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Desert Thunder
Game
Game2014
Realms of the Haunting
Developer Gremlin Interactive
Realms of the Haunting is a 1996 first-person shooter/adventure video game developed by Gremlin Interactive and published by Interplay Productions for MS-DOS personal computers. Its gameplay is a hybrid of point-and-click puzzle-solving/exploration and first-person action, interspersed with full-motion video sequences featuring live-action actors. The player takes the role of Adam Randall (David Tuomi) investigating… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
244 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy) · newest Nov 2, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
83
LovedLoved
155 positive · 32 negative
95% range 77–88%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 155 | 32 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 19 | 2 | 32 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 4 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
244 of 292 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
83% recommend · 155 yes, 32 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 187 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mostly Positive (418 of 533 positive).
Players praise the game's unique atmosphere and story, calling it a classic. [1][2][3] Many note the dated controls and lack of tutorials as barriers for modern players. [4][5][6] Some reviewers find the game still enjoyable despite its age. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [4]
My god, how did I play through this game at 12 yrs old. The control system is catastrophic, I mean trying to learn to walk again having had one leg replaced with a living tentacle and the other replaced with a unicycle kind of bad. Also, the framerate and subsequent lag, I'd always put this down to our computer at the time maybe not being up to par specs wise or something, apparently it's just how this game runs; at …
- [1]
No game truly tackles the underlying dilemmas of the human psyche quite like this experimental masterpiece. You, Adam Randal, must traverse the horrors of the mansion in addition to the many Realms (of the Haunting). This game helped me through some tough times, from the death of my child to the eventual collapse of my wife from leukemia.
- [2]
Bought this game just to review it. I still have the multi-CD box from back then! It's one of my fondest memories of gaming as a kid if not the most. The game was and still is cheezy. Controls and graphics have obviously aged but still, this game offers a unique athmosphere and an interesting story with a nice twist and is still pleasant to go through. I thought I wouldn't play it not to ruin my memories but I had …
- [3]
Realms of the Haunting is one of those old classics that you can't help but pick up every couple of years and play it through. While the game is fairly dated, by today's standards, the story and experience are still as solid as ever. I'm going to break down this review into a few categories, because with it being an old game there are a few things you might want to know; READ THE MANUAL: We're going to start out …
- [7]
A super classic creepy FPS adventure. Crunchy retro graphics, trippy enemies, unique inclusion of puzzles, and some neat video scenes for it's age. Challenging and fun!
Summarised from 34 of the 241 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 11, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
83% of the 187 Steam reviewers we collected recommend Realms of the Haunting. The complaint that keeps coming up: archaic and unintuitive controls. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Realms of the Haunting was met with critical acclaim. It received an average score of 92% at GameRankings, based on an aggregate of 7 reviews. Though he noted a lack of originality in the basic plot, Air Hendrix of GamePro found the high-quality cinematics, atmospheric presentation, and overall strong gameplay as both a puzzle adventure and a first-person shooter made Realms of the Haunting a captivating experience. He summarized, "While sometimes it gets frustratingly arbitrary, overall the adventure side, action side, and story line blend together quite nicely." Both Air Hendrix and a Next Generation critic remarked that the controls are clunky at first, but can be adjusted to with time.…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 244 · most liked firstI really hope to make this game in the future, still need to figure out the characters though. It reminds me a lot of Realms of the Haunting, Clive Barker's Undying and Alone in the Dark 1.
neutral · AI labelView post →No game truly tackles the underlying dilemmas of the human psyche quite like this experimental masterpiece. You, Adam Randal, must traverse the horrors of the mansion in addition to the many Realms (of the Haunting). This game helped me through some tough times, from the death of my child to the eventual collapse of my wife from leukemia.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of the reasons I like revisiting games from the 80s and 90s is because there was so much diversity to the experiences being offered. Nowadays, the vast indie gaming scene is left to provide titles that aren’t battle royales and open-world collectathons, but in the earlier days of gaming, even prominent developers were experimenting with the boundaries of the medium. That gave us a healthy crop of full-motion video games in the mid-90s, games that fill me with a comforting nostalgia for the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A super classic creepy FPS adventure. Crunchy retro graphics, trippy enemies, unique inclusion of puzzles, and some neat video scenes for it's age. Challenging and fun!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Bought this game just to review it. I still have the multi-CD box from back then! It's one of my fondest memories of gaming as a kid if not the most. The game was and still is cheezy. Controls and graphics have obviously aged but still, this game offers a unique athmosphere and an interesting story with a nice twist and is still pleasant to go through. I thought I wouldn't play it not to ruin my memories but I had to give it a try at some point and I ended up getting caught again. Still fun…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Realms of the Haunting is one of my all-time favourite games. I go back to it every few years and it still scares the shit out of me. The visuals and audio design are incredible, and it has some excellent live-action FMV cutscenes throughout. I should really stream it some time, it's such a gem 👀
positive · AI labelView post →When most current AAA games still don't have a real-time mirror, but a game from 1996 has one....
