Similar iPad games to The Room?
July 30, 2014 3:44 PM Subscribe
7yo daughter and I really love Fireproof Games' The Room and The Room 2. But we've played them to death. Until another sequel comes out, what other similar iPad games are there?
The game is easy and accessible to get into, the puzzles are visual, challenging, but not too difficult, and it's atmospheric but not scary.
I was thinking perhaps Myst or Riven for iPad, although they're quite expensive. Are they good adaptions? Are the puzzles much more difficult than The Room? (I never played the originals.) What's the Myst / realMyst difference?
Any other game recommendations?
The game is easy and accessible to get into, the puzzles are visual, challenging, but not too difficult, and it's atmospheric but not scary.
I was thinking perhaps Myst or Riven for iPad, although they're quite expensive. Are they good adaptions? Are the puzzles much more difficult than The Room? (I never played the originals.) What's the Myst / realMyst difference?
Any other game recommendations?
For something with similar mechanics (in terms of solving different puzzles to advance), maybe things like Forever Lost, or the 100 Doors games, or some of the hidden object games (which also tend to include other puzzles), e.g. the Mystery Case Files games.
posted by pipeski at 4:01 PM on July 30, 2014
posted by pipeski at 4:01 PM on July 30, 2014
I don't have any iPad-specific reccomendations, but you'd probably find a lot of stuff by searching for "escape games" or "escape-the-room games."
Jayisgames reviews the best of the best of these. It's searchable by platform, and most of the games are free. There is a TON of beautiful, atmospheric stuff out there, similar in feel and gameplay to The Room. Also a lot of crap! Which is what makes that site useful. Good luck!
posted by jessicapierce at 4:05 PM on July 30, 2014 [4 favorites]
Jayisgames reviews the best of the best of these. It's searchable by platform, and most of the games are free. There is a TON of beautiful, atmospheric stuff out there, similar in feel and gameplay to The Room. Also a lot of crap! Which is what makes that site useful. Good luck!
posted by jessicapierce at 4:05 PM on July 30, 2014 [4 favorites]
In terms of a comparison between the Myst games and The Room games... The Room is much more condensed - you just work your way through lots and lots of puzzles. The Myst games have many puzzles too, but there's more of an exploration/visual element which involves wandering around looking for things, and a lot more of a story, which involves reading and watching other material, and that isn't always important in terms of advancing the puzzle-solving part of the game.
Other games that might scratch this particular itch are a couple by Fire Maple Games: The Lost City and Mosaika. Both are sort of mini-Myst-like games with lots of puzzle elements.
posted by pipeski at 4:07 PM on July 30, 2014
Other games that might scratch this particular itch are a couple by Fire Maple Games: The Lost City and Mosaika. Both are sort of mini-Myst-like games with lots of puzzle elements.
posted by pipeski at 4:07 PM on July 30, 2014
My seven-year-old daughter and I just played Broken Age (iPad version) which we both loved. Like Myst and Machinarium, it has a lot of story and exploration mixed in with the puzzles.
It is more expensive than most iPad games. Also note: the second half of the game hasn't been released yet; it's supposed to come out later this year. Act II will be a free update to the $25 PC version, or an additional purchase in the $10 iPad version.
posted by mbrubeck at 6:12 PM on July 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
It is more expensive than most iPad games. Also note: the second half of the game hasn't been released yet; it's supposed to come out later this year. Act II will be a free update to the $25 PC version, or an additional purchase in the $10 iPad version.
posted by mbrubeck at 6:12 PM on July 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
Have you played Monument Valley? It's very short (especially compared to The Room) but it is clever and it is gorgeous.
This is an AWESOME question, and I'll be watching the answers with keen interest.
posted by bibliogrrl at 6:20 PM on July 30, 2014
This is an AWESOME question, and I'll be watching the answers with keen interest.
posted by bibliogrrl at 6:20 PM on July 30, 2014
I enjoyed The Lost City and The Secret of Grisly Manor. I haven't played The Room, but it seems similar -- exploring, solving puzzles.
