The Room Two review: a masterpiece of a puzzle game

Back in September of 2012, a small team of game developers called Fireproof Games released The Room – a masterpiece of a puzzle game that we absolutely loved. So did the great majority of people who played it, judging by the title's solid, near-5-star rating on both Google Play and Apple's App Store. Critics liked it, too. In fact, the game was so well-received that it was decorated with a ton of awards. It was ranked among the best iOS apps of 2013, for that matter. Having all that in mind, our expectations for its sequel, The Room Two, are set sky-high, and from the looks of it, we're not likely to be disappointed.

Just like the case was with the game's first installment, the action in The Room Two takes place in, you guessed it, a room. Well, several rooms, actually, which are now bigger and more complex than before. Each stage is a new room where riddles are scattered around along with the clues needed in order to solve them. Once you beat all the puzzles that the dwelling has to offer, a portal opens up and takes you to the next challenge.

Reaching the culmination point of a stage, however, might take quite some time, depending on the player's logic and observation skills. That's because The Room Two is a rather difficult game. Not that we're complaining. After all, the game's difficulty is one of the prime reasons for us to like it so much. But we wouldn't call it fiendishly hard, or impossible to beat without cheating. Actually, we're confident that given enough time and patience, most people who give The Room Two a try should be able to complete all levels. And speaking of challenge, the game can provide helpful hints for most puzzles, which is a welcome feature. This grants the player with some control over the game's difficulty – something that casual gamers will appreciate.

Gameplay aside, The Room Two also impressed us with its eerie atmosphere – an ideal match for the game's genre, style, and storyline. Its designers have crafted a gloomy virtual world that begs to be explored. You won't hear any music playing, but to tell you the truth, we think that the game needs no soundtrack whatsoever. The creepy ambient sounds that can be heard in the background perfectly complement the game's spooky setting.

There was just one thing about The Room Two that we didn't quite like. The game was quite short – we had already reached the final stage on the second day after purchasing the game. But as a whole, playing The Room Two was a great experience. Sure, we often got stuck, wondering what we were supposed to do next, but we just couldn't detach ourselves and had to keep on playing. Simply put, this is one of those titles that should be on the wishlist of anyone who enjoys having their riddle-solving abilities challenged.

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