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you like Blood you'll like this. If you don't like Blood or Realms of the Haunting you should see a therapist to see what's wrong with you.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A lot of hard work went into this game, one of my top games. The game is indeed outdated but it does contains better gameplay and more detail than the today's games. Today's games are too dumb down and people are just blinded by the graphics. See pass the graphics of today's game and you would notice that the gameplay is quite simple and that really dosent feature anything amazing.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →absolute legend of a game should have released a sequel don`t understand why companies don`t produce games like this and undying again
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Peak. Absolute Cinema. I require a remake immediately, it will sell 4 copies. I will own all 4 of those copies. ATTACH ME TO A MISSILE AND FIRE ME AT RAYSIEL, I AM READY.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →And ironically when they do offer it, it's always an unplayable buggy mess. For example, Saints Row 2 (2009) on steam appears completely unplayable judging by recent reviews, it crashes to desktop when a mission ends, and they're selling it on sale. They should just do what Realms of the Haunting 1996 for MS-DOS did and package the whole thing inside of an Emulator.
neutral · AI labelView post →For some reason this reminds me of the excellent horror game "Realms of the Haunting".
neutral · AI labelView post →Finished this game 20 years ago, and it was one of the most memorable Ive ever played. I would rank it up there with Wolfenstien, Doom, Half life etc. In alot of ways it was 10 years ahead of its time. It was weird, challenging, puzzling, and immersive. I don't know if I would ever play it though again, and it might be too dated even for me, but it gets special credit for being one of the few that cemented what will probably be a lifelong interest in PC games and RPG's.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of the better looking 90's games that surprisingly still holds up well today.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really like the explanation I found on the internet about the ending,it makes sense that the whole adventure was caused by the medicine/treatment he was under (I mean, think about a man talking to his dead father, that's a pretty dead giveaway to me), and near the end when things started getting crazy, with lots of monsters just before you reach the place where the meeting is being held, in the Chamber, that's when his drugs/medicine effects are starting to wear down so he's not calmed…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I want to see Nightdive tackle Realms of the Haunting in a similar way to how they did Killing Time. It's a great game that's held back by a slightly buggy DOS executable. Also Shogo Mobile Armor Division, because it's 50/50 that game will work on modern PCs (doesn't work on mine).
positive · AI labelView post →Realms of the Haunting ($0.74) - "colin, what kind of game do you have for me, somebody who wants a point and click adventure with FMV that is ALSO a horror FPS." Realms of the Haunting. "i thought that would be too specific to exist." the 90s were wild! store.steampowered.com/app/292390/R...
neutral · AI labelView post →A schedule approaches! This week I'm finally getting back to Secret of Mana, playing a classic N64 platformer for the first time, finishing Realms of the Haunting, and starting the other PS2 Castlevania game! See you then! www.twitch.tv/eltrioch
neutral · AI labelView post →I have huge nostalgia for the first CD-Rom games. When I first met my now wife we used to play the likes of the Return to Zork, 7th Guest, 11th Hour, Clandenstiny, Realms of the Haunting, etc. Still have the disks and all the boxes for them in the loft. Its a pity that kind of puzzle adventure has gone. There was nothing better than sitting down with pen and paper trying to work out the puzzles; some took days to solve but the rewards when solved were great. Closest we have find to date are…
neutral · AI labelView post →This is an amazing gem from the 90ies if you get past the -by nowadays standards- unintuitive control scheme. Great atmosphere, weird and quirky places, awesome pixely graphics and Interplay's trademark production values. I also enjoeyd the FMV cutscenes. Played this mainly on gog, but this STEAM version is fine too. Can be had for pennies. I recommend it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My god, how did I play through this game at 12 yrs old. The control system is catastrophic, I mean trying to learn to walk again having had one leg replaced with a living tentacle and the other replaced with a unicycle kind of bad. Also, the framerate and subsequent lag, I'd always put this down to our computer at the time maybe not being up to par specs wise or something, apparently it's just how this game runs; at a guess it looks about 5-15fps. This is kind of game breaking, but it does…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game itself looks like a really early precursor to fps-adventure game hybrids like Realms of the Haunting and Lands of Lore 2.
