The Room (not that one)

The Room might possibly be the most infamous terrible movie of all time.  The story, acting, and even the sets seem completely absurd to the point you're surprised that even the guy who painted the walls of the set didn't turn around at one point and say "look, guys, this is *&@# stupid."

This, however, is not about that.

This is about a remarkably atmospheric little puzzle game by the same name that, when you get down to it, might be one of the better video games I'll play this year.

Here's the story:  You're in a room.  There's a box sitting on a table.  You need to figure out how to open the box, which contains another box inside.  You then need to open that box, and continue until you figure out the mystery of the box.  As you progress, you find notes from someone who is either the designer of the boxes or is someone who already went through the puzzles (there are few hints that can go either way) directing you to find a treasure at the center, a fifth element outside of air, earth, fire, and water called "Null."  You also have a lens made of the material that allows you to see through specific parts of the box, see hidden objects and patterns, and generally mess with your head.

However, the notes also explain the discovery of "Null" and show the writer's slow descent into madness as the story progresses.  As you continue solving puzzles and opening boxes, you start to hear faint whispers in the background, or the sound of something else in the room shifting, as if you aren't alone.  Are you alone in the room, and your mind is playing tricks on you, or is there something more sinister at work?

The game is remarkably short (but got a free expansion to flesh it out as well as a sequel released last year), but the time spent poking around, trying new things, and solving puzzles helps keep you immersed before you realize just how far you've gone through puzzles.  There is a slight suspension of disbelief such as when panels on the side of the box pop open and large contraptions emerge that you have to figure out the purpose of, but somehow don't displace the box inside the box...maybe it's the same technology that allows at TARDIS to exist.

The game also requires a bit of patience, and being able to think (pardon the pun) outside the box.  You might spend five minutes staring at a key hole trying to figure out where the key is before you start poking, twisting, and tilting your device (or however the Google Play version allows you to do it) to see if you can jostle or unlock something else.  It might be a hidden switch, a pocket hidden in a "leg" on the box, or even the table itself has something hidden in it.  Maybe you need to wear the lens to see something you missed before.  Maybe the game requires holding down more than one thing at once, requiring you to have several fingers placed on the screen (or, again, however the Google Play does it).

I played through it in a few days, and I have to say it's one of the more fun games I've played on a tablet...for that matter, for how short it is, it's one of the more fun games I've played this year.  It doesn't waste time explaining everything up front and leaves just enough mystery to make you want to figure out more.  What happened to the person who wrote the notes?  Just what is "Null?"  And, will you ever be able to leave "The Room?"