Ouija is an online game created by Fifthroom in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Format
Style of Play:
- Online native experience (can NOT be played IRL)
- Play on demand
Who is it For? At the time we played, the game was broken and we cannot recommend it.
Required Equipment: computer with internet connection, pen and paper
Recommended Team Size: 1-4
Play Time: When you buy the license key you have 24 hours to play. Active playtime was about 30 minutes.
Price: 19.9 MYR per license (about $5 per license key )
Booking: purchase and play at your leisure
Description
This was an on-demand digital experience played in a browser. The game consists of text and pictures, with one puzzle on each page. When you solve a puzzle, you enter the answer in the answer box and hit submit. You are then taken to the next puzzle.
Cindi S’ Reaction
You are lost in the woods during a torrential downpour and need to find shelter. You stumble upon a creepy cabin, but what is inside? And is it safe? After a brief tutorial, we started the soundtrack, which created a dark, moody background for the game. Unfortunately, the music turned out to be the only highlight, because Ouija was more frustrating than enjoyable. The puzzles were very simple. There was no guidance on answer format, and so several times we had to backtrack through the game, only to confirm we had the right answer, just in the wrong format. Another puzzle required us to either just know the answer or look it up, per the hint, which then deducted 5 minutes from our time. We never got to see how the game ends because it broke, displaying only a black screen. If after this you are still curious about the look and feel of the game, there is a free demo of the first few puzzles; I can confirm that part works!
Fro’s Reaction
I was really excited to play a Ouija-themed game, but this one fell flat. A clunky interface, several puzzles that were overly basic, and a sound puzzle that overstayed its welcome all contributed to a lackluster experience. We could not finish the game because it broke toward the end and we couldn’t continue. The high point of this game for me was the music – it was on point in setting an eerie tone. Barring significant enhancement and refinement to the game, I regrettably can’t recommend playing it.
Theresa W’s Reaction
Ouija, at its core, is a story-driven puzzle game where players are presented with an image or a set of images containing a puzzle to solve and progress. While the soundtrack was fantastic, the puzzles unfortunately did not live up to the atmosphere Fifthroom has designed. The puzzles in each chapter were on-theme and implemented well with the eerie ambiance, yet it took our team very little time to solve each one. The platform designed for this game was a tad buggy, lacking a volume control (besides on and off) and bringing us to an error page after correctly solving a puzzle. With a little more troubleshooting and more puzzles that ramped up the difficulty, Fifthroom’s storytelling could lead to the design of a great immersive game.
Cara Mandel’s Reaction
I was actually pretty excited to play this game, which makes me that much more disappointed to have to write this review. Unfortunately, at the time of our playthrough, the final puzzle page URL was broken and we were therefore unable to complete it. So, we were left with the ultimate cliffhanger of how the story ends! The game design was pretty lo-fi in its approach: static images with basic puzzles to solve. The accompanying mood-setting musical playlist they provided was excellent and definitely heightened the ominous atmosphere. There was also some good in-game sound design, though the audio levels were a bit unpredictable and there were no level adjustments available. In its current form, the game is technically unplayable. As of this review, we’ve yet to hear back from the company, but I’m hopeful they will respond and fix their broken link. I would genuinely like to see how the story was intended to end. If the game is fixed, it’ll be a fun one to recommend for those who like their games a little bit spooky but not too challenging.