A Deep Dive Into Rusty Lake: Roots 2016

Rusty Lake: Roots is the creator of the Cube Escape series and Rusty Lake Hotel’s second premium point-and-click adventure, an adventure that is equal parts adventurous and intriguing with a generous dose of dark comedy. It tells the narrative of the Vanderboom family through the decades in a magical, sometimes even perplexing plot that pays you handsomely for figuring it out.

After the Rusty Lake Hotel, we weren’t expecting much. The bizarre small puzzle box rooms of unpleasant brain-teasers didn’t give us much optimism, as intriguing as the premise and surroundings were. That made it all the more shocking when Rusty Lake: Roots looked to have learned all the lessons from the previous game. Although it isn’t a flawless start to the series, the improvement is so significant that we believe Rusty Lake Hotel becomes a stronger recommendation by association.

James Vanderboom has recently acquired a house from his late uncle in the year 1860. When he arrives in the spring, he discovers a seed and a message instructing him to plant and care for it while looking after the estate. The story of the cursed Vanderboom family blossoms from this lowly beginning, charting the lives of three generations of tragic humans. The plot links everything back to that original seed and their unifying curse, and ultimately one of Rusty Lake’s dark secrets, as their lives take terrible twists.

Rusty Lake: Roots, like the previous game, is immersed in the macabre. None of the characters you guide through these stories will have a happy ending, and many will suffer a great deal before their lives are permitted to come to a conclusion. It’s not quite as brutal or gormless as its predecessor, but it does a better job of living up to the macabre moniker. Most of the dread in this film stems from witnessing the unavoidable, from seeing a scene unfold into an obvious catastrophe while powerless to intervene. Some of the strongest plotlines here feature lost children or love triangles, which help to ground the horrible happenings.

The Rusty Lake: Roots drama is told in brief vignettes that are chronologically ordered along the lifelines of the characters involved. These vignettes are single scrollable scenes with a number of challenges to solve on the way to a generally evident conclusion. It may be as sweet as a gentleman proposing to a lady, as sad as sending a young man off to war, or as malicious as throwing a small kid down a well. Scenes should take about 10-15 minutes to finish, during which time you’ll learn more about the overall mystery and possibly a few hints regarding Rusty Lake’s nature.

The quality of the puzzles in the Rusty Lake: Roots game, which is all far more sensical and thematically consistent than those in the Rusty Lake Hotel, is a significant upgrade for us. Single scenes centered on a primary puzzle or puzzles help to limit flapping and allow each puzzle to contribute more to the plot. We were only stumped in a few areas, and we didn’t think it was because the puzzles were poorly created this time. Everything had a reason and a rationale, which made the game feel more unified overall.

The only aspect of Rusty Lake: Roots that we considered to be lacking this time was, unfortunately, the ending. It should be evident by the third generation of characters what the game’s ultimate purpose is, and when you get to the finish, it simply kind of happens and then fades to black. Apart from the immediate impact of your actions, there’s no true discovery, and it’s a lot less satisfying than the mad revelations at the end of Hotel. We did play the New Game+ style continuation to see the secret ending, and while we enjoyed it more, it still didn’t fulfill our curiosity.

While there are obvious connections between Rusty Lake Hotel and Rusty Lake: Roots, they’re small enough that skipping Hotel won’t cost you much. It’s a shame the tale doesn’t make better use of its predecessor’s otherworldly oddity, but Rusty Lake: Roots is a good enough game to stand on its own and hold your attention for a few hours. The unsettling visuals and thematic riddles do a great job of engrossing the player as they unearth the secrets of this sad family, but only pay off partially at the end. This one succeeds where Rusty Lake Hotel failed, as long as you’re not expecting something mind-blowing at the conclusion.

If you enjoy point-and-click adventures with a nasty twist, this game is well worth your time. Rusty Lake: Roots goes into the history of James Vanderboom’s ancestors and their occultist ties (no pun intended). The puzzles are kept simple, but they never fail to keep the player engaged and captivated by the story.

Click here to check out our last review on Rusty Lake Hotel.