The Tartarus Key

Absolutely lovely, main gameplay loop is a series of Escape Rooms basically and I was constantly reminded of the Zero Escape series as I went through it. Loved the experience beginning to end.

I played and completed this game in one sitting, it had me completely gripped. If you like a puzzle mystery game with a touch of haunter house/paranormal then this is the game for you. The graphics aren't great, but I loved the puzzles and the eerie vibe this game has.

I enjoyed this quite a lot! This kind of retro puzzle solving is right up my alley, and I had a great time working through the mansion. This is a relatively short experience that I had a great time going through and 100%ing, so off the bat I will happily recommend it to others. The puzzles themselves are the major mechanical draw, and on the whole they're well-executed and generally on a good level of difficulty, with a lovely added touch of uncertainty to the ones with weightier consequences for failure. There were one or two that I felt were a bit too obtuse, but nothing that detracted too heavily from the experience. The main loop you'll be spending your time executing is solid and you're rewarded for being explorative and curious - my only real complaint on this end is a bit of a lack of optional interactive elements in later puzzles. Early on there's a wealth of these, bits of scenery to poke and prod and hear Alex's thought process and perspective on this macabre situation, but these dry up some as the game goes on and I did feel it. Nothing major, of course, but it's a bit of a letdown to slowly lose opportunities to peek into the player character's mind. Speaking of, the characters are pretty good! They're definitely on the sketchier side of development, a more cynical player might call them caricatures, but their personalities and dynamics read well to me. I enjoyed my time with them, particularly the interplay between the most central characters Alex and Torres. My main complaint with the characters ultimately is that the game is relatively short, and so each rescue has less and less time available to flesh them out any. The biggest victim of this is also the game's one trans character which is.. unfortunate. More optional dialogue and interactions between puzzles would've been very welcome. The plot/lore is maybe the weakest element here? The central mystery of what exactly is going on is functional and I was interested, but the later developments and the supernatural elements didn't quite work for me. This may be related to my biggest disappointment, being that while the game has 3 endings, two didn't quite feel developed enough for my taste. The normal ending's intentional feeling of dissatisfaction invites you to delve deeper, but the subsequent true ending is.. a bit abrupt and not as distinct from the prior ending as it should be. The bad ending is a fun curiosity, certainly something you have to go out of your way to accomplish, but still a bit underdeveloped, generally lacking the feeling of emotional descent that it's clearly going for with dialogue that ought to have been changed for the scenario not being so. So! On the whole this is a fun and enjoyable experience, though a bit of an uneven one on the story side. I enjoyed my time in this world on either playthrough, and most of my complaints are just wishing the bolts were tightened and more development was given to its world and characters. Overall it's maybe a 7.5/10 for me?

Can't say I've delved much into escape room games, but this one grabbed my interest with its horror elements. Glad I took a gander, as I enjoyed it thoroughly!

A great adventure game with minor flaws. It's a short story in game form. Worth 5-10 bucks, but not the original 20 (not for lack of quality, simply due to length) - wait for a sale and enjoy! Personally I hope they make a sequel. Pro: The puzzles and story make sense. The characters are likeable and the pacing is for the most part alright. Horror and tension are not cheaply inflated by jump scares or pursuer type enemies, giving the player time to experience the story and environments. Con: It is too short. Besides Torres there is barely any interaction with the characters. You can save them and then talk with them twice (once per area). And for how grateful the characters are portrayed they sure don't give a damn about where Alex went in the True Ending.

It's a great first-person mystery game! I love the style, the dialogue, and the immersion. Everything is in place. I still haven't finished it yet, but it's already a thumbs up from me!