus: When the Bed Bites Collector's Edition

The Collector's Edition includes, in addition to the game on a CD with a case, a commemorative t-shirt, a sticker sheet, an original soundtrack by Mitch Bowden (composer for the game), and a numbered certificate of authenticity signed by Jay "Zeebarf" Ziebarth and Steve Castro (creators of the game).

The Ballads of Reemus: When the Bed Bites is the first commercial game from ClickShake Games. It is, however, not the first game in the Reemus series. This is because the game follows several installments from the series (The Several Journeys of Reemus) previously released for free by the developer. Most of the games from the developer have a big pile of humor in it. This game is no exception.

The story begins with Reemus trying to catch a giant horsefly. Here, you immediately meet both of the game's main characters: Reemus and Liam. When they finally succeed in catching the horsefly and then try to tell the tale of their doing in the local tavern, they notice that not a single person there is interested in hearing their adventurous ballad about the horsefly. Making a great ballad is of the greatest importance of them. This is because, in a country where most of the population is illiterate, having a ballad is the only way to get noticed. Unfortunately, in a desperate search for glory, Reemus and Liam soon find themselves woven in a gigantic web of misadventure.

Despite being an exterminator extraordinaire, Reemus is constantly competing with his more famous brother Raymus who is a dragon slayer. Reemus is not the most attractive person in the world. With his big orange moustache, almost bold head, and his beer belly, he does not bare the healthiest physique. He is also the type of person who is willing to take great risks just to get noticed by other people. Liam is Reemus' sidekick. Liam is a purple bear with a soft personality. He helps Reemus whenever he can and plays ballads on his lute. Aside from Reemus and Liam, the game also features many eccentric and whimsical characters. They include bed bugs, fire ants, a germ phobic miller, and many other crazy characters. All of these characters are interesting, and all of them have unique comical personalities.

The highly stylized graphics fit perfectly with the game's comic setting. The game features 2D graphics that are drawn in the style of a comic book. Both the characters and backgrounds are well animated. The colors are bright and really bring life to the different sceneries. Sadly, there is a lack of lip sync with the voices.

The voice acting is good. The voice actors have done a decent job bringing their characters to live. Their voices generally fit well to their characters, though the voice of Liam is a bit too low in pitch. There is also a character with a really high pitched voice that can be annoying at times. Sometimes, Liam will sing a ballad describing the heroic deeds of Reemus. It is fun to listen to these ballads. The background soundtrack features a mix of rhythmic and electronic music that is mostly forgettable.

The game plays like a typical point-and-click adventure game. You can control Reemus and Liam using only a mouse. At some point in the game you can travel by map. For most of the game, you just click on the screen to where you want to go. The game is not too difficult for an adventure game novice but may be a little too easy for an adventure game enthusiast.

Because the game does not play from a first-person perspective, you cannot really explore the environment through your character's eyes. This is also not the type of game where you can roam free through the game world. Even so, the sceneries are richly detailed, worthy of visiting more than once.

Most of the game's puzzles require you to click on a particular object first and then on another object to use. There are also a few mini-games which are fun to solve. In a particular mini-game, you have to find some objects hidden in different locations. The puzzles are all doable and not too hard. As well, the game features a number of optional mini challenges. Solving these challenges earns you different ballads as achievements which you can view at the end of the game.

All in all, The Ballads of Reemus: When the Bed Bites is a surprisingly fun game to play. The story is humorous, interesting, and original. The graphics fit well with the game's comical setting. The voice acting brings life to the game's characters. The game is not without a few flaws, though, namely poor lip syncing and uninspiring background music. Still, this is a game that most novice adventure gamers will find fun playing. Experienced adventure gamers, however, may seek a more challenging game elsewhere.

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