I also downloaded Twisted Lands and Lost Circus because they're also the same kind of exploration/puzzle game. I haven't had time to play them yet so I can't say if they're any good.
posted by duoshao at 6:47 PM on July 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
I also downloaded Twisted Lands and Lost Circus because they're also the same kind of exploration/puzzle game. I haven't had time to play them yet so I can't say if they're any good.
posted by duoshao at 6:47 PM on July 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
I love The Room and also liked The Silent Age; as well as Doors&Rooms and Doors&Rooms2, which are more like room-escape games but also atmospheric and with clever but relatively simple puzzles.
posted by googly at 8:10 PM on July 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by googly at 8:10 PM on July 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
Okay, Myst and Riven. I can't speak to the experience on the iPad (though I imagine that both Myst and Riven work fine on it--the PC interaction is purely point & click with the mouse), but they are regarded as the classics of the exploration puzzle genre, and are IMHO very good games. They are also quite detailed and fairly long games; I'd honestly say the ~$5 price point for each of them is a pretty good deal considering what you get.
I'm not sure I'd recommend them for a 7 year old, as they are somewhat dark; not exactly jump-out-at-you scary, but they don't shy away from a few morbid themes, either. The puzzles in both of them are on the difficult side, requiring some lateral thinking (or a trip to a walkthrough/guide) occasionally. I haven't played The Room, so I don't really know how to compare them in difficulty, but it is the sort of game that you are very likely to get stuck on at some point, especially since some (most?) of the puzzles require putting together multiple disparate pieces of information together, and those pieces can be scattered throughout the world you explore.
The difference between Myst and realMyst is primarily one of graphical fidelity; realMyst is rendered in realtime 3D using a more modern game engine and should look a bit better than Myst, and it will also contain an additional location to explore that wasn't in the original game. Riven is the sequel to Myst, and is a deeper, richer and more challenging game, set in the same general universe.
It looks like Cyan has a free demo version of Myst that includes the first area in the game if you want to try it out. It should give you a decent sense of whether it's something you'd like to spend money on. Again, I personally think you should wait until your kid is a bit older before diving into it with her (the game is rated 12+ on the App Store), but perhaps keep it in mind for later. And, of course, if you're looking for something to play on your own, I'd definitely recommend taking a look.
posted by Aleyn at 11:37 PM on July 30, 2014
I'm not sure I'd recommend them for a 7 year old, as they are somewhat dark; not exactly jump-out-at-you scary, but they don't shy away from a few morbid themes, either. The puzzles in both of them are on the difficult side, requiring some lateral thinking (or a trip to a walkthrough/guide) occasionally. I haven't played The Room, so I don't really know how to compare them in difficulty, but it is the sort of game that you are very likely to get stuck on at some point, especially since some (most?) of the puzzles require putting together multiple disparate pieces of information together, and those pieces can be scattered throughout the world you explore.
The difference between Myst and realMyst is primarily one of graphical fidelity; realMyst is rendered in realtime 3D using a more modern game engine and should look a bit better than Myst, and it will also contain an additional location to explore that wasn't in the original game. Riven is the sequel to Myst, and is a deeper, richer and more challenging game, set in the same general universe.
It looks like Cyan has a free demo version of Myst that includes the first area in the game if you want to try it out. It should give you a decent sense of whether it's something you'd like to spend money on. Again, I personally think you should wait until your kid is a bit older before diving into it with her (the game is rated 12+ on the App Store), but perhaps keep it in mind for later. And, of course, if you're looking for something to play on your own, I'd definitely recommend taking a look.
posted by Aleyn at 11:37 PM on July 30, 2014
Response by poster: These are brilliant answers.
Yes, Monument Valley is perfect, and we have both played it through many times. I'm eagerly awaiting the extra levels that have been hinted at.
We've played and enjoyed Samorost, Machinarium, and Broken Age on the PC already... but perhaps having them on the iPad will spur a re-play.
You've given me plenty to try out though. Thanks!
posted by snarfois at 12:09 AM on July 31, 2014
Yes, Monument Valley is perfect, and we have both played it through many times. I'm eagerly awaiting the extra levels that have been hinted at.
We've played and enjoyed Samorost, Machinarium, and Broken Age on the PC already... but perhaps having them on the iPad will spur a re-play.
