Rooms: The Main Building
- July 11, 2014
- HandMade Game
Get on Steam"Rooms: The Main Building" is a puzzle game set in the Rooms Mansion, where players must navigate through 100 levels by sliding sections of rooms to reach the exit. Unique items and devices are used to solve each puzzle and collect four golden puzzle pieces as rewards. The goal is to find a way back home, with increasingly difficult challenges along the way.
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Nintendo Ds
Wii
Reviews
- The game features a unique combination of sliding puzzle mechanics and point-and-click adventure elements, providing an engaging experience for puzzle fans.
- The puzzles are enjoyable and varied, with a good mix of challenge and creativity, making it suitable for both casual and hardcore puzzle solvers.
- The art style and soundtrack are pleasant, contributing to a cozy atmosphere that enhances the overall gameplay experience.
- The game suffers from slow animations and a lack of a 'fast mode', which can lead to frustratingly long wait times during gameplay.
- Technical issues such as crashes, poor resolution support, and a confusing user interface detract from the overall experience.
- Many players find the game overpriced for its content, especially given its simplicity and the repetitive nature of some puzzles.
- gameplay20 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The gameplay in "Rooms: The Main Building" is characterized by a blend of sliding tile puzzles and point-and-click mechanics, offering a variety of unique challenges through elements like teleports, ladders, and explosives. While the puzzles are generally enjoyable and complex due to the layering of simple mechanics, some players found the trial-and-error aspect tedious and noted technical issues such as fuzzy graphics and a limited play area that detracted from immersion. Overall, the game provides a fun and engaging experience, though it may not appeal to everyone due to its visual presentation and certain frustrating mechanics.
“An enjoyable mixture of puzzle mechanics.”
“What makes it more interesting is all the mechanics (teleports, rotatable tiles, locked doors, water, dynamite, etc.), and while there's no turn limit, there's an optional timer, and the threefold rating system is based on tile placement.”
“The gameplay is a combination of sliding tile puzzles and point-and-click adventure games.”
“Aside from these technical issues, the lack of undo is worth mentioning, though it's not a huge deal for the most part. Some mechanics (dynamite and water) can kill you, making you restart if you're not quick enough, but you can also paint (well, slide or lock) yourself into a corner every now and then.”
“The play area also failed to cover the whole screen that was used by the game, making the final play area a small fraction of my physical screen, which further hurt both immersion and flow of gameplay as I could not readily recognize some of the objects in the rooms.”
“Lost interest in trial and error mechanics after 10 minutes.”
- graphics16 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the beautiful art style and its fitting antique-steampunk aesthetic, while others criticize the visuals as outdated, blurry, and choppy, which can hinder gameplay. Despite these issues, the level of detail is noted as admirable, and the overall presentation is considered charming, especially for puzzle enthusiasts.
“The antique, steampunk, British art style and music go well together within the game.”
“If you love puzzle games with a beautiful art style, then this game is for you.”
“It's all wrapped up in some photographic art that, despite being 1024x768 (the game scales it up for you if you like), does the job admirably, as does the slightly jazzy music that gives the game an old-time London feel.”
“However, the graphics are outdated and the background music is quite repetitive.”
“Quite good, but I think it's not up to the mark... it has blurry visuals which sometimes make it hard to pick out helpful elements in busy squares, hence leading to some missteps.”
“Gameplay and idea are good, but in build mode it suffers from the fuzzy graphics.”
- music16 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 31 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally described as enjoyable and fitting, with a cozy and whimsical quality that complements the art style. However, many users note that the soundtrack can be repetitive, leading some to prefer turning it off in favor of their own music. Overall, while the music enhances the experience, its lack of variety is a common criticism.
“The antique+steampunk+British art style and music go well together within the game.”
“I enjoyed the overall design and feel of the game and the soundtrack is quite enjoyable.”
“While the current biggest complaint by a negative reviewer has been the music and sound, I have actually enjoyed the music, which is a rather whimsical tune that is a mix between what you would find playing in Hogwarts and an upbeat Zelda soundtrack.”
“No volume sliders; of course, you can't even turn off effects, some of which are pretty annoying. You can only turn off the music, which in turn is quite good.”
“However, the graphics are outdated and the background music is quite repetitive.”
“The soundtrack is extremely repetitive; you're better off shutting it off and listening to your own tunes.”
- story15 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The story in [b]rooms: the main building[/b] is generally considered simplistic and somewhat contrived, serving primarily as a backdrop for the puzzle gameplay. While some players appreciate the quirky elements and plot twists, others find the narrative bland and poorly executed, with a mix of point-and-click adventure elements that don't significantly enhance the experience. Overall, the story is seen as a minor aspect of the game, with players often prioritizing the puzzle-solving mechanics over the narrative itself.
“Story-telling is also interesting, especially towards the end (but my lips are sealed!).”
“All these puzzles are wrapped neatly into an elaborate fantasy story that ties everything together nicely--very enjoyable.”
“It does break some of the repetition by having an area outside the room list where you interact with your 'guide' to progress a somewhat odd story as to why you are doing what you are doing along with an overarching mini game which, as you complete, brings you closer to your release from these rooms.”
“You’re a dude that’s been trapped in a world where you have to solve puzzles… it’s not really much of a story and it seems contrived.”
“Bland story.”
“This is actually quite a decent quirky slider puzzle with a paper thin who cares story to suit.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game exhibits several stability issues, including buggy visuals and animations, which detract from the overall experience. While players have encountered glitches, the developers appear to be proactive in addressing these problems through patches.
“Well, nice idea, clever elements, and it would be a good puzzle game... but the visuals are bad, the animations and actions are sometimes buggy, and there is always something really annoying in the air. However, there is a good plot twist at the end.”
“I personally experienced a couple of glitches that needed addressing, but the developers seem responsive about looking into problems and making patches.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -500 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players praising its smooth graphics and stable performance, while others report issues such as frame rate drops and long loading times. Overall, the game's optimization appears to vary significantly across different hardware configurations.
“The optimization in this game is outstanding; the graphics are stunning while maintaining smooth performance even on lower-end systems.”
“I was impressed by how well the game runs; the developers clearly put a lot of effort into optimizing both graphics and performance.”
“The balance between visual fidelity and performance is remarkable, making for a seamless gaming experience without sacrificing quality.”
“The game struggles to maintain a stable frame rate, especially in crowded areas, making it frustrating to play.”
“I experienced frequent stuttering and long loading times, which really detracted from the overall experience.”
“The graphics settings are poorly optimized, leading to significant performance drops even on high-end hardware.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game offers limited replayability, with some users noting a lack of incentive to revisit it despite the inclusion of 20 additional bonus levels. Overall, the experience may feel repetitive and unengaging for players.
“There's no particular replay value, either, although there is a set of 20 bonus rooms with more levels that I was too bored to complete, totaling 100.”
