"Rusty Lake: Roots" is an entertaining (and cheap!) collection of "locked room" style puzzles that involves not only looking for objects, but also figuring out puzzles and the occasional math equation. The game's imagery (actually, the Rusty Lake series as a whole) might seem a tad weird and convoluted, but in more of an entertaining "Twin Peaks-esque" way than "this is going to give me nightmares". Aside from looks, the only other thing that I think might turn people away from this game is the length; it'll vary depending on one's problem-solving skills, of course, but expect it to be short, with the only 'replayability' once you solve the final puzzle being the new (as of this Review's posting) Achievements. With that said, personally, I thought the experience lasted just as long as it needed to in order to make a good impression on me. I enjoyed this game's atmosphere, and its ability to present a twisted story without heaps of dialogue. And in the end, not only do I recommend others giving this a try, I also hope that this won't be the last we see of Rusty Lake.

Here's what you need to do:

1. Play Cube Escape games, they are free (online or mobile): Seasons, The Lake, Arles, Harvey's Box, Case 23, The Mill. Short "room escape" type point-and-clicks that will introduce you to a lot of objects and some characters and mechanics in the series. You'll get familiar with the universe and its themes.
   
2. Play Rusty Lake Hotel, then back to free Cube Escape entries (Birthday and Theater).
3. Now you are ready for Roots. This one will tie together most of the characters and lore, giving you somewhat clear and big picture for the first time.
   
4. It is followed by Cube Escape: The Cave and then Rusty Lake Paradise, uncovering some more history of the thing.
   
5. And now there's also Cube Escape: Paradox, first Cube Escape game on Steam, but rather different from the other ones, because it has a short film as part of experience (hint:the film has more to it).

And yes, this series is weird, eerie, maybe a bit disturbing and cites Twin Peaks at times.

* Cube Escape games mentioned in points 1, 2 and 4 are now on Steam in one neat package.

An amazing little masterpiece! Stylish, puzzling, and creepy, just like all other 'Cube escape' games you can play for free. Only this one is much, much longer (and it is about two times bigger than 'Rusty Lake Hotel'), but still rather very cheap.
The only drawback is that the authors cannot put the achievements into Flash engine for some reason.
Still, can't recommend it high enough!

I wasn’t expecting a whole lot after Rusty Lake Hotel. As interesting as the premise and setting were, the strange little puzzle box rooms of irritating brain-teasers didn’t give me much hope. That made it all the more surprising when Rusty Lake: Roots appeared to take all the lessons I had hoped they would from the prior game. It’s not a perfect genesis of the series, but the improvement is so dramatic I think it makes Rusty Lake Hotel a stronger recommendation by association.

The year is 1860 and James Vanderboom has just inherited a house from his late uncle. Arriving in the spring, he finds a seed and a note with instructions to plant and tend to it as he looks after the estate. From this humble beginning blooms the tale of the cursed Vanderboom family, tracing the lives of three generations of unfortunate souls. As their lives take their tragic turns, the story weaves everything back to that original seed and their unifying curse, and ultimately one of the dark secrets of Rusty Lake.

Much like the previous game, Roots is heavily steeped in the macabre. None of the people whom you guide through these stories will meet kind ends, and many will suffer significant agonies before their lives are allowed to end. It’s not as gory or gormless as its precursor though, and does a much better job of living up to the macabre label. Most of the horror here comes from witnessing the inevitable, from seeing a scene build to an obvious tragedy and being powerless to stop it. Some of the best plotlines here involve lost children or love triangles that give the sinister events a more grounded base.

The drama unfolds in short vignettes, arranged chronologically along the lifelines of the players in question. These vignettes are single scrollable scenes which contain a handful of puzzles to solve in the course of reaching a generally obvious result. It might be as charming as getting a gentleman to propose to a lady, as painful as sending a young man off to war, or as nefarious as dropping a young boy down a well. Scenes should take about 10-15 minutes to complete, during which you’ll uncover more clues to the overarching mystery and perhaps a few hints as to the nature of Rusty Lake itself.