neutral · AI labelView post →One of my favourite '90s games, a must play
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →american speaks worst british accent ever; sentenced to eternal damnation in the diddy mansion.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →when i talk about No More White Horses (the provisional title of the game i'm making) its list of video game inspirations is quite limited (Realms Of The Haunting and Phantasy Star IV mostly) but its list of non-game inspirations is huge
neutral · AI labelView post →Extremely good mix of point and click adventure and FPS. With its dark, almost horror atmosphere, and its focus on exploration, it almost feels like a first person Survival Horror game! The FMV cinematics are a blast from its era and a real treat for progressing through the game. It may need some tweaking and getting accustomed to its archaic controls, but once you get used to them, it really is an extremely enjoyable 90s experience.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Realms of the Haunting is such an interesting game. I especially love the early game aesthetic. Lands of Lore 2 and Clive Barker's Undying are some of my favourite games and this feels right in between those. .. if you play it, save often to different slots 😅
positive · AI labelView post →Realms of the Haunting is one of those old classics that you can't help but pick up every couple of years and play it through. While the game is fairly dated, by today's standards, the story and experience are still as solid as ever. I'm going to break down this review into a few categories, because with it being an old game there are a few things you might want to know; READ THE MANUAL: We're going to start out with the basics here and say that everything you need to know can be found in…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This may be a cult classic blend of first person point-and-click type puzzling, FPS, and FMV with some impressive lighting, textures, and claymation reminiscent enemy sprites BUT it is unfortunately impenetrable for a modern player. I triled, I really did. Archaic controls, terrible bullet-sponge combat, obtuse puzzles, confusing level design, backtracking, awful platforming, terrible inventory UI, and the occasional soft-lock issue with moving on to an area without having picked up the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Only playable if accompanied with a large set of nostalgia.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A classic. This is a FP exploration/action/puzzle game. The graphics are very dated. The FMV scenes are old-fashion good. Nice plot. Decent music. No bugs or crashes. Runs fine on win 7. Now, as a game, this is totally retro. The controls, mechanics, and interface are... well... their age. The story is good, feels exactly like a 90's horror/mystery B-movie. The concept is original. A puzzle exploration game with some fighting. Of course, nothing is explained, no tutorial, no tooltips, no…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Sure it's a little clunky, no you aren't given any help and things can be a little obscure but yes it's worth giving a go. Any old school game with FMV sequences are a must plus the action sections are pretty good (you know, for the time). For my First Impressions of Realms of the Haunting, check out my video here: https://youtu.be/Zjfi5OSUW1g
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Playing this for the first time in 2018, Realms of the Haunting is a surprisingly good, old school, first person adventure game. It has its faults, but is still enjoyable to play. Tips before starting: +Read the manual. It’s in the Steam game data folder or you can find it online. There is no tutorial and you need to become familiar with the GUI, controls and story beforehand. +Change the controls. The control mapping shows its age and isn’t good. There are community guides and discussions…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →classic first person adventure point&click game for smart gamers
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is amazing, i thought it would be very bad, but after playing it .... i must say it is one of the best horror/puzzle games to date and would highly recommend to anyone.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →+ old school graphics + story with cutscene film + atmophere and music + voice acting + if you look at yourself in the mirror and click, there are 4 different things that he says, and one of them is 'mm, looking good', which makes me laugh - took me so long to figure out what i was supposed to do that i forgot the storyline - atrocious controls that you can't remap - the controls, i mean seriously, why - seriously wtf there are 0 explanations of what to do and how in this game
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Realms of the Haunting. I've been replaying it recently and it really is an interesting mix of genres, it's a Doom and a point and click FMV adventure game. I feel like with games of this era, there was so much experimentation, and this one definitely experimented.
neutral · AI labelView post →if you want a SUPER fucking original and creative type of game i wish we had more of, mf 75cents for NORMALITY is outrageous. 1996 3d FPS adventure game from gremlin interactive [LOADED & RE-LOADED, REALMS OF THE HAUNTING] with full prerendered cutscenes store.steampowered.com/app/400370/N...
