5 Unusual But Memorable Escape Games (Free browser games)

There are quite literally hundreds of room escape games out there on the internetz but many of them are nothing but bland, unoriginal pixel hunts through plain, 3D rendered rooms with no semblance of story or purpose. Now, after a while of trekking through the same sort of scenario; you’re in a room for some unknown reason, find a way out of it, I had completely fallen out of love with the genre so decided to look for something a bit different. As it turns out you can still find that addictive escape centered gameplay but without the constraints limiting it to just one or two rooms. Here I’ve compiled 5 escape games, rooms or otherwise, that set themselves apart from that ocean of key hunting, door handle wrestling and keycode hunting so you can experience something that’s a bit different, creepy, funny or just downright weird. 
 

Loom Dawn

You begin this game in a completely dark room and your main objective is to illuminate this space, piece by piece, uncovering more and more of your surroundings as you advance. For much of the game you’re unable to see where exactly you’re trapped and this element of the unknown adds a slightly spooky atmosphere to the game as you find another little light source here, uncover a small area there, and the absolute silence generated by a lack of music is all the more unnerving. As you light up pieces of the room you’ll uncover puzzles and these are most definitely not easy ones to the point where you may find that you spend a good hour or so fumbling about in the dark though, thankfully, you can save your game should you want to come back to it later. Loom Dawn’s challenging nature borders on the frustrating but it really is an exceptionally well crafted game that offers up a very satisfying feeling as you solve each little puzzle and get a little closer to finding out its intriguing secrets. If you fancy a challenge and something that’s more like your traditional ‘room escape’ game then Loom Dawn, part of a large series of ‘Loom’ escape games, is something you certainly cannot go wrong with. Just remember to settle down with some kind of caffeinated drink and sustenance as you’ll be stuck here in the dark for quite a while. Try playing the game on its original website here.
 

Samsara Room

Samsara Room is Eastern in its philosophy as Samsara tends to refer to the endless cycle of reincarnation and, with this in mind, Samsara Room is about breaking this cycle, escaping the room and achieving enlightenment. What this translates into is a very surreal and disorientating game where you must travel through the same room but in different perspectives, solving a puzzle here and there in the form of collecting things and using them in the appropriate ways. The game is not particularly challenging once you understand the logic of the game but it may start out being rather confusing as everything is just so unusual. There are some very unexpected moments and you’ll find the whole experience rather dreamlike but with a definite, logical pattern to the way in which you do things so it’s not unapproachable. Overall I loved the stylish simplicity of this unusual game and as room escapes go this is definitely a memorable one. Try it out by following this link here.
 

You Find Yourself In A Room

The title may sound simple but this is anything but, to begin with you interact with the game by typing in the commands you want to perform similar to the old text parser games from the 80s. Unlike most other room escape games this one has no graphics and instead everything is done through text on an otherwise blank black screen. This may sound boring but the draw of this game is that the game itself is self-aware and doesn’t really like you. What starts out as the passive-aggressive chiding of a game descends into a full scale aggressive onslaught on your feeble puzzle solving abilities and generally inferior existence as a human being. It’s absolutely hilarious and most definitely not for minors but this is a rather unforgettable, utterly unique game that will change your outlook on the genres of not just text games but room escape games too. The game takes not much longer than 5 minutes but it’s a 5 minutes well spent and can happily be played by following this link here. 

Mystery of Time and Space

Fondly known as MOTAS this is the room escape that will truly challenge your puzzle solving abilities and is, for those unfamiliar with room escape games, supposedly the original in this genre. What sets this game apart from the others is not only its function as a blueprint for future generations but for its intelligent, logical puzzle system that doesn’t degenerate into a pixel hunt where you click in every conceivable portion of the screen. There are over 20 levels with a variety of different puzzles that pleasantly follow an intriguing story about parallel universes and unlocking the mysteries of time and space. Whilst the ‘storyline’ of a room escape game tends to focus around some sort of hazy back story MOTAS’ story evolves as you play and keeps you wanting more. The puzzles all vary in their style and difficulty level so whilst in some cases you’ll be using lateral thinking to advance you’ll find that, in later levels, you must travel back in time to earlier levels to acquire the items needed to continue in the present. The game boasts quite a few features you don’t normally see in flash games; you can save your game, which is a brilliant feature as the game is so long and difficult, switch to full screen mode and chat to others in the online forum it supports. MOTAS is possibly my favourite of all the room escape games and is a definite recommendation for those new to point and click escape games and hardcore puzzling veterans alike. You can play it here via the developer’s website. 

