Rooms: The Unsolvable Puzzle VR review

Reviewed on: PS VR

Rooms: The Unsolvable Puzzle was originally released in May 2015 by HandMade Game, but only after three years did it land on stores for VR equipment… We had the chance to play this challenging title, and we can say: Yes, many screens are almost impossible to pass on the first try… if you want 100%, get ready to “melt your brain”.

The game follows the story of Anne, a girl who ends up entering the Toymaker’s house and finds herself lost inside the mansion. The story is told through small cutscenes, revealing the true story behind the legend of the “Toymaker” and his twisted mansion. One point of attention is language: although it has localization for several languages, Portuguese is not among them, and if you want to understand the story better you’ll have to make an effort with English.

Gameplay

The gameplay is simple, and all based on a toy that many of us had in our childhoods, a plastic sliding puzzle whose goal was to assemble an image or put the numbers in sequence…

Upon entering the mansion the story begins by showing how Anne “discovered” the place, and with each screen new challenges are presented; and even with an increasing difficulty, some screens were easier to pass than others, but no less challenging for that.
In total there are 144 “rooms” divided into 5 levels… 4 inside the mansion (96 levels counting the game’s story) and one in the basement (containing 48 levels).

The first four levels have the same structure: you are introduced to that level’s premise and as you progress the difficulty increases, with new challenges being presented. For example, you have phones that teleport the protagonist; wardrobes that move the painting you are in; puppets that “chase” you; among others. That is, the further you advance, the more things there will be to challenge you to leave the room, whether just one or all together.

To move to a different mansion you need to reach at least level 16 of the current one; after that, you choose to continue where you are or move on to the next. If you want to move on, don’t worry: you can replay the levels in the future.

The basement can be described as an extra, with various “power-ups” and special abilities for each screen. When you venture into it the game makes it very clear that it is a screen for those who have already finished the story, so much more challenging (so true!).

To move on to the next room you have to reach the door and, for that, you have a “limit” on the number of square moves, shown by a counter on the right. The maximum score is three stars, and the more moves you use, the lower your score for passing the level.

Immersion

To analyze from this point we’ll work with Visuals, Music and Immersion together.

The music matches the game’s proposal very well… it is well executed and fits well; all of it has a touch of childhood and Christmas… the visuals, as simple as they are, are not sloppy, their beauty and colors remind us of “stop-motion” animated films (the famous “clay movies”) like Corpse Bride, making the atmosphere even cooler.

The title can be played with or without VR. As soon as you enter the game you are asked to turn on the equipment, but if you click the “Circle” button, the game starts in its basic version, where you see the challenges in 2D and flat – simple. When activated, the VR mode view reminds us of a drive-in cinema, where we are standing in the mansion’s garden, seeing the challenges “from a distance”. We played both ways, and VR mode proved the most pleasant, since it brings a certain depth, plus the feeling of being part of animations like Coraline… as mentioned above, the look is quite similar.

Verdict

Rooms The Unsolvable Puzzle VR is a pleasant surprise, and if you like games that demand reasoning, enjoy… replay value comes in the form of trying to get 3 stars on all levels (dear reader, we wish you good luck…). The sad part is that the game is not yet available in the Brazilian store. In the American one it costs US$ 13.99, which is a fair price for a game like this.

Visual – 8

Gameplay – 7

Visual/Audio – 7

Immersion – 6

Overall Score: 7

Version used for this review: PS4 – Kindly provided by HandMade Game