You've given me plenty to try out though. Thanks!
posted by snarfois at 12:09 AM on July 31, 2014
Response by poster: So we played Drawn – The Painted Tower tonight. Absolutely perfect. Daughter found it challenging but could generally solve the puzzles by herself. (Obviously just at the beginning stages so far.) She can't wait to play again. I love the art and music, and the literary tone. I installed the free version, but will definitely be upgrading. Thanks jbickers!
posted by snarfois at 3:01 PM on July 31, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by snarfois at 3:01 PM on July 31, 2014 [2 favorites]
Best answer: To summarise, here are all the games that were recommended:
posted by snarfois at 3:35 PM on July 31, 2014 [7 favorites]
- Tiny Bang Story looks lovely
- Machinarium & Botanicula (Samorost isn't available for iOS) - already love this on PC
- Monument Valley - every iPad owner should have this
- Forever Lost (too scary by the looks of it)
- 100 Doors (looks a bit too hard)
- Mystery Case Files, Twisted Lands, and others by Big Fish Games also look a bit too mature
- The Lost City, The Secret of Grisly Manor and Mosaika from Fire Maple Games look good
- Broken Age - already love this on PC
- Lost Circus looks good but perhaps too scary
- The Silent Age looks good but probably a bit too mature
- Doors & Rooms looks great, but perhaps too difficult
- Tengami looks great
- Myst and Riven - perhaps still too difficult, but will get this at some point
- Drawn - The Painted Tower - love it (I see this is also by Big Fish)
posted by snarfois at 3:35 PM on July 31, 2014 [7 favorites]
Maybe one of the Puzzle Agent games or Little Inferno?
posted by halfsquaretriangle at 7:51 PM on July 31, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by halfsquaretriangle at 7:51 PM on July 31, 2014 [2 favorites]
You might also enjoy Tiny Thief. My 7-year-old played it quite a bit (with me, and by himself). It's not so much a set of puzzles, more a set of levels which are each a puzzle (i.e. 'how do I find and collect all the things I need without being caught'). No scary or adult elements, just bits of slapstick humour. If you like the first few levels, the full set of episodes is reasonably priced and requires a single in-app purchase.
posted by pipeski at 9:18 AM on August 1, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by pipeski at 9:18 AM on August 1, 2014 [2 favorites]
You know about Big Fish games, right? They released the Drawn games. At least 20% of their games are puzzle type games with a story - some are clearly better than others, but I'm completely addicted and play most of them. If you're looking for something to play with your daughter, I highly, highly recommend the Awakening series - I've played them all with my 8-year old daughters and they love it. We're working our way through the most recent one now.
posted by widdershins at 10:34 AM on August 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by widdershins at 10:34 AM on August 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
Doggins is a simple game with a great style and a very sweet story. I adored it. Very safe for kids.
The Inner World is a new point and click adventure done in an old school style. It's funny, the story keeps it light and it will take many hours to finish. It's easier than the Myst games but a similar style of game play. Main characters are children, I don't remember anything being too mature.
Monsters Ate My Birthday Cake is a series of puzzle levels, the story is charming and funny. Each level has a basic path to being solved or you can challenge yourself to get three stars in each level. There is a possibility that the puzzles might become too difficult for a kid after a point. Lots of fart humor but nothing inappropriate for kids.
I'm going to second Tiny Thief (with emphasis) and Broken Age.
posted by Miss Matheson at 1:52 PM on August 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
The Inner World is a new point and click adventure done in an old school style. It's funny, the story keeps it light and it will take many hours to finish. It's easier than the Myst games but a similar style of game play. Main characters are children, I don't remember anything being too mature.
Monsters Ate My Birthday Cake is a series of puzzle levels, the story is charming and funny. Each level has a basic path to being solved or you can challenge yourself to get three stars in each level. There is a possibility that the puzzles might become too difficult for a kid after a point. Lots of fart humor but nothing inappropriate for kids.
I'm going to second Tiny Thief (with emphasis) and Broken Age.
posted by Miss Matheson at 1:52 PM on August 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
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All somewhat different to The Room, but all beautiful and quirky and puzzling, which are the things that I liked about The Room (and The Room 2).
posted by pipeski at 3:55 PM on July 30, 2014 [6 favorites]