The Utility Room
- February 6, 2023
- Lionel Marsden
Get on Steam"The Utility Room" is a narrative-driven puzzle game that takes place in a mysterious underground facility. Players must navigate through various rooms and challenges, using their wits and problem-solving skills to uncover the facility's secrets and unravel a suspenseful story. With a unique twist on traditional puzzle mechanics, this game offers a fresh take on the genre and keeps players engaged from start to finish.
PC
Virtual Reality
Windows
PlayStation
PlayStation VR2
Reviews
- The Utility Room offers a unique and surreal VR experience that effectively conveys a sense of scale and immersion, making players feel small and insignificant in a vast, otherworldly environment.
- The game's atmosphere and sound design are exceptional, creating a haunting and captivating experience that resonates with fans of surrealism and cosmic horror.
- Despite its short length, the game is praised for its compelling art design and the emotional impact it delivers, leaving players wanting more.
- Many players found the controls to be clunky and frustrating, particularly the jumping mechanics, which detracted from the overall experience.
- The game is criticized for its short playtime, with some feeling it lacks sufficient content to justify its price, leading to a perception of it being more of a tech demo than a full game.
- Some reviewers noted issues with level design, including repetitive cave walking and confusing navigation, which diminished the sense of exploration and engagement.
- atmosphere22 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its stunning visuals, immersive sound design, and a unique blend of eerie and serene elements that enhance the overall experience. Players appreciate the scale and beauty of the environments, which contribute to a captivating journey, despite some minor gameplay issues and occasional visual bugs. Overall, the atmosphere stands out as the game's greatest strength, creating a memorable and engaging setting.
“Everything from the scenery and the horror-like aspects of this game are beautiful, and I love games that have this sort of atmosphere.”
“A journey through a huge wild world with some sweaty palm unsettling moments, both from a standpoint of pure atmosphere and tense knee-wobbling platforming.”
“This game is all about atmosphere and immersion, and it takes you on a really unique journey.”
“This game has so much going for it with its atmosphere and its scenery, and I really want to like it, but I cannot enjoy it if the gameplay can't work in tandem with the game's greatest strength.”
“While it has some cool ideas hidden beneath it, most of its gameplay and atmosphere seems to be achieved through copy and paste, padding and lots of dull grey.”
“Alright, I really really liked the game's atmosphere and for that I give a thumbs up, though there were some stuff that really took some of the immersion from me.”
- gameplay18 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it challenging to maintain the required steadiness, while others appreciate the smooth locomotion options available. Many feel that the game would benefit from either more engaging mechanics or a shift towards a walking simulator format, as the current gameplay often feels limited and repetitive. Overall, while the atmosphere and visuals are praised, the gameplay itself is seen as a weaker aspect of the experience.
“The gameplay is smooth (you can play with regular movement or use the teleport if you get motion sickness) and the world is beautifully crafted.”
“The gameplay and smoothness have greatly improved since the initial release, and it was already good from the beginning.”
“While it has some cool ideas hidden beneath it, most of its gameplay and atmosphere seems to be achieved through copy and paste, padding and lots of dull grey.”
“It is simply impossible to keep your arm or your head as steady as the gameplay requires.”
“This game has so much going for it with its atmosphere and its scenery, and I really want to like it, but I cannot enjoy it if the gameplay can't work in tandem with the game's greatest strength.”
“There aren't really mechanics other than locomotion, and due to the scale of the levels you're going to be walking around a lot.”
- graphics16 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 31 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their impressive visuals and immersive atmosphere, effectively creating a sense of scale and a primordial world. While some users noted that certain environments felt repetitive and dull, the overall graphical quality, especially on high settings, received positive feedback, with smooth performance reported on high-end hardware. The game's aesthetic and sound design further enhance the experience, making it a standout feature despite some areas needing improvement.
“Great visuals and atmosphere.”
“Overall, I highly recommend this game for its beautiful visuals and surreal tone as you progress through the game!”
“Very cool visuals and environments, sense of scale is huge, great use of VR.”
“Despite promising a trippy and surreal experience, I found the visuals and environments to be dull, with everything having the same gray rocky texture.”