Daymare Town

Daymare Town actually consists of a series of four ‘room escape’ type games with three spin-off titles and rather than escaping a room you’re trying to escape from Daymare Town, a place that’s both haunting and fascinating. Daymare Town appears to be deserted and you’ll go through the usual motions of finding items, piecing together puzzles and clicking around the place in an effort to escape this eerie, black and white sketched town. The atmosphere is perhaps its most notable feature and there were a few times where I was genuinely creeped out and jumped a few times which I found to be unusual, in a good way, for this genre. Whilst room escapes tend to have a subtle ‘how did you get here’ vibe there’s usually nothing creepier than a pool of blood or a bit of knocking on a door but Daymare Town ranks it up a notch and there were several times I was genuinely convinced I could die if I lingered too long. The puzzles are, in my opinion, pretty damn difficult especially when compared to the creator’s, also excellent, Submachine series and I struggled to get through it without a walkthrough. Everything tends to be very well hidden with very specific locations you must click on that can be easily missed especially considering the art style of the game. Whilst the Daymare Town series is no pixel hunt there’s still a definite need to scour every area thoroughly before moving on. As an added bonus, you can pay a small fee and get any of the Daymare Town games in fullscreen mode with HD graphics, enhanced sound effects and a sneaky hidden extra. Of course you can always play any of the free versions online by following this link. 
 

Hopefully you enjoyed this post of my 5 top escape games, be sure to +1 and comment if you did, feedback is always appreciated! Happy gaming and watch this space for more of my Top 5 lists :)

Depression Quest – Quick Review

This rather solemn sounding game attempts to bring players into the world of somebody living with depression and which does so, but not in the way it’s intended. I would struggle to call this a game and would instead agree with the ‘interactive fiction’ part of their description as the game consists almost entirely of text. The premise of the game is that you play as somebody with depression and must struggle through those everyday realities of life that tend to feel like momentous tasks for those suffering from depression such as going to work, managing your relationships, accepting the reality of being alive, deciding on potential treatment and handling the depression itself. Unfortunately the overall gameplay experience is painfully dominated by its origin as a set of interactive webpages that link to one another via hyperlinks when you make a choice and, though I appreciate the painfully personal nature of this game, it is unfortunately just too dull to call enjoyable.

The game boasts over 40,000 words of interactive fiction as though this is a positive aspect but if I were to play a game about living through depression I would prefer something that drew me in through artistic means rather than having to climb a seemingly unending mountain of paragraphs and written dialogue. The actual quality of the writing is very good, a little bland but it's mostly descriptive rather than creative and tends to set the scene nicely. What the game primarily suffers from however is way in which the player interacts with the story by making decisions. Decisions appear at the bottom of the screen and, as time goes on and your character’s depression worsens or improves, some of these options may be greyed out as you lack motivation or are in other ways simply not able to be picked. What this is supposed to simulate is the feeling that your life will never get any better and to emulate how much of a struggle it is to cope with the debilitating condition but what it actually rendered was a game where, even if you were supposedly getting better, your decisions and choices at improving your life went unrecognized. Rarely you would be told that you were getting better or your mood was briefly lifted but the writing never reflected this and the frustration of being unable to pursue treatments like therapy or medication later on down the line make your optimistic choices feel fairly pointless. Even though I tended to pick things in an attempt to make my guy feel better I found myself clicking through pages of dialogue with only one option to choose from; the depressing one. Unsurprisingly I ended up getting a rather negative ending and I felt like I'd been backed into a corner; good imagery for feel life but not a great feature of a 'choose your own path' interactive fiction game.

