Part 8: Homecoming

Update 08: Homecoming

Welcome back. Last time we escaped Michelangelo Memorial Hospital, killing Clinic Chief Lem in the process. The good doctor took the secrets of Rion’s circumstances to the grave with him, but that doesn’t mean our protagonist is going to give up.









Using the documents he found in the hospital and a few faded memories, Rion has managed to track down the Steiner family home. What secrets lurk inside its manorial façade? Let’s find out.



We begin outside the house. Everything is quiet - there are no enemies around, and the only sounds are ambient noise. The front door is right ahead, so let's get a move on and see what's inside.





…Of course, it’s not going to be that easy.



Psychometry gives us a glimpse of the foyer, but that doesn’t help us much.



According to the map there are two other doors we can go through, one to the left of the house and one to the right.







The left door is a gate that leads to a play area with a bench and set of swings.



Rion’s parents were very irresponsible and have left experimental brain chemicals just lying around all over the place.





Psychometry confirms that he did! It also confirms that he had a playmate, although one has to wonder about the bandages around her head…



There’s also a small stone storehouse at the back.





It’s locked, and reading the door reveals that the key is near some kind of workstation.



There’s nothing we can do about that now, so let’s go back and explore the right hand side of the grounds.







We get a brief in-game scene as soon as we step through the gate.





Rion automatically examines the ground by the pond, noting that there are tire tracks leading into the water.



We can confirm this by examining the pond itself.



A psychometric reading reveals a strange room with a snooker table, jukebox and minibar. Strange - what does that have to do with the pond?



The image isn’t very helpful, so let’s have a look in the garage where the tracks are coming from.





Examining the shelves yields a Recovery Capsule, absolutely vital if you fought Lem the hard way.



There’s also a conspicuous car that looks like it stumbled in from the Fallout franchise.





Inside we find a key to the back door. Excellent - now we can explore the house.





We can also read the car for a brief memory, and our first truly good look at Rion’s parents. It seems Rion and his family went out in this car fairly regularly.





There’s nothing else to do in the back yard, so let’s get down to business and crack open the back door.





So far, so good. But as soon as we go inside…





…a whole bunch of uninvited guests show up. I suppose it’s not surprising; Lem was clearly not the only person involved in all this, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Rion would immediately head home after escaping the hospital.

Music: Galerians - Manor Theme 1



Still, we've made it inside. Now to see what we can find in here.



The Steiner Manor isn’t particularly big. It’s much smaller than the hospital, but it has a bit more backtracking to make up for it.



Moving forwards reveals that we’re in the dining room, with the huge double doors to our left leading into the main foyer.





Unfortunately it looks like someone has smashed up the locks and ripped off the doorknob, so we can’t get through just yet.



Reading the broken door reveals an image of a bar - perhaps the same bar we saw in our reading of the pond.





There’s a small kitchen unit behind the table.



You can never have too many healing items.





The fridge can’t be opened, but reading it gives us another image of Rion’s mother.





Exiting through the red doors leads to this corridor.





The southernmost door leads to a small antechamber with a sink in it.





There’s nothing obviously important in here, but we can read the sink for a quick snapshot of Rion’s mother. She looks concerned about something…







Music: Galerians - Manor Theme 2



The other door leads to a proper bathroom.





The Resident Evil vibes are strong with this one.









Fortunately draining the tub does not result in us being attacked by a festering waterlogged zombie, although it does reveal the key we need to progress - if only we could reach the foyer.









The third and final door leads to a short corridor linking the northern and southern halves of the first floor.

Music: Galerians - Manor Battle





Rounding the next corner thrusts us into this stage’s first hostile encounter - the Enhanced Rabbit.



Aside from the snazzy suit and dapper hat, Enhanced Rabbits also possess limited psychic abilities. Their purple energy shots are weaker than Rion’s Nalcon, but they come out quickly and are difficult to dodge in the cramped confines of the corridor.



Enhanced Rabbits are reasonably tough, taking three shots of Nalcon or two blasts of Red to put down. They’re less aggressive than the riot guards from the previous stage, and none of their attacks can knock you down, but if one of them catches you by surprise you’ll probably take a hit.





The turquoise doors lead into some kind of sitting room. Of immediate interest is the object on the settee to Rion’s right.





It’s a vaguely creepy painting. Might as well take it with us I guess!



It’s not the only important picture here, either. Examining the photographs on the mantelpiece triggers a memory…



: It’s the same picture I found in the hospital’s computer! That’s me in the middle…





Rion turns around, distracted by a glowing light.





The light of memory.



: What’s wrong, Rion? Having trouble sleeping?



A slightly younger, collar-less Rion replies.

: I feel uneasy, but I don’t know why. It’s as if something really bad is about to happen.





Rion’s mother looks forlorn, as if she knows something he doesn’t.





We return to the present, and the recollection ends. Judging by what's happened, I'd say Rion's prediction was depressingly accurate.



There’s one more thing to do here, then we can move on.



The back shelves contain a vial of Red. Useful!



We’ve two more rooms to explore down this corridor.







The red doors lead to the bar, which we’ve seen a couple of times before thanks to our readings.



The jukebox doesn’t work. No jaunty tunes for us.





Two balls are missing from the snooker table. Fortunately, we can read the table twice to get both of their locations.



The first is some kind of computer room or study.



The second is…the pond? Come to think of it, it does look like something might be down there…



Another major item of interest is behind the bar.





The doorknob! Now we can access the second floor!







There are some other collectibles here we can grab before leaving.







The last room to explore in this area contains this stage’s only save point.







Anyway, let’s head back. We have a whole new floor to explore, and-



Goddamn!



So, I bet you guys were expecting enemies to burst in through the windows, Resident Evil-style? Nope! Galerians has them bust in through the goddamn ceiling.





It’s not that big of a deal, though. We burn him and move on-





Now that was just rude.





Our guests suitably chastened, we can now move on back to the dining room.





An in-game scene plays as soon as we step inside. Rion walks towards the kitchen unit…









Images flash across the screen, and Rion clutches his head in pain as another memory begins to surface.



Rion slowly approaches the fridge…





He opens the door…





Oh.



Oh dear.



: Aaaaaaaaaahhhh!!







Well, RIP Rion’s mother! Someone murdered her, stuffed a clock in her mouth, then left her body in the fridge for past Rion to find. But who did it? And why? Perhaps we’ll find some answers next time, when we explore the second floor of the manor.