How time flies! The Room was first released on iPad back in 2012 and the moody, touch-based puzzler struck a chord on the platform. Back then Apple’s tablet played host to many awkward ports of ‘proper’ console games, but developer Fireproof offered a bespoke experience that took advantage of the touchscreen in novel and natural ways – you’d rotate keys in locks, drag and drop dials into place and press buttons to open hidden panels. The unnerving atmosphere and mechanical puzzle-solving was a great success and spawned three sequels on touch-based devices. Six years on, it’s making its console debut on Switch, and in many ways, it’s a perfect fit for the system.
As the player, it’s your job to follow in the footsteps of a Victorian scientist whose research led him into otherworldly realms. Intricately constructed puzzle boxes appear and you must explore every nook and cranny, poke at panels, spin dials and align glyphs to unlock each object’s mechanisms and proceed to the next challenge. You’ll find letters that reveal your predecessor’s thoughts and things quickly turn supernatural with the discovery of a strange eyepiece that reveals hidden markings and glimpses of the ‘null’ element; the hidden fifth of the four 'Classical' elements.
It’s all deliciously atmospheric and it channels the Lovecraftian horror of games like Eternal Darkness, albeit without the demons and the gore. Half of the satisfaction of solving a puzzle comes from the great audio work – the mechanical clicks when a dial rotates into place or when cogs wind to reveal a concealed panel is superbly effective at making these contraptions seem like physical objects, even when certain puzzles turn abstract and unreal.
The Room translates very well to Switch. The touchscreen controls haven’t changed, but now you have the option to play on the telly with a single Joy-Con. After lamenting the lack of pointer controls in so many of the ports we’ve played, it’s heartening to see the effort that’s gone into them here. ‘R’ centres the pointer and ‘A’ or the ‘Z’ trigger select components and drag the camera around the puzzle box. You can zoom in and out with ‘X’ and ‘B’ or the analog stick of whichever Joy-Con you’re using. The touchscreen is still arguably the best way to play, but a single Joy-Con frees up your other hand for a cup of joe or some head scratching.
Not that the game requires too much of that. After around 30 seconds a ‘?’ appears in the top right corner offering you a clue, normally reminding you to use the eyepiece or examine an object in your inventory more closely. They’re generally vague enough to maintain that feeling of accomplishment when you do finally suss things out. They pop up a little too quickly for our liking, though, and we’d advise avoiding the temptation unless you’re really in a pickle.
If, like us, you played the original back in 2012, there’s an odd nostalgia in returning to The Room now. Planned obsolescence and the nature of app marketplaces often means these games exist either as a licence sitting on a ‘Purchased’ list somewhere – hopefully retrievable, assuming they’ve been updated for your latest device/OS – or they’re forgotten on some old hardware in the bottom of a drawer packed with old tech and tangled cables. Ultimately, Switch's ecosystem is no less ephemeral, but it’s still comforting to see The Room ‘preserved’ on a dedicated gaming platform. Not long now until that initial wave of touchscreen games are officially ‘retro’!
There is, however, an elephant in The Room on Switch. The game is quite short, offering around two-to-three hours of brain-teasing across four chapters and an epilogue. It’s very much a ‘one-and-done’ affair and knowing that three sequels have come out in the interim – and that they’re all available at very reasonable prices on a variety of touchscreen devices you probably own already – it feels a bit cheeky when the closing text teases more ‘rooms’ to come and shunts you back to the title screen. Yes, the sequels will surely arrive, but we can’t help thinking that a compilation of the four existing games might have been a better fit for a console edition, especially after all this time.
Conclusion
The quality of The Room and the atmosphere it conjures is undeniable, and it’s certainly worth checking out if you haven’t played before. It’s a pleasure to see some well-implemented pointer controls added to a classic touchscreen title, and the fact that this seminal release is now available on a dedicated gaming device is cause for celebration. Be aware that it’s a slight offering by home console standards, though – it’s crying out to be part of a compilation release with its three sequels. Perhaps one for the Wishlist, then, but it’s a winner while it lasts.
Comments 24
Why double price ?
We talk about a 2012 IOS port that cost 5$ but on Switch it's 10$...
It's incredible how the publishers consider the Switch owners like sheeps... :/
OH HAI MARK
@NewAdvent yeah man exactly like PS4 and Xbox owners who bought it for the same price in 2016, what a bunch of sheep gamers are.
