Open The Doors & Escape the Rooms

Posted by Maria Poeana

Doors & Rooms iPhone Game Review.

I played a lot of games, and most of them got me insanely addicted and desperate to play yet another level. But if you'd ask me what is the game that gave me the most sleepless nights, I wouldn't have to think twice about it: Escape the Room 2. So, when I came across Doors & Rooms today, I must admit I hesitated a bit before downloading it. But, in the end, curiosity overcame the fear of more sleepless nights.

Doors & Rooms is pretty similar to Escape the Room 2. So, for those of you who have already played Escape the Room 2, it will be easy enough to get used to the game play. The goal is the same: to safely escape the room. And to do so, you have to pay attention to all sorts of hints, collect all sorts of items and, most of all, put your mind to work to find the only right way to escape every room.

So far, Doors & Rooms is pretty much the same as Escape the Room 2. The main difference is that Doors & Rooms is more arcade than story based. Or, at least, that's the impression it gave me, since I didn't come across any characters or even a plot as I cleared the levels. But Doors & Rooms does gradually increase in difficulty, and it's made up of various chapters, levels and all sorts of different rooms that turn the game into a constant challenge.

Now, what I really liked about Doors & Rooms is what I like about this sort of games in general: they keep your brain active. You struggle to find the clue you're missing, you look at everything, try to use, dismantle, combine and observe everything surrounding you, even focus on the sounds you're hearing. And all this for one sole purpose: finding that key and getting out of the room. It's extremely realistic and you actually feel like you're part of the game. And the nice graphics really help, too.

However, what I didn't like about Doors & Rooms and what also prevented me from clearing the last level in Escape the Room 2 is that, at some point, finding the right solution feels more like guessing than logically reaching it. I understand that you have to pay attention to every detail and everything can be a clue, but some puzzles are just impossible to solve if you don't know what the creators had in mind. I don't expect to be told what to do with a hammer laying on the floor, next to a glass box. But when all I have to escape the room is a bunch of numbers and symbols that don't quite make any sense to me, a hint would be nice. And not the type of hints Doors & Rooms offers, that make everything seem even more blurry than they were without hints.

Bottom line, do I recommend Doors & Rooms? Yes, especially if you managed to finish other similar games. But, it would be even nicer if Doors & Rooms was more about logic, and less about guessing.

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