As I just said, the choices do eventually have an effect in the way of alternative endings. Usually this feature would have me all excited and intrigue to play through them all but something about this game just left me too fatigued to even try. Maybe it was the depression. Maybe it was the fact that after an hour that felt like three of carefully selected choices I was still left with a conclusion that felt watery, unresolved and unsatisfying. It seemed that no matter what I chose I was always going to end up in some undesirable rut that wouldn’t change anything anyway so what was the point of trying again. I realize the irony that this is exactly what depression feels like so on a positive note the game stirs up in you a very accurate portrayal of depression, the fact that this is a positive note does nothing to recommend this game to others. From a gamers perspective, unless you are either too happy to function and need bringing down or want to try and experience the unending torment of somebody living with depression then I wouldn't recommend you play this game. From a personal level however I would suggest you play a little bit of it so you at least take part in the awareness raising that the developer is attempting to perform.

The Good:

• Well written
• Insightful and educational 
• Application of choices enhances connection to character 
• Brilliant portrayal of the illness 
• Donation of charity and awareness raising is always a good thing
• The five alternative endings allows for some re-playability

The Bad:

• Generally, rather boring
• Lack of visuals makes it feel like a book, not a game 
• The cross from webpage to Steam should have included significant gameplay changes 
• The music is repetitive, gets a little glitchy if you’re depressed but that’s it 
• An hour of play felt like an eternity
• Seems to have become popular on the back of controversy
• Surprisingly lacking in emotion

The Score: 5/10 
 
Final thoughts: “It’s clear this game is for a good cause, it promotes awareness and donates to charity, but that still doesn’t make the game fun or interesting. This is not really a game and it shouldn’t really be on Steam.

You can play Depression Quest for free here via the developers website.

5 Simple But Reflective Browser Games (Free online games)

Not all games are action or adventure orientated and often it’s nice to play a game that’s a little bit more interesting. These games tend to be incredibly unique, artistic and emotional and it’s a theme that’s been gaining both mainstream and critical acceptance following the success of games like Journey, Braid and Rain. These larger titles are not to be out done by the humble browser game however. This newly developing genre of game has produced dozens of high quality, free and online browser games that are reflective, thoughtful and incredibly original. Below are some of the most highly rated indie games that make you think a little about life, death and humanity.

Every Day the Same Dream (play it here)

I found this game to be surprisingly striking considering how bored I was for the first few minutes of playing it. You play a faceless man with no personality and whose life consists of getting up, getting dressed, going to work then repeating it all over again. You play this cycle again, and again, and again until you ask yourself; standing there in your pants by the alarm clock, what if I don’t want to do it again? Well, nobody’s making you, so why are you doing it? This game lets you figure that out by yourself, there’s no dialogue except the same one line from each person you meet; your wife and your boss. Everything is in shades of black, white and grey except a couple of tiny things like a leaf, the parking sign and the exit sign. I found myself trying to find things to improve this game and, consequentially, this man’s life and the moment you realize you don’t have to keep walking the same way, that you can find other things, that you truly see how life is represented in this simple, but meaningful game. The ending will leave you with questions and your own interpretations about what it all means. Play it here and ask yourself, is this my life? 

Today I Die (play it here)

This short game is more like a piece of interactive poetry than a game though it does have some puzzle elements. The game has a very simple, pixel retro appearance to it and it won’t take you much longer than 10 minutes to complete it, though it does have alternate endings. The game begins with the very depressing sight of a dead young woman held down by a boulder at the bottom of the ocean. Around her swims dark creatures and a handful of rising jellyfish, a very short poem is also on the screen. You can interact with everything and gradually fit together the puzzle pieces to move the game onwards and to change the wording of the poem. It’s an imaginative piece with great atmosphere and a strong emotional element that leaves you quietly reflective. This game manages to say a great deal in its simple poem format and spiritual melodies which make you ponder your own outlook on life and death. 

