Welcome to the first entry in a spinoff of our “Must See” series we’re calling “Must Play.” Reviews would fit a single game, but some things require a broader discussion. Let’s use today’s topic as an example, a series of puzzle games that probably don’t get spoken about that often these days. The Room is a series of games by Fireproof Games, a British studio that has won a BAFTA award for the first entry, and has been nominated for several BAFTA awards since then.

While you can find The Room and its sequels on mobile devices, I personally prefer to play them on Steam. They tend to go on sale for a decent price during Steam Sales, though at five bucks a piece for the puzzle adventure you’re getting, I wouldn’t oppose paying full price either. The Room puts you in the shoes of a protagonist, who finds himself trapped in various spaces, traveling from room to room, solving puzzles.

The premise is simple enough, but what really makes The Room stand out, is the tactile nature of the puzzle solving. Puzzle-solving often requires you to pick up objects, rotate them, and manipulate them in various ways. Part of the fun of the game is finding these items and trying to figure out what they are meant to be for. Does this key I just picked up have a hidden compartment or does it go in that unassuming desk over there that I just found?

The puzzles aren’t frustratingly difficult either. Granted, some of them are challenging, and I have had to look up solutions to a few but compared to say, the Professor Layton series, these puzzles are a lot more manageable for the casual player. Additionally, most of the solutions to your puzzles can be found in the environment. In fact, most of the time, if you explore thoroughly, you can find things that will lead you to a solution.

I usually struggle to find puzzle games like this that aren’t either too simple or too out of the box. There is a fine line between abstract thinking and brain-numbing difficulty. Somehow The Room series manages to toe the line perfectly, and even though I have finished The Room Three multiple times, I still sometimes go back to do the puzzles again just because of how beautiful and fun the game is.

Another interesting aspect is that they all have multiple endings, so depending on how thorough you are, depends on how many endings you can get. The replay value is well worth it, and I can’t overstate just how much fun these are. The developers are also preparing a VR installment in the series, which I hope can be playable outside of VR so that I can enjoy it as well. Regardless though, adding a VR component to an already tactile, immersive series is just genius.

If you haven’t already, check out The Room and both of the sequels on Steam. They are well worth your time and money, and they are also a perfect gift for someone in your life that enjoys a good head-scratching puzzle.

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