Underground Blossom

Rusty Lake’s early games, while lacking in budget, were some of the most unique games I played. The puzzles were clever and original, but they never required jumps in logic that made solving impossible. I used to think that the method of storytelling in the original cube escape games was ingenious - a series of vignettes, that, when put together, tell a nuanced story. Visually, the room settings were eccentric and fun, creating a distinct Rusty Lake feel. It was perfectly planned chaos, which provided an unmatched gameplay experience. Even now that I recognize the devs never had a gnostic cosmology or an established philosophy of time underlying the games (thanks Reddit), I can still appreciate how unique and wonderful they are. Underground Blossom, however, lacks all of these elements. The puzzles were short and boring, with most of them amounting to collecting an object and using it in its corresponding location. (e.g.: I found a bottle! Maybe I should give it to the baby?) The whole game took me about 75 minutes. Even the achievements were boring, because you basically had to click around to find them. And the story was obvious, because we knew all of the information the game was supposed to provide, except for Rose leaving. The game also failed in making me feel sympathy for Laura, so the faux-emotional ending fell flat. Most disappointing, the visuals were plain and uninteresting. The tiles made the scenes feel utilitarian, and it didn’t help that there would only be about five objects in any station. I would have thought that I higher budget would improve the gameplay, but it is obvious Rusty Lake is trying to entice younger players by having easier puzzles, more overtly creepy settings, and basic stories. But this game has a 4.9 star rating, so it is clearly working. Enjoy your success, Rusty Lake.

Never really understood the story or cared too much, just liked the creepy aspect it adds. Compared to cube escape, samsara room and rusty lake I thought the story was somewhat less developed but the puzzle solving is WAY less developed. Would’ve enjoyed something similar to previous games where you go back and forth between stations to use objects and solve puzzles, or for each station/chapter to be more involved.