The Room Pocket 9+

The formula of a puzzle game where you look for objects which interact with other objects, and maybe solve a puzzle or two, is standard. This one stands above the others in its beauty. When you see the box you must interact with, you really want to explore it, to see every aspect of its mechanics, to see the wood, brass, and jewels interact. The visuals really pull you forward as much as the gameplay. In addition to the exploration part of the game (find a lock, then find the key or combination to it), the solvable puzzles are elegant and satisfying.

I bought iPhone version of the game. The small size of the screen and the need to zoom in and zoom out sometimes made it a hassle to move around, and occasionally I was taken to a different place than (I thought) I’d tapped. However, that’s to be expected. Small screen, finger touch not always accurate.

As of the date of this review, this is the first & only The Room app I’ve done. They’ve released 4 or 5 sequels, so perhaps this is already solved: the hint/help function should know what you have already accomplished. I used hints several times, and 80+% of the time it hinted about what I had already done or figured out. This is a big ask, but it would be swell if they have done or could do that.

The Room, although 6 years old, is no less remarkable than it was at its inception. The best part about waiting 6 years to play is that there are more versions now available after I finished this one! I rarely play games and when I do I like to challenge my brain. ‘The Room’ does just that. Unfortunately in some of the puzzles, you have to know what the developer was thinking. After solving many of the problems inside this game a pattern emerges that you can use in the other chapters. The graphics are phenomenal. It’s like you are there inside this contraption actually moving pieces around! I’m blind in one eye and do not see in 3D (the world is all 2D to me) and a few of the puzzles I was not able to visualize even using the ‘eyepiece’. There are “hints” but they are very intentionally vague and really useless. This is a highly graphic filled game and even on my iPhone 8 Plus, I had several places where the game just froze. When you reset or have to leave and come back to the game you have to start at the beginning of that chapter. Each chapter is not too long and at the end I was wanting more. If you are totally stuck there are several resources online to help you. I highly recommend ‘The Room’!