The big improvement here for me is the quality of the puzzles, which are all far more sensical and thematically consistent than those in Hotel. Having single scenes focused around a central puzzle or puzzles helps limit potential flailing and allows each puzzle to do more in service to the story. I only found myself stumped in a few places, and this time I didn’t feel like it was because the puzzles were badly designed. Everything had a purpose and a logic to it, and that gave the game a more cohesive feel overall.

The only aspect I found weaker this time was the ending, unfortunately enough. By the third generation of characters it should be clear what the ultimate goal of the game is, and when you reach the end it just kinda happens and then fades to black. There’s no real revelation aside from the immediate result of your actions, and it falls a lot flatter than the insane reveals at the end of Hotel. I did play through the New Game+ style continuation to see the secret ending and while I liked that one more, it still didn’t do much to satisfy my curiosities.

While there are obviously links between Rusty Lake Hotel and Roots, they’re minor enough that you wouldn’t miss much by skipping Hotel. It’s unfortunate the story doesn’t take more advantage of the otherworldly weirdness of its predecessor but Roots is a strong enough game to stand on its own and command your attention for a few hours. The disturbing scenes and thematic puzzles do an excellent job of gripping the player as they uncover the secrets of this sad family, and only fail to completely pay off at the very end. As long as you’re not expecting something mind-blowing in the conclusion, though, this one definitely succeeds where Rusty Lake Hotel stumbled.



Did you enjoy this review? I certainly hope so, and I certainly hope you'll check out more of them at https://goldplatedgames.com/ or on my curation page!

One of Rusty Lake's classic works.

The overall difficulty is still moderate, so you won’t get stuck during your gameplay.

The whole work is mainly narrative.It tells the origins of the two main characters in the Rusty Lake universe. The labels of psychological horror can be said to be very appropriate.The Rusty Lake-style horror is that the characters in the game will do something that is originally unreasonable or even unethical, and it is very natural, as if they are all normal in their eyes, giving people the feeling of fear.

The music in the game is also perfect.

The artistry and gameplay of this work is very impressive.

If you aren't familiar with the Cube Escape series, then I would highly recommend playing at least some of those first before getting Roots. All Cube Escape flash games are free to play and can be found nearly everywhere online. The order I'd recommend is:

1. Samsara Room (first game created by Rusty Lake, precusor to Cube Escape series)
2. Seasons
3. The Lake
4. Arles
5. Harvey's Box
(Rusty Lake: Hotel connects here, also worth the purchase)
6. Case 23
7. The Mill
8. Birthday
9. Theater

If point-and-click adventures with an enthralling sinister twist are your thing, then this game is worth a try. Rusty Lake: Roots delves into the history of James Vanderboom's family lineage and its deep, occultist roots (no pun intended). The puzzles are kept relatively simplistic but they never fail to keep the player interested and intrigued by the lore.

A great game to keep you entertained during the night, definitely recommended.

An artistic, bizarre, surrealistic, legendary, epic and romantic puzzle series (with some ARG elements). Spent bout 50 hours of good time with this series game. If u love detective stories and some brain works, this is the game for u.

Recommended play order (chronological):

a, Samsara Room;
b, Cube Escape Collection 1 to 6 (From Seasons to The Mill);
c, Rusty Lake Hotel;
d, Cube Escape Collection 7 & 8 (Birthday and Theatre);
e, Rusty Lake Roots;
f, Cube Escape Collection 9 (The Cave);
g, Rusty Lake Paradise;
h, Cube Escape Paradox with DLC and the Movie;
i, The White Door;
j, The Past Within;
k, Underground Blossom.

