Haunted with ads.
Platform: iOS & Android
Release date: November 12, 2016
Price: Free – ad supported
Story & setting
A self-described “escape the room” virtual reality game playable with Google Cardboard or as a standard point and click escape game, Haunted Rooms: Escape VR Game was straightforward: I was trapped in a haunted house and needed to escape.
Haunted Rooms: Escape VR Game was broken up into 6 episodes, each playable in less than 5 minutes.
It looked and sounded pretty good:
However, look and sound only carried it so far.
Puzzles
Calling Haunted Rooms: Escape VR Game an “escape the room” was a generous description. The puzzles were non-existent.
At best this was a virtual scavenger hunt. Items either screamed “USE ME! I’M BRIGHT RED!” or, on a couple of occasions, they required pixel hunting because they were the same drab color as the background.
If I touched a thing that needed “solving” it straight up told me what to do.
Standouts
It looked pretty great, especially for a free game.
Shortcomings
There was no depth to the story, puzzles, or frights. It was staggeringly one-dimensional.
The puzzles were lame and would barely even qualify as puzzles.
There were jump scares, but they didn’t impress. These were seriously overused.
Every milestone triggered an ad. Exiting the game triggered an ad. Opening doors triggered ads. (Don’t get any ideas, escape room owners.)
Should I play Rabbit Mountain’s Haunted Rooms: Escape VR Game?
Haunted Rooms: Escape VR Game was not an escape room game. It was a reasonably pretty ad-supported tech demo.
This app got a lot of press, so I figured it would be worth playing at the low cost of free. I was wrong. It wasn’t worth my time.
I think VR can be a good technology for escape room. Just that this game u played might be designed lousy.
I agree. I we reviews of other VR experiences that are far more compelling.
Can this game be played on phone? Or I need a VR device to play it
Haunted Rooms: Escape VR Game is on a phone.
Vacate the Room is playable on the HTC Vive & the Oculus Rift. https://roomescapeartist.com/2016/08/01/vr-vacate-the-room-review/
Geist Manor is a VR game created by Escape Games Canada. It’s available at their facility and has been licensed to a bunch of other companies… but I cannot tell you where. https://roomescapeartist.com/2016/10/18/escape-games-canada-geist-manor-vr-demo-review/