EscapeVR: The Basement
Genres: Puzzle, Escape Room, Mystery, Atmospheric, Adventure
Play modes: singleplayer, VRONLY
Release Date: 7-11-2016
Rating: 4.5/5
Developer: Five Mind Creations, Sourcenity
Our verdict
6.5/10
- Difficulty: Easy
- Players: 1
- Playtime: <1 h
EscapeVR: The Basement is an early room-scale VR escape game, inspired by real-life escape rooms. You wake in a bare cell with a bed, a toilet and some dishes, then work your way through seven small rooms across three areas. It needs a VR headset and suits newcomers to VR or to escape rooms who want a short, gentle first session.
Players are split. Fans say the puzzles follow sound logic, call it a good introduction to VR, and describe forgetting their living room while dodging virtual tables. Critics say each room is padded with dozens of objects you can pick up but only one or two that matter, so much of the time goes into handling clutter rather than solving. Some also call the physics wobbly and a few tasks illogical.
The biggest caveat is length. Most players finish in under an hour, and several did it in 20 to 45 minutes, which many felt did not match the price. Teleport and snap-turn movement keep it comfortable. Pick it up on a deep discount as a first VR escape room; experienced puzzlers will find it too thin.
Pros
- Room-scale VR that makes physical props feel present
- Fair, logical puzzles suited to VR and escape-room beginners
- Teleport and snap-turn options keep it comfortable
Cons
- Often finished in 20 to 45 minutes
- Rooms padded with pick-up clutter, few real puzzles
- Wobbly physics and a few illogical tasks
- Full price feels high for the length
About
EscapeVR: The Basement is an 'Escape The Room' genre game which was inspired by real-life escape games and designed from the ground up as a room-scale virtual reality experience for the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift+Touch (360° setup), and Windows Mixed Reality (WMR) headsets.
You find yourself locked in the cell of an unknown basement with nothing else than a bed, a toilet, and some dishes. Can you escape? Explore the environment, solve puzzles, discover useful items, investigate clues, and find your way through a total of seven rooms in three areas to -hopefully- escape the basement of this VR escape room game!