The Company of Myself (play it here)

This platforming puzzle game puts you in the shoes of an introvert as he progresses through a series of levels all by himself, well, not completely by himself. The goal of the game is to progress through linear levels and reach a green door on the other side of the level. Sometimes there are force fields and jumps too high to reach by yourself, but you’re all alone so who do you turn to? Here, the game takes an unusual twist. By pressing the spacebar prior to finishing the level you’ll die and be reborn again, using one of your lives, but now there is a shadow of your past self that will re-enact all of the actions, perfectly replicated, that you performed prior to pressing the spacebar. These shadows of your former self can pass through barriers you cannot, and are blocked by other barriers that you’re not blocked by. This means that you can find yourself in scenarios when you have to pretend to jump up a set of stairs so that when your shadow attempts it he’ll be actually going up the stairs; prevented from falling by the pink force fields. The game’s storyline is told in silent verses though the ending consists of an incredibly sad epilogue that changes the entire meaning of the game. If you’d like to read about the story I’ve written it out here but to keep this review spoiler free I’ll just tell you that it’s both shocking and saddening to have journeyed with this character through 20 introspective levels only to find out the true meaning of it all. 

Coma (play it here)

This game is a highly imaginative, incredibly creepy game that takes place in a realm somewhere between the dreams and wakefulness of a boy called Pete. The artwork of this game is an entrancing mixture of unsettling darkness and luscious colour and it has instant appeal for those who enjoy atmospheric games. Everything is a little off colour, a little dreamlike and a little unsettling. You play a very small character with barely any features who starts off standing in a dark, dreary, oversized house. The game has puzzle elements but is quite linear and not particularly challenging as the focus lies on the journey, meaning and mood that it creates. You can quite simply move, jump and talk to creatures and people you find along the way as you explore this world and go about the tasks you are set. The first character you interact with sets the unnerving tone that the entire game possesses “Dad locked me in this cage so I wouldn’t tell. He locked your sister in his secret basement! He says he wants her to starve…” The overall meaning and story of the game that can be taken from the few simple words spoken in this game is entirely down to your interpretation but quite simply, you set out on a mission to save your sister. By the time the credits roll you’ll be wondering what Pete’s life is truly like for him to have created this striking, but dark, world and it really does make you wonder, was he in an accident or did something else, someone else, put him in that coma? 

ImmorTALL(play it here)

The short story of this game is both shocking and moving. It’s a short piece that takes the French idea of a bête noire, “black beast” and turns it into an interesting examination of humanity. A bête noire in literacy is something that is conventionally avoided or disliked and in this case it’s supposedly the alien creature that you play. After a crash landing to Earth you’ll play this black alien as he starts out tiny and grows larger and larger as the friendship of a farming family is extended towards him. Unfortunately, this alien is about to find itself caught in the throes of mankind’s lust for violence. This game manages to tell a story in very simple, small gestures and without words; opening the eyes of its players simply through expression. When the game ended I was left with a single question that I’m sure many others can relate to; “why?”

Loved - Quick Review (Free online game)

When you obey without question things are so much clearer, but when you defy authority and find your own path you tend to discover that, without guidance, it can be difficult to judge where to go next. This dark little puzzle game takes this idea and turns it into reality as from the very moment you start playing you find yourself at the mercy of a cruel narrator who mocks and jibes your every action. “Are you a man, or a woman?” you’re asked at the beginning only to be immediately told after your decision that you’re not, that you’re a good girl, not a boy. The narrator is a silent stream of text that appears on screen but it’s quite clear that this person is your master and you are quite clearly his minion. This platforming game is set in a world of black and white where everything is stark and bare and the initial navigating of the area is simple as you jump over spike pits and steer yourself up and down solid black ledges and platforms. Occasionally though, you’ll be ordered to do things.

