CRIMSON ROOM® DECADE

I knew this would be different from the original Crimson Room going into it, but I didn't think I'd be as disappointed as I was. I got this game on sale since I was wary, but it just was not the same at all. There were some call-backs to the original game, but the story, vibe, puzzles--everything--were just so different, and not in a good way. It's a great concept for this game to be remade in the form of a sequel of sorts, someone new visiting the Crimson Room, but it's just not a good game. I adored the first one so much so this one fell really really REALLY flat for me. It just wasn't as fun and I really didn't care about what was happening. The puzzles also didn't hit the mark. And this game is in the horror category, but there is zero horror in this game whereas in the first game there definitely was. It was atmospherically quite frightening whereas this one is just very boring.

All in all, if you're a fan of the original game and game series, you will probably not like this one at all. If you're completely new to this game though, you might enjoy it, but I don't recommend this game even to people who have never heard of Crimson Room before. I hate to say it, but it was just so lacking and devoid of the same love and suspense and artistry that the original games had.

+

Not a fan of this game but the puzzels really make me think. Comforting game :)

I've played loads of escape room games and I basically think the pricepoint is incorrect. £3-4 would be a more reasonable offering (even then I would normally wait for a sale). For this price I would recommend getting Brothers Saloon or The Initiate instead - much vaster games with many more puzzles.

Just because of the price point I have to give it a negative review, simply as it is not value for money.

I was a great fan of the original Crimson Room game way back in the day (2006?). It paved the way for my love of escape games.

Imagine my excitement when I saw that Takagism was back with a Crimson Room.... sequel/remake/tribute/something.

It's just... not very good by today's standards. It is still a bit pixel hunt-y. There are interactions that don't immediately make sense. In fact if you do play this, you must go into it assuming that this is not reality. A certain puzzle element occurs that you may not notice because there's no real connection between the two things until you notice it by chance.

It's really a click everything and hope it works sort of scenario, except if you remember the original crimson room then you'll know a few of the steps that make a return.

There's about an hour of gameplay here. I got this for 3 bucks on sale. It was a nice nostalgia trip but ultimately a disappointment. If Takagism wants to move forward with Viridian Room, I hope it's better than this.

Crimson Room: Decade is the return of the popular flash escape room game: Crimson Room. Returning to the place after 10 years, there are still some secrets unsolved. While plenty of love was given to the flash game, it seems like the same doesn't apply for the recent version.

Graphics:
I love the atmosphere of the game and the details of the items. There are a few problems I have with it, however. One thing is because of the ways items are placed or scattered, it can affect movement. For example, the drawer on the floor and opening the drawer. The delay of closing and opening and picking up moves the character, which I will get into detail on controls. The way some items are hidden, like the bed lump at the beginning and the pencil at the end, makes it very hard to spot. Later on in the game, it seems like some scenes and items were thrown together in haste...literally...

Controls:
ASWD to move, right click to look at the item you're holding, left click to inspect an item, shift to crouch. The controls are slow and delayed. As mentioned in graphics, sometimes the items force you to move to the side or back. Sometimes, you can barely maneuver in the room when stuff is on the floor, which feels like an obstacle course.

Story:
You play as a frenchman, who is investigating the Crimson Room once again while leaving his pregnant wife back at home. The notes hint his relationships with the captain and crew with suspicions of brainwashing and such.

Gameplay:
I hate to say the gameplay is a bit infuriating. As stated before in graphics, some items are hard to find. One instance that I got ticked off was figuring out how to wipe the numbers clean. Well, obviously I have to cut the curtain and put it in the water. Nope. I had to make the safe numbers say that I have to clean it in order to first cut the curtain. Why do we need a prompt for something so obvious? Some cases are the same with other items and actions, which makes the game hard to figure out. Another thing is items spawn in the dark drawer only when the light is shine. It's common sense sometimes to reach out or squint in the dark, but in this case...apparently not. I can understand a flash game...but a 3d game?

Music:
I love the music used throughout in the game, except for the ending them...which I felt it took a sudden turn on the type of song and notes. Otherwise, great music you can get into.