@MagicEmperor
I literally came here to post that exact comment
These Room references are tearing me apart!
Why do you guys whine about price so much? - It’s tired and common sense. The developers are obligated to try and get what people will pay for their content. - If they don’t get the movement they need with the $10 then they’ll no doubt lower. ...Just consider the price the early access cost on Switch.
4 stars lower than the film.
@gortsi I got Skyrim Special Edition on Xbox for $15 that same year during a Black Friday sale at Best Buy. We will see if the Switch version gets a price cut like that during Black Friday.
Excellent game, played it on mobile and again on tablet.
Superb game on iOS. Perfect for curling up on the sofa on a dark winter’s night. I won’t double dip though, if they release all three in a really nice collectors edition physical box, I’d get it and pay a premium if they go all out with a Lovecraftian book of lore etc.
Re: the Skyrim comments and $50. I’m planning on getting it despite a thorough playthrough on Xbox. Xbox is gone and Skyrim is such a blast. Another perfect winter game. I can see it not being worth the money to some but for me, the price of a couple of nights in the pub or a few cinema shows, it’s worth it.
Just bought it for a dollar on Android. Nice but very short game.
how much seriously that is some switch tax mark up. get it on your phone pay peanuts
Comments regarding price... Skyrim, in Canada, still sells for near $100 on Switch, if you take into account sales taxes (depending on province). And this is no "deluxe edition". A game I paid less than $15 on Steam some years ago...
Right now, The Room is $11 up here on the Switch, while I can get it on the Google Play Store for $1.29.... and given that it's a touch-based game, mostly, why in hell would I spend $11 on this?
The problem with this "Nintendo Tax", is that as long as people will pay, games will continue to be pricier on Nintendo platforms. And sadly, I'm sure many will pay the $11 for The Room on Switch, as there are many who paid near $100 for Skyrim or Doom as well, and some who paid over $40 for South Park Stick of Truth too (a game given for free with the purchase of the sequel on some platforms).
Nothing against the game in itself, it's just that the prices on Switch are often completely disconnected with what people are paying everywhere else. The Switch is kind of the anti-thesis of good value in the console world. I love the device, but damn.... gaming on this thing is much, much more expensive than on competing platforms....
It makes justifying game purchases a lot harder... I mean, everytime there's a multiplatform game on Switch I'd like to buy, I kind of don't, because I see the price on Switch sometimes being 125% to 400% the price of the same game other platforms (Doom for $80 vs. less than $20 on PC), and it makes me feel like I'm just being ripped off and end up not buying it. In the case of "the Room", the Switch price is like around 900% the price on the Google Play Store right now. That's some serious Nintendo Tax there....
You’re tearing me apart Lisa!
I have to agree with the pricing comments here even where I normally don't. Skyrim is a full on, massive PC oriented CRPG retooled to run well on a handheld. That takes time, money, and adds value that lots of people have wanted for decades. It's understandable that sells for more money: It was a product that was in demand since before it was technically possible to deliver, and Switch is the first device to make it technically possible. I doubt Panic Button did the work for free, and I doubt the work to make it all run well on an ARM based handheld was insignificant. So we pay our money.
THIS is an ancient cheap mobile game from the heydey of the iPad and was built for ARM. Virtually no port work was even required for this. It's just a copy of an old game for double the price that doesn't actually utilize anything that makes the Switch hardware desirable.
@Realnoize In fairness, Stick of Truth is $30 on all platforms (USD.) Yes it was given away free with FBW with some promotions on other platforms but if you were buying it stand-alone today, it's $30 on Switch, X1, and PS4, so the only difference was no launch promotion of bundling it.
No Wiseau, no buy.
Calling the Switch a home console at this point is a stretch at this point, based on articles here and Nintendo's own marketing everyone seems reluctant to lock it in as anything at this point.
‘You are tearing me apart, Chris! However, what a story.’
I played this and its sequel but not the other two. Great games, very moody. I just may continue the series if they release 3 and Old Sins for the Switch.
Don't get this on Switch, whatever you do! Then there will be NO good games to play on your iPad after that ; )
YoU'rE tEaRiNg Me ApArT LiSa
I loved this game on the phone.
Good review. I'll wait for a complete collection at a more attractive price.
An absolute must play, on iPad for $1.
I would like to play with the graphics on a big tv tho
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