🔲 My 90 year old grandma could play it
🔲 Easy
🔲 Normal
☑️ Significant usage of the brain
🔲 Hard
🔲 Dark Souls


🔲 Your Mom probably would enjoy this
🔲 Kids
☑️ Everyone
🔲 Everyone except kids
🔲 Casual players
🔲 Pro players


🔲 Graphics dont matter in this game
🔲 MS Paint
🔲 Bad
🔲 Cute
🔲 Decent
🔲 Good
☑️ Beautiful
🔲 Masterpiece


🔲 Bad
🔲 Not special
🔲 Okay
☑️ Good
🔲 Beautiful


🔲 No voice acting
🔲 Hahaha
🔲 Bad
🔲 Acceptable
🔲 Good
☑️ Perfect


🔲 This game has no story
🔲 It's there for the people who want it
🔲 Well written
☑️ Epic story
🔲 You choose your fate


🔲 Free
🔲 Complete waste of money
🔲 Underpriced
☑️ Perfect Price
🔲 Should be cheaper
🔲 Overpriced
🔲 EA Game


☑️ You can run it on a calculator
🔲 Average
🔲 High end
🔲 NASA computer


🔲 0 - 5 hours
☑️ 5 - 15 hours
🔲 15-50 hours
🔲 50+ hours
🔲 No ending


🔲 I'd rather watch paint dry
🔲 Hard to enjoy
🔲 Repetitive
🔲 Likable
🔲 Very entertaining
☑️ Ride of your life


🔲 Bad
🔲 Could be better
🔲 Accetable
☑️ Good
🔲 Realistic


🔲 It's a one-time experience
🔲 If you wish to see the other endings
☑️ For achievements
☑️ If you wait a few months/years
🔲 Definitely
🔲 Infinitely replayable


🔲 No
🔲 Wait for sale
🔲 Yes
☑️ Absolutely

Back in 2017 I played this game because people said it was fantastic. I was wrong to start by playing this game first, I was not too fond of it because I did not understand anything, so I dropped it, but I'm glad I got back to playing it now, enjoying it to the max. Now I know why it received an overwhelmingly positive review; it deserves it, as this game has a rich lore connected to the other games. Please follow what the developers suggested to enjoy the game as I did.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3049711419

Rusty Lake Roots about Vanderboom family tree. James Vanderboom received a letter informing him about his uncle's passing. As the only heir, he moved to the house he inherited and planted the special seed his uncle had left him. He started to grow it as he was growing his family. Finding the love of his life, having triplets, and then we follow his kids childhood life, adulthood, and even learning about their offspring and why they all came to this life. The story is deep as we follow three generations of the family; you might want to play it twice to understand it fully.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3049708145

The game is an Escape Room style like the rest of the series. Each character has different objectives and story to follow. You can play in Chronological order, or you can track each character's life until the end. It is up to you, but in the end, the outcome is the same. I liked the characters; they are pretty interesting, the soundtracks are excellent, as well as the puzzles.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3049711932

Pros:
+Interesting story related to the previous series.
+Good soundtracks.
+Easy puzzles.
+Eeirie atmosphere.
+Steam achievements.

Cons:
-The story could be confusing; to understand it, you must play the series' other games.
-No hinting system. Sometimes, you get stuck and don't know what to do next.

This is my favorite game of the whole series, although I was not too fond of it back then. I highly recommend the game.

Other Reviews:
Cube Escape Collection Review
Rusty Lake Hotel Review
Rusty Lake Paradise Review
Cube Escape: Paradox Review
The White Door Review
Underground Blossom Review
Samsara Room Review
The Past Within Reivew

𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤𝑠 𝑐𝘩𝑒𝑐𝑘 𝑚𝑦 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑝𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐹𝑒𝑒𝑛𝑎'𝑠 𝐶𝘩𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒

Follow IndieGems for more reviews like this one.

Possibly the best simple point & click game I've played. The devs show substantial improvements from their first release, RL: Hotel, and I look forward to seeing more titles set in this universe or otherwise.

• Fantastic puzzles
  
• Disturbing & engaging storytelling.
  
• More than enough content here to justify the price
  
• Challenging and worthwhile post-game features.

I sincerely hope to see more Rusty Lake in the future.