“Take the lower path. Throw yourself into the barbs. Do not touch the statue.” Your master commands you at certain intervals, but do you obey? If you refuse you’re chided and berated though you notice that tiny little specks of colour are appearing on the otherwise black and white world. Now and then you’ll be asked questions, “Do I own your body or your mind?” by selecting body he demands that you dance for him, by selecting mind he demands that you beg for him. The little blips of colour that start to appear are so slight and insignificant that you don’t really see them until your master speaks again, “Touch that statue and I will forgive you.” Bypass the statue and you’ll be sneered at again but more colour appears, the more you defy your master the more colour courses across the screen in increasingly vivid and beautiful patterns but with that comes a price; you can’t see where you’re going. The game does become increasingly difficult by choosing to not obey and this confrontational approach to gaming is unsettling, though interesting as the ending does change depending on how you play it. It’s an extremely short game and can be completed in less than 10 minutes but it’s still very enjoyable and stands strongly as a solid and introspective platformer that can appeals to the causal and the serious gamer. 

 

If you want to try the game out for yourself, check out the creator’s website here.

Score: 9/10

The 5 best stickman games. (Free online games)

Stickman games are some of the best, free and most imaginative games out there. There are literally hundreds of them so it can be hard to filter through and find which ones are actually worth playing. Here are five games, in no particular order, that are intended to just give you a taste of what stickmen have to offer in the big, wide world of gaming.

5. The Fancy Pants Adventures

This game has become so damn popular I even see it on Xbox live as an arcade game, but naturally this started out as a PC game. Fancy pants adventures takes the world at fast forward and you quickly get into the swing of the sprinting, jumping and somersaulting to the point where you don’t want to slow down because you just feel so cool. It’s colourful, scribbled 2D world of slopes and ledges that’s instantly charming and the agility of your little stickman feels endless as you conquer obstacles like a boss. The early levels feel really reminiscent of games like Sonic the Hedgehog and Rayman but it’s scribbly style drawings and casual, sleek animations mean you can forgive it for any such similarities because it just oozes originality. The soundtrack is great; upbeat but non-intrusive, cartoonish but not childish and it adds a great background buzz to your zipping about between levels. The game features a great story mode where you have to rescue your sister who’s been captured by a band of pirates and that takes up a solid 11 levels, enough to keep you busy but not too much that you get bored and frustrated. If you want more fancy pants by the time the story is over there are also challenges, time trials and unlockable costumes which will provide you with several solid hours of entertainment. Have a go with Fancy Pants here if you think you'll like this game.

Fast and furious, stickmen, that is.

4. Stair Fall

This is a fairly brutal game where the aim of the game is to cause as much damage as possible to an unfortunate stick man, achieved by throwing him down a set of stairs. Don’t worry, it’s only a game, just a hilariously disturbed one. The stickman is basically a ragdoll; very flimsy with basically no tension when you swing him about which helps you achieve maximum air. You can pick up the stickman on any point of his body; legs, head, waist, whatever you want then fling your mouse as fast as possible up, down or wherever you think will hurt the most. Your score is measured by damage done to the stickman with points racking up in the corner of the screen. Once your stickman has slid to an Elvis Presley style finale at the bottom of the stairs you then have the ability to reset him and do it all over again! It’s a delightfully pointless, cruel game that is strangely addictive and educational in the sense you know how NOT to fall down a set of stairs should you ever have the choice. This game is getting on in years but when I think of stick games, I can’t help but think of stair fall.  Try and see how much you can injure the poor little guy here.

I don't even know... how I got him to do that.

