Rauniot is an isometric point and click adventure from Act Normal Games, set in Northern Finland after a disaster drowned the continents. The search for a missing companion and a nuclear-powered locomotive prototype drives the whole journey.
The presentation is the game’s strongest suit, with drawn contact portraits and a notebook that reads like an old instruction manual. The Finnish voice acting lends the setting an authenticity that fits the northern location perfectly.
The puzzles are the meat of the experience, with the generator room, the sector-six computer and the radio tower standing out. They are often cryptic, and stumbling through them becomes part of the charm rather than a frustration.
Fast travel opens up once the maps are found, which cuts much of the back-and-forth across the small world. The mouse-only controls keep the interaction simple, and the locomotive’s fuel demands make for a few refuelling detours.
The absence of a sprint option is a recurring annoyance, with the protagonist stuck at a walk throughout. Interaction highlighting is also easy to miss, and remembering the various codes and numbers adds to the friction.
The world carries a genuine moral murkiness throughout, with even the helpful cast operating on favours and mutual suspicion. The creepy touches, from watching security cameras to dark children’s drawings and mutilated scenery, sell the post-apocalypse well.
Overall, the presentation and the authentic Finnish setting make this a distinctive point and click adventure worth seeking out. The cryptic puzzles and the missing sprint are the main frustrations, but the compact length keeps the whole run rewarding.