Rusty Lake Paradise (2018) - Horror Video Game Review (iOS)

Rusty Lake Paradise is the twelfth game in the interconnected series of mainly escape room games, which all take place within the Rusty Lake universe. Following on from Rusty Lake Hotel and Rusty Lake Roots, this is the third stand alone game. Unlike most of the games (such as those contained within Cube Escape Collection), this almost felt like a point and click adventure, taking place over ten levels set in the same location.

Set in 1796, and upon hearing of your mother's death you return to the island commune of Paradise that resides out on Rusty Lake and which you left as a child. There you find things are not going well, the island has become cursed to suffer the ten plagues of Egypt. For each new plague that afflicts the islanders you set out to find a way to solve it, each time you are rewarded with a magical cube that you feed into an alter. For anyone who knows their plagues of Egypt however, it might become clear just where your crusade may take you...

First off, having each level being themed around those particular plagues meant that I had a good idea how long the game would be. With ten plagues that meant there would be ten levels. Each is set on the commune, starting off each time on the shore front, as the levels progress you gain access to new parts, such as a large tower. For around two thirds of the game I was slightly worried with the ease with which I was zooming through it, it seemed slightly too easy. With only so many different places you could go to, it was never too taxing discovering where the puzzles were and how to solve them. The difficulty certainly does increase however, and while I never got completely stuck, there were chunks of time when I did feel a bit lost.

In terms of the story, there was a unsettling feeling of The Wicker Man to this. I don't think it is meant to be a surprise where this goes, but I liked how earlier levels are peppered with hints as to how it will end. There isn't too much story level to level, but static images gained upon gaining the cube in each level give some backstory. Apparently this game isn't considered part of the series proper, but I think it provides some interesting information, working as a prequel of sorts due to being (so far) the earliest game in the timeline. For anyone following the series, it does shed some light on if the animal headed people that pop up throughout the game are actually humans in masks or not. It also gives an origin to the mysterious misty forest location that appears throughout the series
Puzzles are fun to do in that they do require a bit of brainpower, but give you all the clues and hints you could want hidden within the environments. From simple memory games, to using the right object in the right place, the puzzles were varied and for the most part enjoyable. It was a pain occasionally when you had a puzzle in one location and the solution in another, meaning a vaguely annoying back and forth.
The Rusty Lake games have never been overtly horror, here there is a tinged feeling of malice that pops up, from the human/fly creature that roams the island during the plague of flies, to the huge monstrous locust during the plague of locusts level. Of course, also the final level which resembles a certain part of a certain film.

Rusty Lake Paradise was the best stand alone game yet in the series. The difficulty curve was nearly spot on, and the story, while slight, was enjoyable to experience. A fun way to spend a few hours, and again at a dirt cheap price.

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