During the briefing before a game we usually ask the team, “How experienced are you at escape rooms?”, so that we can judge how guided the game should be, how much help to give and — in some rooms, where it is possible — what difficulty to set the room to. The answers naturally cover a wide range, but some teams reply: “Well, we haven’t actually been to an escape room, but we’ve played a lot of similar things on the computer.” These tend to be family teams.
And they have a point: there are a great many PC games (and games on other platforms, of course) that are uncannily similar to escape rooms in their mechanics and puzzles, and which likewise demand creativity, investigation or logical thinking. We’ll be presenting a few of them in the coming weeks.
#1 Machinarium
The game was made in 2009 by the indie developer Amanita Design. It wasn’t their first game of this kind, and the earlier ones are excellent too, but this is perhaps the best known. In style it is a point-and-click adventure, meaning you steer the protagonist with the mouse and, moving from screen to screen, have to find hidden objects and then use and combine them to solve various puzzles and progress. Looked at closely, that could serve as a quick summary of an escape room: search for objects, clues and codes → combine or use them → progress.
One of the game’s distinctions is its hand-drawn, captivating backgrounds and animations, for which its makers deservedly collected a great many awards. Another wonderful thing about it is that it requires no knowledge of any language: the story and the puzzles are told and explained purely through images and animation. It is also entirely child-friendly, though in places quite hard, so it can make even an adult gamer sweat. Perfect as a family activity and a challenge.
#2 Ether One
Ether One is an unusual, multi-layered game in several respects. What makes it special is that it can be played in two ways, as two different but equally complete games:
1. First, as a first-person walking simulator underpinned by a very deep, personal story — meaning that, roaming freely through various locations with nothing to hold you back, the story unfolds before you along with the protagonist’s past and memories and the everyday lives of the residents of Pinwheel, the town where it is set. One of the game’s strengths is the story itself, so it can safely be said that it delivers an experience equal to reading a well-written novel. In fact, because the plot comes with interactivity, visuals and an unusual, distinctive narrative style, the whole thing feels far more personal than an ordinary novel. That in itself is already a full-fledged game and experience worth trying — but this is where the second route comes in…
2. Alongside and complementing the above, the game world holds countless puzzles and brainteasers for players looking for a challenge. Some of them you won’t even notice at first if you aren’t looking, so well are they built into the environment, the life of the little town and its locations. This is the point where the game connects to the world of escape rooms — though a single harder puzzle can take hours to solve. That alone shows how hard this side of the game is: very. These are the kind of brainteasers that reach beyond the game, the kind you’ll need paper and pencil for. Puzzle games this complex and difficult are rare, so anyone who loves the style should definitely give it a go — as should lovers of a good story.
#3 The Black Watchmen
Of the games mentioned so far this is perhaps the most “abstract” and unusual title. In genre it is an Alternate Reality Game (ARG), which roughly means that its makers extend the playing field and the frame of the puzzles beyond the program itself. In an ordinary game everything happens inside the software; in an ARG the game contains only the puzzle or mystery to be solved, and you have to get to the bottom of it by drawing on outside sources. Those sources can be extremely varied. A few examples, without being exhaustive (and spoiler-free): simple Wikipedia articles related to the topic, which on reading yield new, relevant information that moves you forward; fictional websites run by the makers, where, for instance, you have to investigate a suspicious employee of an equally fictional company; various code-breaking applications; and, for predetermined events and for a limited time, things hidden in the real world (for example QR codes placed at set points in the capital of every major country, which you have to get up from your computer and find out in the street) — or even live phone calls.
In tone it is a fairly grim game, since you play an investigator for a secret agency looking into unusual, disturbing, at times supernatural events, mysteries, secret groups and conspiracies. It can be brutally hard and it is easy to get stuck. When that happens it’s worth letting it rest for a while — even a day or two — and returning to the investigation with fresh eyes.
From the above you can probably tell that this is an unusual and endlessly complex experience which — like a good escape room — demands creative thinking and persistence. It is undoubtedly not for everyone, a niche genre, but anyone it clicks with will love it.
From personal experience: although the game officially has no multiplayer, using a simple voice chat platform (Discord, TS) you can easily turn the solitary investigation into a shared brain workout for two (or more), which makes for an even more distinctive experience… and there’s a good chance you’ll need the other person’s help anyway. I certainly did. :)
