Have you ever played with puzzle boxes? I am sure that you have. They are made famous by all their little hidden compartments, all their tricky little locks and the great many secrets that they promise to hold. If you look back over the last few hundred years you will find, in addition to boxes, that there are many pieces of furniture that also contains these types of secrets. The Room brings the experience of exploring these devices to people everywhere. It let’s people poke and prod, fiddle and fondle, with a number of these devices. And oh my word, it feels good.
One of the greatest restrictions of the genuine devices (apart from their age and fragility) is that they are often limited by space. They may contain many secrets, but each is independent of the others. There is just not the capacity to create overly complex interconnected contraptions. However, as The Room is a digital version of these machinations, it gets to start breaking some of the rules. Who needs space anyway. This freedom does not mean that Fireproof Studios flaunt it. Instead they choose to keep it quite tame. They try to keep the boxes and compartments appropriately sized, it sits on the edge of plausibility.
While the puzzles take centre stage in The Room, it is the story, simple though it may be, that links the various rooms together. It is also through this story that the game starts exploring slightly more out there themes. It starts stretching cause and event. Once again though, the use of this magic has been quite reserved. They only use it to better tell the story or heighten the challenge of the puzzle. This tactful and considered use of game mechanics really shows how valuable restraint can be when creating a wonderful tale.
I have no reservations recommending this game. This is one of the few puzzle games that I have returned to and played for a second time. Graphically stunning, The Room deserves to be in every gamers library.