In 2023, Flat Cat Games released The Lab Escape Room which was a fun puzzler that required the player to interpret the environment, looking for patterns and identifying clues. I liked the game and was delighted to see a second title from this developer.
I jumped into The Island Escape Room and had a good time exploring and puzzling my way around the island. The focus of the game is on puzzles, with only a bare hint of a backstory. The island is divided into distinct areas which are accessed in sequence. Each area contains a set of puzzles which are solved by discovering hidden clues. Some are stand-alone and require nothing extra. The good news is that there was only one mechanical puzzle (a slider) which I survived. Solution clues tend to be found close to each puzzle which means you do not need to do a lot of wandering.
While puzzles are point-and-click, you can freely move around the environment using the WASD keys. There are no voice-overs and the background is instrumental music. I admit that I turned my headphones off, as I prefer the quiet when I’m busy thinking. There is a spoiler-free hint system that points you towards the clue or provides some extra insight.
Puzzles cannot be skipped and all must be completed to progress to the next area. To help those who get truly stuck or are just feeling lazy, the developer has posted a full solution guide on the Steam Forum.
I thought the puzzles were quite fair. Once I started looking for clues in the immediate vicinity of each puzzle, I progressed at a steady rate. At no point did I end up hopelessly stuck or frustrated.
With one exception, achievements are earned by progressing through the game. There are notes to collect along the way which will earn you the final achievement but add little to the story. Notes are all in plain sight if you are paying attention and searching each area before moving on.
For those who enjoy Escaping the Room and are not looking for characters or stories, I recommend The Island Escape Room. It took me about 4 hours to complete. For me, it was the right level of challenge to hold my interest without requiring extensive mental gymnastics.
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