A Room Beyond Demo

Although modern graphics engines are capable of rendering a staggering amount of detail in video games, some gamers prefer it the way it was before. Hence, there are many retro games flooding the market at the moment, each one of which sports pixel graphics and basic gameplay mechanics. However, they aim to entertain the players in other ways, such as with a good story, or a great cast of characters.

A Room Beyond is a point & click adventure game designed to be as approachable as possible while staying true to the genre in regards to gameplay mechanics and general atmosphere. Hence, your main concern is to figure out how to interact with the world around you and use the items you stumble upon to solve puzzles and slowly unravel the mystery.

Speaking of which, it all starts with the main character waking up in a cave surrounded by weird symbols and locked in a cage made of sticks. After you manage to escape and make your way out, it turns out that you are in some kind of weird village haunted by a strange creature that lurks in the fog. The villagers are mortified, and you must find a way to help them.

Every adventure fan should be familiar with the gameplay mechanics, but even complete beginners should have an easy time figuring out how to interact with the world. Hence, all you need is the mouse, since you just have to click on objects or drag them around. Some items can only be observed by clicking on them, while others can be picked up and stored in your inventory until they come in handy.

The perspective is fixed as well, since the game is designed as a 2.5D experience, but the point of view changes from scene to scene, which is a great way to avoid monotony. On the other hand, you always need a few seconds to adjust to the new view, especially if you have to walk and make sure you pick the right direction. The graphics are not bad either, but the low resolution can transform some puzzles into actual pixel hunts, which is a tad annoying.

Although A Room Beyond aims to be an episodic experience, you can pretty much tell what’s it all about even at this early stage. Thus, if you’ve enjoyed the classics and you yearn for more of the same, this could very well keep you occupied for a while.