 

3. The Classroom 2 

The premise of The Classroom 2 is pretty simple; you’re a student who intends to cheat their way through all the upcoming tests at school. The story of this game follows on from the first game but I rate this one here because it’s much, much better. The classroom 2 features interactions between you and a gang of cheaters and the graphics are a lot brighter and sharper. The game is unbelievably difficult and has always left me shaking my laptop screen in frustration as I fail a level for the 15^th time in a row. The general idea is that you stay out of the field of vision of your teacher, who patrols the classroom, whilst you attempt to cheat. Your task is to get to one specific person in the room and to hold the mouse button as you copy off their work then get back to your seat, all without being spotted. It sounds simple but it’ll take you many tries before you’re able to crack this game. The humour in it is brilliant and the mocking, whiney sounds that the pupils and teachers make instead of talking is comically reminiscent of those old Snoopy cartoons. The more ‘roleplay’ element additions like a storyline, flashbacks, frequent meets in the bathroom with your new gang and little additional classroom scenes like, the projector breaking and the teacher freaking out, all makes this game a highly fun and original stick game that you can play here.

So much... frustration... at this game.

2. The Hapland series 

Hapland is a very unique and very surreal puzzle game that involves trying to free trapped stickmen from rather dangerous situations, whilst a ticking clock constantly reminds you of how long it’s taking you. You solve the puzzles by clicking various objects around the area; changing their state to something else like dropping a ladder down, rattling a pipe, having a stickman eating a carrot then immediately fending off flies as he goes for another carrot… you can see how strange this is going to get already can’t you? It’s that kind of game that doesn’t really give you much indication if you’re doing the right thing or not; sometimes you get results but they’re meaningless, sometimes nothing happens because you need to click it at a particular time or a certain number of times. This puzzle game very much leaves you to figure it out and what makes it even harder is that you’re working in quite a large area with no linear path or pattern to it. The game requires a fair bit of logic to work out the puzzles but it’s only really until you’ve completed them that you manage to see that logic, which is frustrating but intriguing. Hapland has produced several games of the series now and with each addition the graphics get better and the puzzles get harder. If you enjoy weird little puzzles games then you should definitely check out one of the Hapland games.

Think it looks easy? It isn't.

1. Stick RPG 2

Stick RPG the first is, by the way, absolutely brilliant. I’m putting the 2^ndone in this list however as, like the Classroom, there are so many improved features and so much retained charm that it is an undeniably superior successor to the cult classic that is Stick RPG. The purpose of the original Stick RPG game was to increase your stats in a very small town area, you had a little apartment and could open a bank account (or rob the bank, or both), get a job and advance in it and also talk to NPCs dotted about the place. Stick RPG 2 has taken all that and polished it up a bit whilst whacking in a whole lot of additional content. Stick RPG 2 also now has the ability to save your game which is a much welcomed feature. Stick RPG 2 starts with you allocating your stats, selecting your ‘special ability’ and then being thrown into a new dimension; a place called Paper Thin City that’s made up of four islands. This city has some pretty hardcore problems though; prostitution, organized crime and drug dealing are a rampant part of the game so it’s definitely not for kids and, generally, this is definitely a game aimed at teenagers and young adults. The first thing you’ll realize about the game is, aside from looking fantastic, its detail and depth. The characters all have dialogue, there’s over ten different employers, plenty of side quests and stats for your character to level up in that helps with things like job advancement, karma rating and whether you get to survive the streets and bars of Paper Thin City. The game is scattered with little Easter eggs that sometimes serve the purpose of advancing on the plot so exploration and talking to everyone is certainly encouraged; just like a real RPG. Upon landing in this new world you’ll probably feel either overwhelmed with the size of the place and the rather intimidating NPCs or excited to grab this place by the horns and get stuck in. Stick RPG 2 is free to play, grab it here but the developer has also released a Director’s Cut. The Director's cut costs $20 (£12) and has some additional features like offline, full screen mode support, cheats, additional content and a full soundtrack. The developer is pretty insistent the game is still free to play but does cite the reason that ‘developers need to eat too’ so you can't blame 'em for that. Gotta give love to the indie games.

Your blue-headed avatar won't be smiling for long.

