Room Escape Artist

Birth is a point-and-click game developed and published by Madison Karrh, and available on Steam.

Format

Style of Play:

• Point-and-click

Who is it For?

• Puzzle lovers
• Newbies
• Cozy game aficionados*

Required Equipment: computer with internet connection and Steam.

Recommended Team Size: 1

Play Time: 2-3 hours

Price: ~$11

Booking: purchase and play at your leisure

Description

This is a point-and-click game you can buy on Steam. Although you are choosing a language to play in, the game itself has very little dialogue.

Gameplay consists of wandering the town, playing mini-puzzles, and collecting body parts. Play is essentially non-linear, although certain areas are gated until an entire section is solved. There is a backpack that acts as a tracker and lets you check your progress. Though you are finding organs and bones, and the characters look a little weird, it is not a scary game.

*Cozy gaming is blowing up in the gaming communities. These are games you can kick back, relax, and play through and transport yourself into a world that’s not stressful or difficult, but is rewarding and relaxing.

Cindi S’ Reaction

Birth was a quirky little point-and-click game with a lonely character who decided to build her own partner. Of course to do that, she would need body parts, and that’s where we came in. Organs, bones, teeth and other anatomy were obtained by solving a variety of mini-puzzles, located in cute shops throughout the little town. The overall aesthetic was unusual, with slow movements and muted colors, and townsfolk with exposed, animal-like skulls. It was oddly calming. I enjoyed working through the numerous little puzzles; though simple, they still required a bit of logic to solve. If you like point-and-click games, this is a fun, offbeat one to check out.

Joel Smileypeacefun Reaction

Driven by loneliness, you want to create a friend out of bones and organs. So you wander around the city, visit different shops, and try to gather your materials.

At its best, the art style was pretty cool. It brought a mysterious vibe that mostly never felt weird just for the sake of being weird. The game managed to get its point across with little-to-no dialogue, which was impressive. Additionally, I appreciated how it was always clear which items I could interact with.

At its worst, although the puzzles were imaginative they were rather on the too-easy side. They looked nice, however, it made the game feel like there was not enough substance. The ending had a neat idea but was overall a bit of a letdown. I was hoping for a grander end to the story.

I recommend playing this for the interesting environment the game is set in. If you’re looking for challenging puzzles this is not necessarily for you.

Theresa W’s Reaction

Birth is one of the weirdest puzzle games I’ve played, and I enjoyed every second. You start the game as a sad puzzle skeleton person and need to build yourself a cute skeleton partner to spend the rest of your boney days with. The game has a cozy vibe to it. The puzzles aren’t too difficult and the gameplay isn’t too long. However, the puzzles have layers and the aha moments are adorable (in a weird, kind of morbid way). The art style is unique and beautifully crafted, along with a pleasant soundtrack, fitting for this obscure story. Birth is short and sweet, and absolutely worth picking up for a rainy day, best paired with a cup of tea!