Overall:
I remembered Crimson Room fondly. It was something to play and fool with in spare time and something enjoyable. I was stoked when I found out about Crimson Room: Decade. However, I was disappointed after I played it. While the music was good and it did try to stay close to the original, it just didn't catch up to the present day games. With stiff controls, graphics interfering with movement, and some graphics cheaply made, Crimson Room: Decade should have added a few more years to prepare itself to come back. If there is a good sale (if it's under 4$), I'd say it's worth getting. Otherwise, it's not worth the $10 price tag.

Pros:
-Great music (except for the ending).
-Atmosphere staying true to the original and to present-day games.

???:
-Graphics (some parts are good. some parts are cheap.)

Cons:
-Stiff and slow controls.
-Objects interfere with movement and can get you stuck for a bit sometimes.
-You have to keep inspecting the same thing for some things over and over in order to progress.

I was a huge fan of the original Crimson Room series of games in 2004-2005 and was eager to check this one out. It's not a bad game, but it's also not the best one in the series, to me White Chamber and the original Crimson Room hold that position each for their own reasons. Decade's strongest point is the familiarity of the environment and all of the nods it makes to the original game. It is interesting how many of the objects and puzzles from the first game reappear here but are used in different ways.

The game's weakest point is its story. I don't know if there is a "Crimson Room canon", but this one deviates from the original game and rewrites it. I know that the game's developer TAKAGISM really liked to weave existential concepts into his games though, and this one is just one big metaphor itself. I cannot fault him for that, but it is a little bit of a let down for this game to not follow in the footsteps of its predecessors.

Decade is absolutely worth checking out if you're a fan of the series. It's not the best, but it's far from the worst.

Thumbs down. This game isn't intuitive. I stopped playing after clumsily solving a couple of the puzzles, but even after solving them i felt like the solution didn't make sense. for example, who would think to use a pocket knife gut hook to open a battery compartment? i could've understood using it to open a can, or if it would let me use the knife to open the battery compartnment, or better yet -give us the screwdriver part to use.... but a gut hook? No. just no.

I love all escape games, but this is truly putrid. There is no explanation to how anything works. I see this "bump" that everyone mentions. I have no clue how to interact with it. I've tried up, down, left, right, RMB, LMB, escape. I've tried different items on it, but I hardly understand how to use items besides putting them on the shelf. This game is the worst of what a point and click adventure game has to offer. I played every single freeware, escape the colored room the internet had/has to offer. Do yourself a favor and play old Lucas Arts games or go to Rusty Lake/Cube Escape. I am going to keep stumbling through this, but please don't be as lame brained as me. This is something the developers should lose sleep over if they have a shred of decency.

I enjoy escape the room games, but I cannot recommend this game, even on sale. What initially seems to be a logical escape the room game with an intriguing mystery that could easily be based in reality, quickly turns into solving puzzles using magic, not logic.

Many of this game's puzzle solutions have only a loosely connected cause and effect, with the only common thread being "association." The calendar is especially bad about this, with most puzzles related to it coming off as far-fetched at best. At one point, one of your items that seems to serve no real purpose is impossibly transformed into another object entirely (not traded for; literally transformed), simply to give you something to interact with. The end of the game is abrupt and unsatisfying, further perpetuating the "solving puzzles with magic" problem. Toss in the occasional pixel hunt and you have yourself a recipe for a bad time.

Good short room escape game based on earlier game ^^
Too bad it's too short and the price is kinda high

Ohh what a throwback to the original Escape series i played on Albino black sheep in elementary school! a good puzzle, albeit not feeling quite as intuitive as the original. the controls felt a little clunky and its frustrating to not be able to pick up something directly under you, insdtead having to step back a bit to collect it.
storywise it was fairly engaging! i lost some of the mystery of the first one (where you have no explanation no background, just a goal of escape), but the story was interesting enough that i picked up each page happily.
awesome to see Takagi still kickin!
i bought this onsale for 3 dollars and i think i got my money's worth... but if you're on the fence, wait for a sale. its not quite worth the full price, sadly.

and that ending tho...

This game is not terrible -- but it has enough flaws that unfortunately do not allow me to recommend it in good conscience. Crimson Room: Decade is an escape the room puzzle game with an unsettling mood. The puzzles themselves are the primary source of trouble. There are two primary ways to approach puzzle design in video games. You either create puzzles that organically come to from the games story and purpose, or, you create puzzles that might not be directly related to the game's thematic but serve as a level obstacle that rewards the player in some way, adds an element of analytical thiking to the level or extends the overall runtime of your game. Moreover, a key factor in puzzle design is the delicate balance between difficulty and purpose. You might design a unique puzzle that beautifully relates to the story and serves to progress it forward, but, for instance, if the solution is not intuitive (or deductive) enough, or the gamplay is repetitive and boring, or the intended time spent on it is too long, then you might take the player out of the game and ruin the overall feel of your level.

