The Room first came to the scene in 2012 and has since grown to become one of the most popular puzzle games ever. Its greatest strength was the intricate puzzle design elevated by the game’s robust mechanics. The same cannot be said of the storyline, but hardly did that take anything from the game. A year later, The Room Two followed and gamers got to see more entertaining puzzles, with a sprinkle of adventure over gameplay. Also, the single environment in the first instalment got bigger and more enticing.

Two years after that came The Room Three, which was the beginning of the real adventure element of the series. The game had more environments players could explore, and the plot was something you could talk about. After that came Old Sins, which is the latest instalment of The Room series. Old Sins allows for even more adventure with incredible character development. 

The Room

When Fireproof Games first released The Room, many expected the series would become this big. It came with fantastic puzzles, a feature that was almost overshadowed by the game’s single location. You find yourself in a small, lonely room with the task of unlocking a safe box. There’s no background story to this and you don’t get any after.Thankfully, there’s a tutorial to guide you through the mechanics of the game. That’s about all the help you get. Alone in the room, you have to put several clues together to unlock the safe box. You can move in multiple directions and even zoom out the screen. Since there’s nothing to show which elements in the room you can interact with, you’ll find yourself clicking on non-responsive elements many times.

The Room is filled with several integrated puzzles. To even dream of success, you have to keep track of all the clues and tools provided. One puzzle often connects to another and its multi-layer design means you have to do many things to unravel a single puzzle. The game’s sound and graphics are commendable, especially when you compare The Room to its contemporaries.

The Room Two

The Room Two is a perfect expansion of the first chapter in the series. Now, you don’t have to deal with the boredom of a single location. You get to move to different locations, including a temple, an island mansion, a ship, and others. Also, the game allows you to create up to three different characters, which is great for the replay value of the game.

Every other thing remains the same. You still find yourself in a room at the beginning, with no background story to help. The room has two puzzles, each with a puzzle you have to solve. To make things more interesting, the puzzles are interconnected. As you progress through the game, you encounter different forms of puzzles to unravel. These puzzles are fun and intriguing. It’s no surprise because that’s where the series draws its strength. You’ll find notes along the way to inspire your curiosity to discover unfolding events. This feature gives an adventurous spark to The Room Two – something The Room lacks. 

The Room Three

The Room Three takes the adventure aspect of the series to another level. Although we don’t get to see the full extent of that until Old Sins, the plot also gets some improvement.  Gameplay begins with your character on a train. Again, you have no idea what’s going on. A mysterious figure gives you the first puzzle to solve. When you solve that, you enter Grey Holm, which is the game’s main location.

In Grey Holm, the game’s story begins to unravel, and you learn about different characters. You have to solve many challenging puzzles to progress. The good thing about The Room Three is that you can go back and view previous hints. That’s a helpful departure from what you find in prior instalments, where you have to commit these hints to memory, or you lose them. 

The game has five chapters in total, each with a new location and gameplay. When you complete a chapter, you get a pyramid that unlocks the next chapter. The diversity of these chapters is amazing for the most part. You don’t get to suffer the boredom of repetitive play.

The Room: Old Sins

Old Sins continues with the tradition of solving puzzles by analyzing various secrets and items in a room. This game, unlike others in the series, has interconnected puzzles between different rooms. Sometimes, you may have to examine the clues in up to three rooms before you can unravel a puzzle. This feature certainly makes the game more enthralling to play.

Another area where Old Sins differ from other games in the series is plot development. Here, you have a well-narrated story that actually adds life to gameplay. The story is about the sudden disappearance of Edward and Abigail Lockwood in ancient London. Your task is to unravel the secrets behind their mysterious disappearance. That puts before you a series of puzzles you must solve to move from one room to another, looking for an explanation.

Gameplay is simple and straightforward, although uncovering these secrets isn’t the easiest of tasks. You’re alone in an attic house that screams nothing but mysteries. However, you have a magical eyeglass to help you examine the items you find in the rooms and make important discoveries. Although the rooms are interconnected, they all have distinct vibes that one has to appreciate.

Conclusion

The Room Series is perfect for puzzle game lovers. There isn’t so much adventure in this four-game series to thrill an ardent lover of adventure games. The intricately designed puzzles and the multiple locations in later games of the series make for an exciting and fulfilling overall experience. This decade-old puzzler is one of the most entertaining video games you’ll find.