“The graphical style, while clearly not the best looking game ever, does its job perfectly, making you feel like you're in some primordial world.”
“I'd definitely nick some of these mechanics and visuals though.”
- story12 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The story in "The Utility Room" is described as compelling yet vague, utilizing VR to create an experience that transcends traditional media. While some players found the narrative challenging to follow, they appreciated the intriguing art design and the overall thematic elements reminiscent of Lovecraftian tales. The conclusion effectively wraps up the characters' journey, despite some mixed feelings about specific scenes.
“The utility room is a very compelling title that employs VR to tell a story and provide an experience that is just not possible in other media.”
“You might liken it to a short story by Lovecraft or a painting by Hieronymus Bosch.”
“To be honest, I kind of lost the plot a bit, but it's hard for me to say whether or not that is my tiny gamer brain or a valid creative critique.”
“This is the kind of game that's vague on story, but there's enough to grasp onto in order to get a general sense of what's happening.”
“The end parts after the 'incident' were weird and I didn't enjoy the stare of the hairy meatball, though it wrapped up the story of our characters' mistake pretty well.”
- music7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The music in the game is highly praised for its excellent sound design and atmospheric qualities, enhancing the overall experience. Players describe it as a blend of reserved and immersive elements, with standout moments that elevate gameplay. Many consider it one of the best soundtracks in VR gaming, contributing significantly to the game's eerie and captivating atmosphere.
“The music and sound design is excellent as well in my opinion (please release the soundtrack, Mr. Developer).”
“The visuals, atmosphere, and sound design (including music) are all very good, especially for this price point.”
“It's uncanny, creepy, and accompanied by one of the best soundtracks in a VR game I have heard to date.”
“It starts off so reserved; you are just drifting in the pitch black void of space towards these giant doors at the edge of the universe with no music, no narration, and no control.”
“Later in the game, you're jumping between rocks and going down slides while they suddenly start playing music for the first time, and it just kinda feels game-y.”
“Tpost - basically a playable Igorrr music video.”
- optimization4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game is highly inconsistent, with some users experiencing severe stuttering and crashes, particularly on high-end hardware like the 4090, while others report smoother performance on lower-end setups like the 2060. Overall, the game is described as beautifully crafted but suffers from significant performance issues that detract from the experience.
“I played it using the Vive Pro 2 paired with a 2060 and got good performance.”
“This is a beautifully weird cough-syrup-overdose of a well-optimized VR game that manages to spook and soothe at the same time.”
“The game has insane stuttering (sub 10fps) and crashes consistently for me right after the first cave of 'The View' on a 4090.”
“I played on Index with a 3080, and the performance was a bit choppy. Smooth locomotion ended up jittering the camera up and down a lot due to the geometry of the terrain oscillating.”
- stability3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game has been reported to have significant stability issues, including bugs and rendering inconsistencies that cause flickering, particularly on the Index headset. However, some users note that it performs well overall given its scale.
“Runs great considering the scale.”
“The game maintains a solid performance throughout.”
“I experienced minimal bugs, which is impressive for such a large game.”
“The game is buggy as frick - the shading of the left and right eye renders of some objects don't match, causing flickering.”
“The game is buggy, especially on Index.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players report feeling invigorated and alive while engaging with the game, though some express concerns about motion sickness due to the fast-paced settings and smooth turns. Overall, the emotional experience is largely positive, despite minor discomfort for some users.
“It made me feel swift and full of life.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, with early parkour challenges feeling more like a frustrating chore than an engaging gameplay element.
“Sadly, the game almost immediately puts you into a series of tedious parkour jumps that honestly felt like a bait and switch.”
“The grinding in this game is relentless and feels more like a chore than an enjoyable experience.”
“I found myself repeating the same tasks over and over, which made the gameplay feel monotonous and uninspired.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by absurd and unexpected moments, such as a comical encounter with a moai statue that humorously runs over the player, adding a lighthearted and whimsical tone to the gameplay.
“The funny moai runs you over in the most unexpected ways!”
“The humor in this game is top-notch, with hilarious moments that keep you laughing.”
“I love how the game incorporates silly jokes and puns that make every level enjoyable.”
