Escape rooms are an important match for VR. You’ll be able to craft fantastical situations and obtain extra convincing environments, all whereas permitting the expertise to happen at residence. And that is an concept developer Fireproof Video games has taken to coronary heart, because the fifth title in The Room collection is VR-only. The Room VR: A Darkish Matter was beforehand launched on PSVR, nevertheless it’s higher than ever on Sony’s new headset.
As a detective searching for a lacking Egyptologist within the early 1900s, you’ll go to various places 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 charge, by no means overstepping or falling into the trimmings of classical point-and-click journey titles with obtuse, nonsensical options. As an alternative, you might be handled to puzzles with logical options, a lot of which embody dozens of steps to finish. And in the event you do get caught, the sport has a sturdy clue system, nice for pointing you in the suitable route with out fixing puzzles for you.
The puzzles rising in complexity additionally provides the chance to point out off unbelievable environments. Textures look sensible all through, some environments are large, and in VR, the dimensions is offered in a really convincing method. You’ll often be capable of see different clues or steps within the puzzles throughout the room, which may help jog your reminiscence about the place to go or what to do subsequent in a compelling method.
Every stage being self-contained permits the group to dabble with totally different tones, too. An early stage coping with an historical Sarcophagus is especially adept at splicing horror into the expertise, whereas a stage happening in a church makes use of an organ to include musical components into the sport. It’s all dealt with flawlessly, and significantly enhances the worth of the product, by providing various, distinctive experiences level-to-level.
That being mentioned, with regards to the worth of the product, the value is likely one of the solely actual gripes we have now with the expertise. It merely doesn’t have sufficient content material to match its £24.99/ $29.99 price ticket. In case you can abdomen the fee, although — or benefit from the free improve from PS4 to PS5 — there’s rather a lot to love right here.