This guide strives to be a single updated resource to provide helpful tips and various ways to fix or set up Realms of the Haunting. The game is a hidden gem, but unfortunately suffers from some mechanics and quirks from before modern gaming practices (i.e., non-WASD control scheme, unintuitive mechanics) that may make it a little uncomfortable for new players.

There already exist several guides and resources for Realms of the Haunting, but I’ve noticed that many of them are outdated, inaccurate, missing information, or not applicable to the Steam release. Also, these guides are divided and scattered throughout the web. My goal is to provide a single guide that is up-to-date, accurate, and complete.

Note: this guide is intended for Steam's release of ROTH and assumes you have a fresh install of the game.

This guide is not a walkthrough nor does it provide insights into the lore of the game. There are other guides and resources out there that already do a fantastic job of this. I will probably write my own walkthrough at some point, but that is not planned yet.

This guide covers the following topics:

1. Game setup and configuration
   
   • Patching to the US Version
     
   • Configuring basic graphics/DOSBox settings
     
   • Setting original midi music
     
   • Changing controls to be more comfortable
2. Gameplay tips and hints
   
   • General tips/controls
     
   • Misc gameplay tips
     
   • Specific tips throughout the game

The following sections are different ways to configure or fix various aspects of the game. Each of the sections are intended to be independent and do not rely on each other. As a result, they're all optional and can be done without needing to start a new file (except for the first section about UK/US version).

Before even starting your playthrough of Realms of the Haunting, you should decide if you want to play with the original UK version (what comes with Steam) or patch it to the US version. The only impactful differences are that the US version comes with (1) the ability to remap some keys and (2) an additional enemy difficulty setting that alters how much damage enemies inflict on you (this can only be applied at the start of a new game). Otherwise, there are no major differences in the in-game cutscenes, voiceovers, etc.
Regardless of the version you choose, you will still be able to remap keys, it’s just that the US version makes it slightly easier, albeit a little more limited.
Note: save files are incompatible between versions (!)

Here are the instructions to install the US patch. If you are interested in playing the original UK version, you can skip to the next section.

1. Download the zipped patch from here: US Patch[drive.google.com] Note: There are other US patch downloads out there, but I specifically organized this one to work nicely with the Steam installation.
   
2. Open the Realms of the Haunting installation folder (steamapps/common/Realms of the Haunting)
   
3. Unzip/copy the patch folders directly into the Realms of the Haunting installation folder
   
4. The game is now patched

When starting the game, there will be a short Interplay splash screen that is split in half, but this is fine.
If the colors look slightly off, change the gamma to the darkest/lowest setting.
If you are having problems with sound, make sure that you copied both the DATA and ROTH folders from the patch into the Realms of the Haunting folder. If there are still sound issues, see the area for Sound Configuration below.

Since Realms of the Haunting was originally released for MS-DOS, it relies on using the DOSBox emulator. The default configuration is fine and playable, but leaves a lot to be desired.

The config file is found in the Steam folder for ROTH (steamapps/common/Realms of the Haunting) and is named dosboxROTH.conf.
After opening it in a text editor, the following properties can be changed (can just do a Ctrl+F to find them):

• fulldouble=true to increase performance in fullscreen mode
  
• output=ddraw to make the pixels sharper at larger resolutions. If this setting doesn't work, you can also set it to openglnb
  
• fullresolution=desktop to change the fullscreen resolution to that of your display. Note: if you are having performance issues, you can set it to a manual resolution (example: 1920x1080)
  
• fullscreen=false if you plan to play primarily in windowed mode
  
• windowresolution should be changed from original to the intended resolution (example: 1920x1080).

Save and exit the file to apply the changes.

Optionally, you can change the sound settings of the game to what was originally intended. For some reason Steam's release of ROTH has slightly different sound settings. It can be reverted to the original following these steps:

1. Download this CONFIG.INI file: "CONFIG.INI"[drive.google.com]
   
2. Go to this folder (steamapps/common/Realms of the Haunting/ROTH) and replace CONFIG.INI here with the file you downloaded above. Note: you might want to make a backup copy of the original CONFIG.INI file in case you don't like the updated sound settings.

This makes the music play in its full midi glory, giving it that extra bit of retro-ness.


US (patch) Version
If you patched your game to the US version, you can use the in-game control editor, described here. By default, the US version already comes with a much friendlier set of controls.

Start up the game and go to Settings -> Define movement keys.

I recommend changing the following controls:
Turn Left/Right to Q/E
Walk Left/Right to A/D
Fire: Z
Crawl: Ctrl

The ability to look or glance up and down is not configurable. The default keys are Home/End to look and Page Up/Page Down to glance (glance meaning the view resets to center after being pressed).

UK (original) Version
If you are using the original UK version, the keys will need to be rebound within DOSBox which has a built in key mapper/rebinding tool. The only downside to this method is that when naming save files, some keys will be incorrect. I still prefer this method because it allows for more customization.
Download the new mapper file here: "mapper.txt"[drive.google.com]
Open up your Realms of the Haunting installation folder (steamapps/common/Realms of the Haunting) and move the downloaded mapper.txt file here, overwriting the original mapper.txt file. You can also make a backup of the original if you don’t like the new layout.

New Controls
This will give your game a modernized control layout, making it easier to jump, move, and look around.

