"The Room" by Fireproof Games

First, my one-sentence summary: “The Room is a first-person point-and-click puzzle game with escape room mechanics and a sprinkle of cosmic horror.”

Next, a word from the publisher: “A mysterious invitation leads to the attic of an abandoned house. In the room is a cast-iron safe laced with strange carvings and on top, a note from your distant companion. It promises something ancient and astonishing concealed in the iron chamber – you need only find a way in.“

What Worked For Me:

I enjoyed the game’s visual presentation. It definitely nailed the “haunted steampunk puzzle box,” vibes, and was a great choice for date night with my partner.
The game had a nice tactility to it. There were plenty of gears to spin, widgets to futz with, and pieces to slot together. (The game was originally designed with touch interfaces in mind, so this makes sense.)
Even at full price ($5 USD), the game is quite affordable. Given that my partner and I spent about three hours on the game, I’d say we definitely got our money’s worth! The game is even cheaper at time of writing ($1 USD) because of the “Steam Scream Sale.” If that’s not a bargain basement price for a date night, I don’t know what is.

What Didn’t:

The music was inoffensive at best. To be honest, I couldn’t hum a single note of it after completing the game and if an OST for the game was sold I wouldn’t buy it.
The hint system didn’t really work for me. Aside from the fact that the game often seemed to be “stuck” on the first hint on offer, the hints often just weren’t that helpful. My partner and I still eventually struggled through without a walk-through, but if the hint required anything more in-depth than, “hey, you missed this really obvious thing!” it pretty much always missed the mark.
The game doesn’t have much in the way of immediate replay value. Basically, once I figured out a puzzle, I had no reason to return to it. (With that being said, it might be worth returning to The Room in time if/when I’ve forgotten all the solutions. Who knows how long that’ll take, though.)
[nit-pick] I run a dual-monitor setup, and the game crashed when I (accidentally) clicked out of it. This only happened once, thankfully, but it was still troublesome. Room II, by comparison, avoids this issue by containing the player’s cursor to the play-space of the game.
[nit-pick] The narrative felt more like an afterthought than a well-considered part of the game. I never came to care about the person leaving the game’s protagonist messages (“AS”) beyond the snickers I shared with my partner while reading said letters in a mocking tone. With that said, I am only listing this as a nit-pick because I didn’t come to this game expecting some grand narrative; I just wanted an “escape room” style experience I could enjoy with my partner.

Conclusion:

If you want an affordable “escape room” experience you can enjoy from home at a reasonable price, The Room is right up your alley. While it isn’t scary, it does have Halloween-y vibes and is a great choice to play this spooky season. The game is made all the more enticing by its price; who can be a fun night for $1?

Check it out here.