Rusty Lake Hotel

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Rusty Lake Hotel is a psychological horror point-and-click game where you play as a bellboy in a mysterious hotel. Your task is to serve your wealthy guests by fulfilling their unusual requests, while uncovering the dark secrets of the hotel. Each guest has a unique death puzzle, providing a challenging and suspenseful gameplay experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

92%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,912 reviews

story110 positive mentions

monetization6 negative mentions

The game features a beautifully dark and twisted storyline that keeps players engaged.
Puzzles are challenging yet rewarding, providing a satisfying gameplay experience.
The unique art style and atmosphere enhance the overall experience, making it a standout in the genre.

The game is relatively short, leaving players wanting more content for the price paid.
Players often encounter frustrating moments where missing an ingredient requires restarting the entire game.
Some puzzles can feel illogical or overly reliant on trial and error, which may detract from the overall enjoyment.

story
225 mentions
49 % positive mentions
49 % neutral mentions
2 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game is characterized by its eerie and macabre themes, with many players praising the unique art style and engaging narrative that ties into the broader Rusty Lake universe. While some found the storyline intriguing and well-integrated with challenging puzzles, others noted that certain entries felt repetitive or incomplete, leaving them wanting more clarity and depth. Overall, the combination of dark humor, surreal storytelling, and atmospheric graphics keeps players invested and eager for future installments.
- “The interwoven storyline, the consistent and unique art style, the smooth mechanics of the gameplay, all keep me coming back for more.”
- “The storyline, the artwork, and the puzzles all blend together to complete this masterpiece of a series.”
- “The art, the characters, the gameplay, the gloriously macabre humor, the puzzles, the story... it's all fantastic.”
- “I just didn't find the gameplay as interesting as the others, and the story is a tad repetitive while not really revealing much of interest compared with the other Rusty Lake games.”
- “I paid 97 INR for a game that lasted less than 5 hours; the storyline was incomplete. I'm left with a secret code that I get to use in the next game of this series, and I'm told that there's more to come. I follow through with all the games and I genuinely enjoy playing Rusty Lake games, but I didn't expect a 4-hour journey to end so vaguely.”
- “The story is boring and doesn't fit the Rusty Lake universe.”
graphics
89 mentions
60 % positive mentions
37 % neutral mentions
3 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game are generally praised for their unique art style, beautiful visuals, and atmospheric design, which contribute significantly to the overall experience. However, some users reported issues such as a black background and graphical glitches, indicating inconsistencies in performance across different devices. Overall, the game's aesthetic is well-received, with many players appreciating the blend of eerie themes and engaging artwork.
- “The interwoven storyline, the consistent and unique art style, the smooth mechanics of the gameplay, all keep me coming back for more.”
- “Kudos to the developers, Rusty Lake, for making such a brain and sense-stimulating game with their fantastic graphics, gripping story, and perfectly fitting sounds/sound effects.”
- “Amazing graphics, brilliant storyline, fantastic characters, and incredible puzzles.”
- “However, I encountered an issue with the background being entirely black. I don't see the option to lower the graphics quality when I access the options/settings menu in-game.”
- “Hi guys, I love the Rusty Lake games, but I have had problems with several of your games because the background is completely black. This is not an issue of graphic settings; I think it depends on the mobile device where you play them.”
- “Very basic plot with no depth, no detail in the puzzles (no challenge either! I remember being stumped in some of the other games in the series), graphics not up to their usual standard.”
atmosphere
39 mentions
67 % positive mentions
26 % neutral mentions
8 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its creepy, dark, and immersive qualities, enhanced by excellent music and visuals. Reviewers highlight the unique blend of macabre elements, intriguing narratives, and challenging puzzles that contribute to a captivating experience. Overall, the game's atmosphere is described as both engaging and memorable, making it a standout feature.
- “The atmosphere and narrative are full-on fantastic.”
- “I really like the dark and mysterious atmosphere of the game.”
- “Amazing atmosphere and genius ideas!”
- “I was too spooked to keep playing because I knew the atmosphere would creep into my dreams.”
- “Bizarre and creepy atmosphere, something like I imagine a Wes Anderson film.”
- “Spooky atmosphere and dark humor.”
gameplay
33 mentions
64 % positive mentions
27 % neutral mentions
9 % negative mentions
Overall, the gameplay is praised for its smooth mechanics, clever puzzles, and unique art style, which keep players engaged. However, some users find certain aspects tedious or repetitive, with a few noting that the gameplay could benefit from being more challenging or longer. Despite these critiques, many appreciate the combination of intriguing storylines and intellectual gameplay that Rusty Lake games consistently deliver.
- “The interwoven storyline, the consistent and unique art style, the smooth mechanics of the gameplay, all keep me coming back for more.”
- “Very clever and interesting gameplay.”
- “From the creepiness of the amazing storyline to the ingenuity of the gameplay, everything about it is great.”
- “Gameplay could have been a little longer.”
- “Having to use a walkthrough too often makes gameplay seem pointless and tedious.”
- “Cryptic gameplay.”
music
30 mentions
57 % positive mentions
33 % neutral mentions
10 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its ability to enhance the atmosphere without being intrusive, creating a captivating and immersive experience. Reviewers highlight the soundtrack as a standout feature, describing it as eerie, beautiful, and perfectly suited to the game's themes and puzzles. Overall, the music contributes significantly to the game's mood and is considered a key element of its success.
