izigame.me

Rusty Lake Hotel is the first paid game from the creators of the Cube Escape series. I played through all of the Cube Escape games on mobile except for the 2nd half of paradox when I was younger. Returning to the first game in the prequel trilogy of that series was a delightful journey back into the intriguing world that the Rusty Lake devs created. The games are short puzzle-based adventures that take place in mysterious Twin Peaks-inspired locations filled with many peculiar characters; most of them anthropomorphic. In Rusty Lake Hotel you play as someone taking care of five guests at a hotel where each night you must enter one of their rooms and solve all the puzzles within it in order to kill them so that you can cook them for dinner for the remaining guests the next night. The overall concept and presentation do a magnificent job of drawing the player in, through the minimalist design of the game and its intriguing lore, to the well-crafted and very enjoyable puzzles, to the final component of the game: the music and sound design. Although some of the sounds are a bit basic and repetitive, almost stock sounding, I believe that is an intentional part of the aesthetic. The music, on the other hand, perfectly conveys the mysterious and at times unnerving nature of the situation. From melancholic and somber piano melodies and strings to more meditative music, the soundscape really helps bring this world to life. The Rusty Lake/Cube Escape franchise has carved a dedicated fanbase from its consistent quality point and click releases; and Hotel shows just how they began their hot streak on PC. This game is short - like all of their titles - but easily a must play for fans of point and click adventures and mystery games, and of course, is well worth the price.