The Room Two is a remarkable puzzle game with phenomenal photo realistic graphics and an amazing soundtrack
The Room Two is the sequel to the critically acclaimed puzzle game The Room that was released back in 2012. I personally have not played the first game so I can't really comment on what has changed, either for better or worse. What am I going to do is talk about how incredibly good the sequel is.
I said it and I will say it again, this game is just phenomenal. From the fantastic gameplay and incredible puzzle design to the beautiful graphics and insane level of details that create one of the most atmospheric games I have ever played, The Room Two is a must play. For anyone that might not have heard about it, The Room Two is a puzzle experience for iOS devices like you have never seen before. This is not a "puzzle game" where you have to find a number of incredibly stupid small objects in a big still filled with incredibly stupid small objects, nope this is, what I like to call, a true puzzle game.
The genius behind every bit of puzzle is just unbelievable which makes the puzzles easy to understand and yet quite hard and intriguing to solve. What I mean by that is that when you see a lever you understand that by swiping your finger on the screen you can activate it or when you see a button you naturally think of tapping on it or when you see a drawer you kinda know that you can open it by sliding it. But that's the easy part, the intuitive part, the base on which all of the puzzles are build upon.
And my god, how exquisite these puzzles are. As I said, I haven't played the first game, but I watched most of it on GassyMexican channel and I remember that the rooms had only one box you had to solve in order to progress through. Well, that is changed in the sequel as now the rooms have two, three or more places or spots you have to explore and complete puzzles to complete the room and advance to the next one. Each spot has its own puzzles, it may have only one, but it may also have many puzzles that are interlocked and connected with the other ones found in that room. Maybe you will find an object by solving a small puzzle, that is needed in another puzzle, that if completed unlocks another object to be used in the previous or next puzzle and so on.
Seeing how these objects and puzzle are connected with each other kinda like a big Rube Goldberg machine is just phenomenal. The early rooms are not that difficult to complete, in the later ones, however, things get a little complicated. But that's not the game's fault or design, it is your fault cause you didn't think it thoroughly enough. Sure the puzzles as I said get more and more complex as you have to jump from spot to spot to insert that object in that spot to unlock something in the other spot, but it all makes sense and that is mind blowing. You know that a battery has to be charged before you use it or that a winch needs a handle to be operational, every bit of puzzle in The Room Two makes sense.
Even things that are not real, that are not visible without the "magical" eyepiece kinda feel natural and intuitive. The eyepiece works like the Eagle Vision from the Assassin's Creed series, where you could see invisible details, interact with other worldly objects and even have kinda out of body experiences. Everything is a puzzle and you have to look carefully in all of the nooks and crannies cause who knows what you will find there.
Everything would have been better if the story actually made sense. In each room you will find, notes, letters or diary pages that tell a story, but it is so disjointed that doesn't make any sense. Who are you and why are you in this house and why are you doing these puzzles and who designed these puzzles and why he or she designed them and what is the meaning of everything...phew that's a lot to ask in one sentence. I finished the game and I liked every second of it, but I still wanted to know why I did what I did and what I accomplished in the end. The devs are clearly trying to tell a very intriguing and dark story cause you can pick up bits here in there, but the delivery doesn't work. Maybe all of these questions will be answered in The Room Three...
Now presentation wise, just as in puzzle design, this game is phenomenal. The designs of the rooms, where each one has a unique theme like a ship quarter or an ancient temple, the insane level to the smallest of details of the puzzles, the insane level of detail in the 3D models of the objects and the high quality textures, the animations of all movable objects, the lighting of the rooms, everything is just phenomenal. And when all of these details are combined with the great eerie soundtrack and sound effects create one of the most atmospheric games I have ever played. The Room Two is creepy, like really creepy and eerie. Some of the stuff that happens while you are playing will get the best of you like a seeing a severed arm flinching rapidly or a group of people getting possessed in a photo is well, creepy as f*ck. And the best part of all is that it runs perfectly and it is as smooth as it gets even in three year old devices.
Bottom Line
The Room Two is one of the best games for iOS devices at the moment. It is a true remarkable puzzle game/experience with a terrific atmosphere powered by phenomenal photo realistic graphics and an amazing soundtrack. Is it worth 5$? Hell Yes!