Crimson Room: Decade, unfortunately, does exactly that. The puzzles are challenging, sure, but not only do they feel that they were simply implanted in the game with no clear context, or purpose, but the solutions sometimes do not seem logical and the time spent on each one does not seem satisfying relative to the price of the game and the ending. This brings me to my other two supplemental criticism for this game: price and writing. For the frist, it's quite simple. I believe this game is too expensive for both the content it provides and the time spent playing it. For the latter comment, it is a bit more complicated.

The writing, in of itself, is not terrible -- but the manner by which its presented is not effective. The story is inherently convoluted, and the method by which the player figures it out does not help. You learn about your situation and why you're stuck in crimson red room by finding anachronistic pages of a journal someone else wrote. Moreover, the text is small, filled with out-of-context quotes and motif and devoid of fleshed out characters. All of this makes it hard for the player to care, particularly after solving seemingly random challenging puzzles, about the story or the characters. The ending, for example, is incredibly surrealistic, and instead of reading as a thematic twist, it just seems unnecesary and ineffective.

I like this game, but considering how short it is I cannot recommend it for even half its price, even less so considering the moon logic needed to solve some puzzles.

With games like these, sometimes I wish there was a "Mid-way" other than "Recommended" and "Not Recommended".
Let me tell you why.

Personally, I think that this game is gonna be mostly enjoyed by old-time fans of the original series (like me).
The game is the Escape from the Room type, but this time with a first-person perspective instead of simple point and click.
The idea works rather well and the creepy atmosphere without cheap jumpscares really makes it worth. The puzzles can be quite challenging but some of these might need to think REALLY outside the box, for example it's just by accident that I discovered that moving the curtains would make the days on the calendar move forward.
However, the new mechanics really made the experience refreshing for me and made me really like the few hours I had with it. The ending is... err... no, not gonna say that. But I'm pretty sure you're gonna exclaim at least a "... WHAT?!".

But now... it's time for the cons.
The game is REALLY short. In two or three hours you'll probably finish it (even less if you played the demo first) and the only thing that MIGHT make you continue are the achievements... but most of them are extremely simple to get, except one, maybe. Once you get everything and finish the game once... well, you won't be able to play the game anymore because by now you'll know the solution and everything will become extremely easy. You'll probably play it again only if you want to live again the experience (that's why I finished Entwined Story Mode on PS3 multiple times, for example).
OR... you can call a friend at home, make them play and watch them struggling trying to find the solution while you look at them smiling evily because you know.

I kinda wished for more content, like Crimson Room Reverse on PSP, but... eh, it's still pretty nice. I'm hoping for the realease of "Viridian Room Decade", "Blue Chamber Decade" and "White Chamber Decade".

Can I recommend this to everyone, however? Nnnnnot really, not full price at least. Maybe wait for a price drop and remember that it's gonna be a short but tense experience.

Oh a final note, which I think is mostly subjective: you may get motion sickness after a while, probably due to how the area is small.

Note: I never played the original. I rate this one as a lean to the recommend side. More so if your the type that is a big fan of "Escape from the Room " games. If so , then this is for you. There are only a couple of points of more than mild frustration where you may want to leave for an hour or a day and then return with a fresh look on things.
Solving the puzzles is mildly rewarding. They are on the clever side but not analytical like chess games or solving a code. My biggest complaint is that on some puzzles, once solved, the resultant activity that automatically occurs has no logical bearing to the solution. For example, why would playing a record on a record player cause the door to the room to explode open? Why would smacking a light bulb cause it to thunder and lightning outside? Why would anyone want to put a postcard in a microwave oven and then why would putting a post card in a microwave oven cause the postcard to turn into a toy boat? Minor things like that. It's a world where logic, even the shaky logic of the gaming world, does not apply.
Note: You can reach the end of the game without reading all the hidden letters.
The hardest puzzle is the safe combination lock. Finding the combination is not intuitive and I believe that each player of this game will have a different combination. I'm not 100% sure on this , so anyone chime in if you know.