Runescape 3 - MMORPG Review (Online game)

Runescape is one of those games that has been around for quite a long time now and has been given a new face several times over. Our current release of Runescape is Runescape 3 with updated graphics, combat system and quests that are gradually all being given top quality voice acting and music. Generally I’ll be looking at this game from a F2P point of view but bare in mind that the members side of things gives a lot of additional content including mini-games, higher tiered equipment, additional resources and means of levelling up at higher levels and things like player owned houses and a huge map area. 
 
Graphics and environment

To begin with, the free player map is actually quite large and includes several different areas such as cities, desert regions, swamps, forests, mountains and the wilderness. There are mines and underground dungeons to also explore and train in. The graphics are good, considering it’s all in a browser based Java system and what’s better is that the Jagex team are constantly upgrading parts of the game to make it look even better. There is currently the intention to move the game to HTML5 so the game will run smoother and with additional capacity for graphical improvements. The primary means of travel in the game is running about but as your magic level increases you’ll be able to teleport using runes, alternatively, if you visit and unlock them you can get access to ‘lodestones’ that allow you free travel to major areas. Canoes have also become available for free players where you can travel up one large river to various points, though you have to make the canoe yourself. The free player map does not have too many high levelled creatures out to kill you so everything’s quite safe; you need to travel to specific places to find the assortment of high levelled monsters but, especially at lower levelled, several creatures will still attack you. 

Music and sound

Music in Runescape is unlocked as you enter new areas and can be controlled via an in-game music player. A lot of the music is now considered out-dated compared to the new style of music that is being released into the game. Despite this it’s still extremely popular in the community as it’s reminiscent of retro RPG classic games. More than 100 of the old music tracks have been recently re-recorded for the release of Runescape 3 with a live symphony orchestra, making Runescape music some of the best and most atmospheric music in online RPG games. Some quests now have voice acting and where voice acting is implemented it is truly of a fantastic quality. The dialogue is varied, humorous and emotive with no two voices the same. Where implemented, the voice actor’s style truly does match that of the NPC character.

Content

There’s always plenty to do in Runescape and the free play side of it is a great way to introduce you to the game and, whilst many go on to be members, there are plenty who prefer the non-pressurized approach of FTP and the challenge of getting a skill up to 99 without the added additions of member items/areas. Alongside training skills, trading, questing and money making there are several other activities available to free players. A mini-game called ‘fist of guthix’ is a great way to train your magic and the duel arena in the desert means you can fight players in a safe environment. 

It's pretty easy to make money in the game and there's no way to buy in-game coins with real life money. All players have access to player trading and a stock market where you can buy and sell your items with ease. A lot of people use this as a way of making money so if you’re into number crunching then go right ahead and try ‘flipping’ for cash. You earn money in Runescape in quite an organic fashion, through training your skills and selling the materials. If you don’t know what to do with your time in Runescape there are things called ‘daily challenges’ where free players get up to 2 at a time. These challenges will tell you to do something like craft x amount of x or kill x amount of x and then reward you once the task is completed with experience in the relevant skill and trading items if it involved collecting and handing over materials. Daily challenges are a great way to trying out new areas of the game that you may have not yet experienced as it encourages trying out new activities. There is also a task system available in one of the cities where, by completing a set of tasks you’ll get an item with special abilities at the end of it along with a bit of money for each task completed. 

Storyline and quests

The history, lore and religion of Runescape is very in depth and told mostly through quest lines but all of it can be found on the website. A lot of players tend to choose a deity and can show their support through clothing, items, ‘titles’ which show up after your name or, these days, by supporting them in the current war. There are a lot of quests available in the game, almost 200 for members but a comparatively paltry 24 for free players, but generally they’re all pretty good quality. Runescape comes with a great deal of sardonic British humour that makes reading the dialogue very worthwhile. The free player quests are all graphically updated and are of a generally higher quality than the members quests as a lot of the members’ ones are getting on years now. Quest series tends to stretch across a variety of different storylines; from a penguin ‘cold-war’ type takeover, to vampire quest series to elven quest series but these are generally felt by the members more than the free players. Free player quests are generally an introduction to different skills and serve as the opening quest to several long and complicated quest lines that are realized later on in your Runescape career.

