Indie games are a dime a dozen after their surge in popularity in the 2010s. Games like The Binding of Isaac and Cuphead are household names after showing that you don’t need to have a huge budget to make an impression on gamers. Now, gamers are more inspired than ever to create their own games, so it’s starting to become rare that one of these games sticks with you for more than a short period of time.

When Disc Room found its way onto my screen, I had a feeling that it was something familiar, yet different. What played like a Mario Party minigame was so polished that I was hooked from minute one. What could have just been a simple idea really came into its own with complex variants as I progressed, and had me knowing this is more than just a short, gimmicky game I’ll play once and never touch again.

In Disc Room the player, a scientist on an expedition on Jupiter, must navigate claustrophobic, menacing rooms that contain buzzsaws flying about. The longer the scientist survives, the more discs are added, creating absolute chaos in a matter of seconds. You’ll learn soon that even if you die, you can start the room right back up in a flash. Gone are the worries that if you die, you’ll face a loading screen, a boss’ monologue, etc., with your only barrier being the start button.

Earlier stages have straightforward saws and once you move into the next zone, you’ll face more erratic, erroneous ones that will throw you for a loop the first few times. This really shakes up the gameplay, introducing a much-needed variety to keep the player immersed and excited for more. I found the boss rooms to be particularly-exciting, as they forced me to navigate the room, grabbing pickups while avoiding a gargantuan buzzsaw, keeping me on my toes, and mashing the restart button upon failure.

Where Disc Room really shines, though, is its abilities. First off, you get the essential ability to dash through saws granting invincibility frames, similar to rolling in Dark Souls or dodging in Enter the Gungeon. Then, you’ll snag the ability to clone yourself, only giving you a fail state when all of your clones AND you have been decimated. This expansive addition compounded with the variety of saw patterns in each room makes Disc Room as thrilling as can be from start to finish.

Aside from the outstanding gameplay, the art direction of the brief comic-like scenes is downright adorable. Our scientist has a pinchable face that makes you feel a little queasy knowing it’ll succumb to a razor blade time and time again. All in all, apart from some minor frustration due to my skill level and not the game itself, Disc Room is a thrill-ride that’s already seen rave reviews for good reasons and will be talked about for several months and years to come. It’s worth picking up at the measly $14.99 price tag and even more so if a sale comes along. Devolver Digital has a winner on its hands once again!

A PC review copy of Disc Room was provided by Devolver Digital for this review.

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Disc Room

$14.99

9

Score

9.0/10

Pros

• A Dream for Speedrunners
• Airtight Gameplay

Cons

• Rage-Inducing
• Light on Content