Here is a list of the relevant controls:
Main:
W/A/S/D - Move forward, left, back, right
Q/E - Turn left/right
R/F - Look up/down (if using new mapper file)
Spacebar - Jump
Ctrl - Crouch
Z - Manually attack/fire weapon
I - Inventory
F9/F10 - Quick save and quick load
1-6 - Quick swap weapon
Page Up/Page Down - Glance up/down (view resets to center)

Other:
CapsLock - Toggle run mode (this could also be the ` or ~ key depending on your keyboard)
C/V - Increase/decrease gamma (brightness)
H - In-game controls list
-/+ - Decreases/increases size of viewport (if you want more retro looks)
Alt+Enter - To swap between fullscreen and windowed mode

Note: if you want to customize this yourself, press Ctrl+F1 to enter the key mapper tool.

Here are some helpful tips to help you in your playthrough. I apologize in advance for the amount of tips here, but I figured I'd err on the side of completeness. These are some things that I've noticed people either struggle with or not realize until late in a playthrough.


The most valuable resources in the game are ammo (in the early game) and health vials (in the mid to late game). Health vials become harder to find as the game goes on so take care not to use them too much in the early game.

Make use of the quick save and quick load feature (F9 and F10) to quickly test something.

To use an item (such as a health vial), left click the item in your inventory to pick it up, then right click it (left click if US version). In a similar manner, some items can be combined. Left click the item to pick it up and right click (left click if US version) on the item you wish to combine it with.

The keys 1-6 let you quickly change weapons without needing to open the inventory. 1 unequips any weapon, allowing you to attack with your fists and 2-6 correspond to the first row items in the weapons tab of your inventory.

Lots of items are hidden somewhere low or high, so make sure to look up and down when exploring rooms and solving puzzles (R/F keys if using the above mapper file, Home/End keys if not).

If you’re trying to jump a gap, but not finding enough distance, you can turn on run mode with Caps Lock or ~(tilde) to give yourself some extra speed to jump with.

The game actually has a free cam mode. You can get into it by clicking and holding both Left and Right mouse buttons. Note: there is some nuance here; the cursor cannot be over an interactable object when starting.

After dying, you can press Spacebar to quickly load your last saved file.

Pressing F6 cycles through video modes. There’s really no point to do this as the default one (LinBase 640x480) is the best for modern displays. LinBase 640x400 does put the game into more of a widescreen mode, but it does this by removing vertical visibility, rather than expanding horizontal visibility.

Pressing 0 changes the rendered pixel density. Again, no reason to change this unless it was accidentally changed away from default.

Some enemies have immunities/vulnerabilities to certain weapons, so if one weapon doesn't seem effective, try switching to a different one.

On the same note, not all enemies need to be killed and it's often better to run past an enemy to save ammo and health vials.

There are many items and even some weapons that can easily be missed in a playthrough, but can still be useful to have, so explore everything!

Saving on moving platforms may make you fall through it when you load back in. Best to just not save on moving platforms.

Softlocks are possible in this game, albeit in only a few places, so make sure to utilize several save slots to avoid such a scenario.

Consult the wiki! The unofficial wiki[tales-from-the-tower.fandom.com] for ROTH is full of information about the game if you're interested in learning more about any facet of it.


Here are some tips about specific parts of the game. Unless otherwise specified, these are still fairly general and don’t spoil any story points or puzzles, but it includes enemies and items found throughout the game, so I’m putting spoiler tags.
Early Game
In the room with the sarcophagus, you can pick up a sword. The sword is effective in the early game in melee range and deals the same damage as the Colt-45 (which is double the damage of just using your fists).

The early game staff is super effective against cyborgs, dealing double the damage to them when compared to other enemies!

If you're having trouble in the caverns. You can turn up the brightness/gamma to make seeing a little easier.

A couple of the small pillars in the Tower replenish a small amount of health when interacted with.

Mid Game
Somewhat spoiler: If you are stuck after making it back to the study with Florentine's staff, you can use the teleporters on both sides of the sarcophagus to take you to the areas where the last serpent statuettes are located.

The red flying bat-like creatures[tales-from-the-tower.fandom.com] are weak against the Colt-45 and shotgun (double damage).

In the area where you pick up the chalices, refill them before leaving. They are a weapon (with just a single charge) and actually do a decent amount of damage.

In Raquia’s maze, if you are stuck trying to get the golden haunch from the tall platform, trying looking around the bench

Actual spoiler: After collecting the Key of Tears in Raquia, the game tells you to "free Hawk." But with how long the journey to get the Key of Tears takes, I've noticed many people forget where Hawk is kept. Answer: go back to the sarcophagus area in the house.

Late Game
Stuck trying to find brains? Try this map.

Did you experience an issue not listed here? Was something unclear? Should something be removed?
Please do let me know! I don't really have experience writing guides, but this game holds a very special place in my heart, so I tried to take my time to make it complete.

I'm a speedrunner and glitch hunter for Realms of the Haunting with over 600 hours logged on Steam. I have a pretty strong understanding of the mechanics and intricacies of the game and wanted to provide some of this knowledge to the community.
Also, if you bump into any sort of glitch, bug, exploit, etc. I’d love to know. Even the most minor-seeming bugs can have huge implications. I'm currently the only active speedrunner for this game, so finding glitches is a slow process.

If you've made it this far, thank you for reading through my ramblings and I hope that you find some value, however small, from this guide. <3