Training/grinding

As an RPG game a large portion of the game is naturally dedicated to training your skills and with that comes grinding. Grinding used to be a large part of Runescape and, to a certain degree, still is today so plenty of people pride themselves on their skills due to the amount of hard work and time put into it. Nowadays, a lot of the grinding aspect of levelling up in Runescape has been removed with the addition of bonus experience opportunities, mini-games, alternate and more varied training methods and social training. For free players the grind is still very apparent as many of the updated methods are aimed at paying members. Despite this, little additions like the ability to “make all” rather than individually clicking items is universal and common for all activities so free players are able to reduce the amount of repetitive strain injury endured. 

Player killing is available in this game however it needs to be conducted in a special area; the wilderness. The wilderness is a very area at the top of the map that is home to dragons, a lava maze and several monsters like ghosts, bandits and skeletons. The wilderness was the site of a great war but, these days, is just a burnt out span of landscape. Player killing can also be combated duel arena that has recently made available to free players. Here, players can combat one another in safe circumstances without the risk of losing any items unless you stake gold or items on your own victory using a safe, scam-free system.

Whereas members have 26 skills available to them with training methods all the way up to level 99 (or 120 for dungeoneering) the free playing community have access to only 16 of them, though with the ability to train members skills up to level 5. All free player skills can be levelled up to 99 though this is much harder in free to play worlds due to the lack of high level training methods, it is not however, impossible.

The skills included are: Dungeoneering, Woodcutting, Firemaking, Smithing, Mining, Fishing, Cooking, Crafting, Runecrafting, Magic, Ranged, Prayer, Defence, Strength, Attack and Constitution. The additional member skills include: Agility, Thieving, Hunter, Slayer, Summoning, Herblore, Farming, Divination, Fletching and Construction.

Community

Free players and members are divided off into different worlds so whichever one you pick you’ll find a supportive, lively community of good natured players. This game is generally orientated at teenagers and young adults and the community tends to consist of mature, polite and helpful people who genuinely care about the game and its players. If you’re the type of gamer who isn’t really into group activities and much prefers to play solo then this game supports that 100%. There is practically nothing which requires lots of other people and, in the rare case that it does, the forums are constantly thriving with people who are probably in a similar situation to you. Whereas some online multiplayer games can be critical of new players you’re more likely to find players who are willing to help out somebody who is new as there’s no detriment to them or their skills. Competition for resources is limited to certain skills like combat training and mining and many activities are social and non-competitive like firemaking, where you get bonus experience for sharing a bonfire, or fishing; where resources are not dependent on the number of people fishing. Dungeoneering is a skill that involves descending down levels of a mysterious fortress in the wilderness and is more advantageous to players if done in groups of 2 or more, though it can be done solo, so teamwork is encouraged but generally at your own pace.

In terms of updates, Runescape gets weekly updates and every month you’ll get a ‘behind the scenes’ post showing what’s coming to the game in the upcoming month. The constant updates and tweaks to the game really show how much farther it has yet to come and how alive and supported everything is. Of course, plenty of players will voice their criticism of updates and due to this Jagex have now released player polls so that players get to choose which content is released into the game.

Conclusion

Runescape is a game that is friendly, content filled and constantly evolving into something better. There are very few micro transactions in the game and it’s not one of those ‘pay to win’ games that you often see. As a free to play game it of course has less content than the members version but there is still a lot to do and with no time limit or trial period it means you can play it for as long as you like with no downsides. The tutorial is interactive, simple to follow and thorough in how much it teaches you about the game and it’s a pretty easy game to get into without feeling too daunted. The ability to customize your character with a range of equipment means that no two players often look the same and overall the entire world feels alive and kicking, just what you want out of a multiplayer game. Overall, I rate this game highly as it is addictive, challenging and time consuming but in all the best ways possible. 

MMORPG Score: 9/10

For more information, check out these links:

• Runescape homepage
• Runescape Wikipedia
• Beginner's guide