VR: Vacate the Room (Virtual Reality Escape)

VR: Vacate the Room from hOSHI was billed as the first VR escape room on Steam when it entered early access in 2016. It is a single room-scale escape room: no teleporting or stick movement, you physically walk, crouch and reach to search for fuses, notes and codes. Once you escape, a second round in the same room brings harder puzzles and an alternative ending. It suits VR owners wanting a cheap, short taste of a real-life escape room.

The small player base is mostly positive: about 163 of 187 Steam reviews recommend it. Players praise the sense of physically being in the room, crawling on the floor and peeking behind furniture, and the way it fits smaller play areas. Most call the first round easy and more about searching than thinking, while the second round has at least one clever, tough puzzle.

Age shows. Reviewers mention dated graphics, finicky grabbing, a red-lamp code that is hard to read, and items hidden in awkward spots. Most players finish in well under an hour, a bit more with the second round. At a few dollars, ideally on sale, it is a fine introduction; VR owners after depth should look at newer escape rooms.