I had to buy this game after playing the demo.

It was quite hard, but everyone can solve its mysteries.

Pros: -Nice feeling
-Great Story

Cons: -Too short
-10€ is way too much

I had a lot of fun playing it!

I love escape games (I work at a live escape room venue) and I loved the Crimson Room original, so when I saw they had made a new, beefed up adaptation I had to have it. The nostalgia factor is high, and they play that card in the best possible way--rewarding you for remembering certain item locations and holding on to just enough of the original images to validate the returning player, while still adding new mechanics, perspectives, and atmosphere to make a completely new game.

The puzzles were medium to dificult. Some of them seemed a bit arbitrary, but par for the genre. A few times I consulted the guide to find that I had been using the right item(s) but hadn't clicked in *exactly* the right spot to activate the next step, which was annoying. Despite having multiple 'levels' (or phases) the game didn't seem to increase in difficulty or change dynamically as it progressed, which is my major complaint against it. The narrative 'plot' was a little stupid to me ('OH NOES COMMUNISM' is overdone and dated, imo) and felt tacked on. It would have been exactly the same game without the documents/letters that dictate a plot to the player.

Overall: a fun, short game that will please returning fans. Probably doesn't hold up as well if you don't have nostalgia for the old game.

Huge fan of the original. Waayy back in the day I was obsessed with flash games and came across this and the Verdian Room. Played them over and over. Loved them to death. Was waiting and waiting for that Tangerine Room or what ever it was called and was sad it never came. Randomly came across this looking at games on Steam and instantly knew I had to buy it. So far I'm already stuck but I will proceed! The original Crimson Room is timeless. So timeless in fact it is legendary status in my opinion. And considering all of these Crimson Room inspired escape attractions popping up. More people should know where it all started. Not that 5 Witts crap though, that place was for kids. Glad to see Takagism back at it again! Time to boot up that music on takagism.net that hits me right in the nostalgia feelings and drop back into trying to escape the Crimson Room! PS. I'd love to win one of those t shirts!

This was a blast from the past, but it's also definitely not the same flash game I used to be stumped by. The puzzles are more layered and clever, and it keeps throwing out interesting twists that change the entire playing field. Even without the thick line graphics, Decade has the same strange atmosphere and design that made Crimson Room so popular, and it wwas definitely worth the price for this nostalgic flash lover.

For everyone else, maybe wait for a sale, but if you played the original, you really should play this. You will not see the end coming.

I've been a massive fan of the Crimson Room games for years; I played all four original games back in 2004, bought and played the DS and PSP ports, and bought the iPhone version too. I've been waiting for this game to come out for ages, and it definitely didn't disappoint! Whether you played the originals, love room escape games or just want a good puzzle game, this is the game for you.

As with the original Crimson Room from 12 years ago, this one kept me stumped for a little too long.
No, seriously, guys. I had a session with over 160 minutes where I did absolutely nothing, and the previous day I wandered around aimlessly for 2 hours. And all because I didn't notice a bump.

Crimson Room: Decade is a remake of the original Crimson Room game by TAKAGISM. Other than the name, the room and a couple of items and references, everything else is new. Instead of point'n'click, now you actually walk around the tiny room and look for clues and items to help you escape and uncover the secrets of La Crimson, the ship that the main character's grandfather spent his last days in.

Unlike the original, where sometimes you had to click on random places to get what you needed (I'm looking at you, you damn battery), most of CR: D is logical (except for some bits after a literal twist).

Throughout the game, you can find diary papers that show pieces of the history of the protagonist's grandfather that you can put together to have an insight of the true purpose of the room. And if you played the original back in 2004, it'll also take you on a trip down memory lane. In my case, it took me back to my childhood, when I was a 9 years-old boy learning how to use the internet.

The game is great, it's not so hard, and if you can't logically do something, you can always click on everything like in other point'n'click games. Or, like on the good old times, get together with a bunch of nice people to solve the mystery.

There's a bit of nonsense to it, specially at the end, and some of the puzzles rely on it as well. But hey, the original one had a movie of a man dancing pointing you to a safe hidden behind a fake panel on a wall, so...

Other than that, the game is very good. If you're already acquainted to Crimson Room or other Escape the Room games, give this one a try, you won't regret it. And if you've never played, then this is a good one to start with.