Paramedium: A Noise in the Attic

Hunting for supernatural beings and ghosts is a pretty popular occupation in movies and video games, but people are doing this in the real world as well. Granted, the real world features far less exciting fights with demons and various monsters, so it’s always more fun to see the action unfold in a movie, or even be in control of it yourself in a video game.

Paramedium: A Noise in the Attic is an interactive visual novel that puts you in the role of a Paramedium Cleric, who is the kind of person you call whenever something out of the ordinary happens in your house. The whole game is about investigating the call of an old woman who complains about a presence in the attic, and it is your job to get rid of any monsters or spirits that might reside there.

You are allowed to choose the name of your Cleric, although the actual character is non-customizable. Unlike most visual novels, on the other hand, there are some mini-games that allow you to experience the action from a much more personal point of view. They are mostly reflex-based, so don’t expect anything too complex, but at least it’s not as uneventful as it’s usual in the genre.

Probably the most disappointing thing about Paramedium: A Noise in the Attic is the fact that it ends after a few minutes of gameplay, which is quite the bummer. Granted, this is more of a Halloween mini-game than anything else, and it’s also free, but it would have been nice to see at least a bit more content, or maybe an alternate route that allows you to play the game again.

The quality of the artwork is truly magnificent, on the other hand, which is especially great when it comes to character design. In fact, the backgrounds are very detailed as well, but they are usually too dark to really appreciate them. The soundtrack is not bad either, but it’s very short, which makes it difficult to remember for more than a few minutes after you are done playing.

In the end, Paramedium: A Noise in the Attic’s premise is quite engaging, so it would be nice to see more episodes with more cases to investigate. Until then, this short experiment can be pretty fun and enjoyable as well.