Escape rooms are an awesome match for VR. You’ll be able to craft fantastical situations and obtain extra convincing environments, all whereas permitting the expertise to happen at house. And that is an concept developer Fireproof Video games has taken to coronary heart, because the fifth title in The Room sequence is VR-only. The Room VR: A Darkish Matter was beforehand launched on PSVR, however it’s higher than ever on Sony’s new headset.
As a detective on the lookout for a lacking Egyptologist within the early 1900s, you’ll go to plenty of areas throughout the title’s 5 ranges. The title begins you off sluggish, with a barebones chapter that takes place in your workplace, earlier than introducing the sport’s best asset: its problem curve.
The complexity of puzzles from stage to stage ratchets up on the good price, by no means overstepping or falling into the trimmings of classical point-and-click journey titles with obtuse, nonsensical options. As a substitute, you’re handled to puzzles with logical options, lots of which embrace dozens of steps to finish. And when you do get caught, the sport has a sturdy clue system, nice for pointing you in the appropriate route with out fixing puzzles for you.
The puzzles rising in complexity additionally gives the chance to point out off unbelievable environments. Textures look good all through, some environments are large, and in VR, the size is offered in a really convincing approach. You’ll normally be capable of see different clues or steps within the puzzles throughout the room, which will help jog your reminiscence about the place to go or what to do subsequent in a compelling approach.
Every stage being self-contained permits the group to dabble with completely different tones, too. An early stage coping with an historical Sarcophagus is especially adept at splicing horror into the expertise, whereas a stage going down in a church makes use of an organ to include musical components into the sport. It’s all dealt with flawlessly, and drastically enhances the worth of the product, by providing different, distinctive experiences level-to-level.
That being mentioned, in relation to the worth of the product, the worth is likely one of the solely actual gripes now we have with the expertise. It merely doesn’t have sufficient content material to match its £24.99/ $29.99 price ticket. If you happen to can abdomen the fee, although — or benefit from the free improve from PS4 to PS5 — there’s quite a bit to love right here.