neutral · AI labelView post →Despite having played hundreds of games in my lifetime i maintain this is the greatest horror game ever made. Despite the dated graphics and some poorly made puzzles near the end it is still great fun twenty plus years after its initial release.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Awesome old school mix up of FPS and adventure games. Sure, the story is a nonsensical fever dream, graphics are unappealing in spots, a large part of the game is just too damn dark, theres some definite BS with the way some of the puzzles are solved, and the combat gets repetitive after awhile, yet theres a whole lot to appreciate about RotH. Theres just no other games quite like this. Plus for $3 you just cant really go wrong. Especially in the month of October.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An amazing blend of point and click adventure with a Resident Evil/DOOM style gameplay system and FMVs. The controls are janky but still playable without re-configuring anything if you don't mind using arrow keys to move. I ran into quite a few segments that really made my head hurt with confusion but after taking a break and coming back it became clear or I found the intended solution. I'm glad this game has little to no hand-holding. This game took me about 15-16 hours to beat and I wish I…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was rather suprised that I didnt play this game when it was new, becuase I would love it. Honestly I didnt even heard about this game back then. So its like mix of FPS, adventure and horror game. FPS "aspect" of this game isnt that amazing, but puzzle solving and atmosphere balance it out. Story is told by those old cheesy FMV type movies. Im not an expert but it looks like its on improved DOOM engine, or something similar... So if you like those old FPS games, or old "pseudo-adventure"…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game took me about 20 hours, I wouldn't say it necessarily earns all of that length. You should know before you get into this that this is not *really* a horror game, it's an adventure game where the first half has heavier horror elements than the second, which leans more into the surreal cosmic world that it builds up. Most people's gripe is with the controls, but honestly it only took me a little bit to adjust to the antiquated first-person movement, although you SHOULD absolutely read…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Surreal FPS Resident Evil with some very obscure puzzles mixed in. Features some great midi music and well acted & paced FMVs
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Horrible controls. Great visuals. Awful combat and awful camera. Ross Game Dungeons has a complete review and playthrough. Dont buy this old game unless you know how much jank there is in here this is nice, but really needs a decent rework instead of just a remaster, its like ted murphy that got itself a complete new game and new interpretation.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I like it, but it's just using an out of date version of DOSBox . So better to download the ROM and use with a modern version of DOSBox.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →ROTH is the game of my youth! It brings back some fantastic memories. What a "ride"...:) I definitely recommend it!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Wow, I was expecting a point and click but this was so much better. It's like a hybrid between the original Doom and Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Lots of puzzles to solve, keys to find, and mysteries to uncover. Also, you get a bunch of cool weaponry to fight demons and other monsters. You start in this mansion, where you'll be spending a fair amount of time getting lost and being too scared to go into the next dark room. Eventually, things get really weird. You'll end up traveling through…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There is no tutorial and not even options menu so I can look at controls. I didn't have any idea on what to do or how to control anything. Awful usuability.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As someone who has (perhaps obviously) played Realms of the Haunting, I think I have wanted what this game is cooking for the past 20-25 years of my life
positive · AI labelView post →Tonight at 6 PM PDT, tonight we're checking out an interesting one, Realms of the Haunting, a hybrid FPS and adventure game with FMV cutscenes! It got good reviews at the time, so does it hold up? Or will the passage of time make this look more goofy than spooky? See you then! www.twitch.tv/eltrioch
neutral · AI labelView post →Now streaming a "new" game on my throwback Thursdays onTwitch, Realms of the Haunting from 1996 Twitch.tv/kingofpants
neutral · AI labelView post →this game is dope as ♥♥♥♥ toobad it sucks ♥♥♥♥ to play but i still love it! everyone should play this !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →From 1996, a notable experiment mixing fps, graphical adventure and survival horror elements. Pros: - beautiful environments - evocative atmosphere - live actors videos are AMAZING lol - general game experience is ok and funny Cons: - sometimes repetitive - difficult controls - bots are graphically limited and way too much stupid (i.e.: if you exit a room they don't follow you and start to move around randomly lol) - a couple of absurd enigmas and pixel hunting ...superPro: the game is old,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I bought Realms of the Haunting (RotH) when it was released back in 1996 and whilst never managing to complete the game, I got very close to the end. Having recently re-bought RotH on a whim, I finally completed the game and it’s been a superb experience from start to finish! RotH was an impressive and ground-breaking game for 1996. Replaying RotH in 2023 the visuals are wonderfully retro, holding up very well considering their age, and the game positively oozes atmosphere. The sound design…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I highly recommend this game. I bought the four disc copy about twenty years ago and completed it that evening. If you look at the minimum specs those aren't actually what you needed to play the original, those are likely just for the Steam version because those specs didn't really exist back then. I completed this with a Celeron 333mhz and 32MB of ram. Great journey into the human psyche.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I first bought this game (on 4 CDs) when it was released in 1996, and have finished it a couple of times, so take the Steam playtime with a grain of salt. The good One of the most compelling adventure/mystery type games ever made. You always want to know what's behind the next door or around the corner. The FMV sequences are pretty good Intricate, and occasionally bizarre level design, no two places are really the same Some genuinely jumpy moments Some well drawn art (for its era) Creepy at…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game drops you into this big house and you're frantically searching for a series of unlocked doors in minimal lighting. The controls are terrible, and the view bobbing feels like you're on tiny boat on the ocean during a raging storm. It gave me motion sickness.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A few clips from my most recent stream of Realms of the Haunting. Mostly of me getting jump scared and cussing excessively ✌️💀 The game is so good tho! Would love to continue. 😍😍
positive · AI labelView post →
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