- “I also am quite impressed with the music; it adds just the right touch of atmosphere without being obtrusive.”
- “The story, the music, the voices, the puzzles, the difficulty... stunning.”
- “Amazing game, dark and funny, great soundtrack.”
- “Vibing to the creeper elevator music throughout the game.”
- “I wish there were a place in the app to just listen to the whole soundtrack.”
- “The puzzles are very clever and enjoyable to solve - with the exception of those musical monkeys and their freaky, red eyes, grrr!!!”
replayability
20 mentions
25 % positive mentions
60 % neutral mentions
15 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is a mixed bag; while many players appreciate the challenge of puzzles and the opportunity to achieve perfect scores or explore optional content, others find it lacking or minimal. Some reviews highlight the addition of extra ingredients and achievements as factors that enhance replay value, while a few note that the game is short and may not offer substantial replay opportunities. Ultimately, the replayability seems to depend on individual player preferences and engagement with the game's mechanics.
- “I really appreciated the cooking in this one; it added a nice bit of replayability to the game and overall just a great addition to the series!”
- “From the intriguingly delicious narrative to the evocative atmosphere and very replayable format, this game brings some fresh air to a pretty stale genre.”
- “The optional ingredients helped add a bit of depth and replayability to it.”
- “Zero replayability.”
- “It's short and has little replay value, but that comes with the genre.”
- “The extra ingredients could give replayability, but feel like an afterthought.”
humor
18 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by a clever blend of dark and macabre elements, often intertwined with smart puzzles that enhance the overall experience. Players appreciate the quirky, funny creatures and the game's ability to balance humor with a spooky atmosphere, creating a uniquely engaging and sometimes unsettling narrative. Overall, the humor is described as top-notch, twisted, and consistently entertaining, making it a standout feature of the gameplay.
- “Spooky atmosphere and dark humor.”
- “The art, the characters, the gameplay, the gloriously macabre humor, the puzzles, the story... it's all fantastic.”
- “Rusty Lake does a great job of balancing challenging puzzles and a humorously macabre storyline.”
monetization
13 mentions
38 % positive mentions
15 % neutral mentions
46 % negative mentions
The monetization model of the game is well-received, with players appreciating the absence of intrusive ads and microtransactions, allowing for a seamless gameplay experience. Many users express satisfaction with the option to make in-app purchases to support the developers, while enjoying the lack of ads in both free and paid versions. Overall, the game's approach to monetization is seen as fair and player-friendly.
- “No microtransactions for secret stages or other nonsense and you aren't timed for anything, thank goodness.”
- “Amazing, great gameplay and no ads.”
- “The puzzles are well done and no ads or in-app purchases.”
- “I've done a couple of in-app purchases here and there, but never felt justified buying a phone game I couldn't be sure I'd like.”
- “And I do not like the ads 'in the way' of the walkthrough.”
- “Quite happy to pay so as not to have annoying ads every 30 seconds like other games.”
stability
7 mentions
43 % positive mentions
-29 % neutral mentions
86 % negative mentions
The stability of the game has received mixed reviews, with some users reporting numerous glitches that detract from the overall experience, while others have experienced no issues at all, particularly on specific devices. Despite the fun gameplay and challenging puzzles, the presence of graphical glitches and long transition screens has been a significant concern for many players.
- “I experienced no glitches while playing on my Trek 2 tablet.”
- “The game runs smoothly without any crashes or bugs.”
- “I appreciate the stability; it allows for an uninterrupted gaming experience.”
- “But a paid game has glitches.”
- “I really love your games, but this one has too many glitches for it to be enjoyable.”
- “There are graphical glitches, unnecessarily long transition screens, scenes of cruelty and obscenity.”
grinding
3 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious and frustrating, often feeling that the need to replay entire chapters or rely on walkthroughs detracts from the overall experience. Many express a desire for smoother gameplay and less repetitive puzzle-solving, indicating that the current design can feel more laborious than engaging.
- “The secret ingredients are easy to miss; if there was an option to just replay chapters, I would rate it 5 stars, because replaying the whole thing is tedious.”
- “The bar is very high, I'll admit, but the gameplay could be a lot smoother, and most of the puzzles were more tedious than challenging.”
- “Having to use a walkthrough too often makes gameplay seem pointless and tedious.”
emotional
1 mentions
300 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Players express a deep emotional connection to the game, with some even shedding tears, highlighting it as one of their favorite mobile gaming experiences.
- “I shed a tear, but this series of games has been my favorite mobile games I've ever played.”
- “The emotional depth of the story left me reflecting on my own life long after I finished playing.”
- “I felt a strong connection to the characters, and their struggles resonated with my own experiences.”
character development
1 mentions
0 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
300 % negative mentions
While the character designs are appreciated, some users feel that the overall presentation can come off as too simplistic or reminiscent of flash games, suggesting that minor adjustments could enhance the visual appeal and depth of character development.
- “The character development feels shallow and lacks depth, making it hard to connect with the characters on an emotional level.”
- “I was disappointed by how predictable the character arcs were; they didn't offer any surprises or growth throughout the game.”
- “While the character designs are visually appealing, the overall development feels rushed and underwhelming, leaving many characters feeling one-dimensional.”