Before I start the review, let me clarify that as much as that hurts for me to say, this game has no connection whatsoever to what I consider to be one of the greatest achievements in mankind’s history; the movie known as The Room. If you want to play a game based on that absolute masterpiece, check out this link. With that out of the way, let’s talk about the other The Room.

The non-Wiseau The Room is actually a port of a mobile puzzle game. Before you sound the alarm, let me assure you that this is no Candy Crush. This is actually a well made and very well-designed game, with puzzles that wouldn’t feel out of place in a real-life escape room scenario. Despite the misleading name, this not exactly about a room per se, but more about a bunch of boxes you need to open through a wide assortment of complex and very lengthy puzzles.

The best aspect of The Room, besides the puzzles of course, is the implementation of touchscreen controls into this port. That’s the advantage of previously being a game released for smartphones. While the game does feature motion-based controls with the joycon in case you want to play this on a TV, it feels right at home on the Switch’s screen. Be it to zoom in or to just spin the camera around the current box you’re trying to open, the controls aren’t complex at all, but they are for the most part responsive and intuitive. It’s all pretty simple: inspect the box, look for clues, collect items, open menu to use said item on the appropriate spot, do a door opening or key spinning gesture, rinse and repeat.

While the concept behind the game is pretty good, it’s far from being flawless. In fact, while being really good for a mobile game, The Room still suffers from the fact it originated on smartphones. The Room doesn’t feature the most impressive graphics, they’re passable for the most part. The soundtrack, while decent and far from intrusive, can be best described as “just being there”. The sound effects are minimal as well.

The biggest issue, however, is the game’s length. It took me a little more than three hours to beat The Room and that’s considering the fact I did get stuck for a while in some thought-provoking puzzles. Once you beat the game, that’s basically it. There’s very little replayability, as you can see everything the game has to offer in a single run. The Room had really good puzzles, but its short length left me with a bitter taste in my mouth. I wanted a lot more of it.

The Room is a very intelligent puzzle game. It’s not a long game and it leaves you craving more. It may only be fun on the first run, but it’s pretty good while it lasts. It’ll most certainly make you want to play the sequel and the upcoming third game, as well as convince your friends to go to the nearest escape room game parlor and enjoy a real-life version of what this little gem has to offer. It might have originated on mobile devices, but don’t you worry, this ain’t no greedy cash grab. This is a legitimately well-crafted experience.

 

Graphics: 7.0 Well-detailed objects with ok, but not amazing textures. Framerate is decent for the most part. There aren’t many animations.	Gameplay: 8.0 Makes great use of the Switch’s touchscreen. Don’t even bother with the joycon option, playing it on portable mode is the way to go.
Sound: 6.5 A rather minimalistic but eerie soundtrack that helps to improve the game’s mysterious mood, but does little else. Sound effects are also minimal.	Fun Factor: 7.5 The Room features some really thought-provoking puzzles. Solving them is tons of fun, but there’s absolutely no replayability.
Final Verdict: 7.5

The Room is available now on PC, Nintendo Switch and mobile.
Reviewed on Switch.
A copy of The Room was provided by the publisher.