Nobody does it like Rusty Lake.

Found Rusty Lake a couple years ago, and I’ve played the entire series multiple times through, completely fell in love with it. Been following the production of this game on Twitter, and it was well worth the wait. SUCH a great addition to the series. Storywise, the edge away from the tense, convoluted, mysterious rituals of the Vandermeers and the Vanderbooms and all of that does it a world of good - it strikes a softer tone, while still feeling like a Rusty Lake game, and part of the world. Mechanically, it’s significantly less complex than the other games (although I haven’t gone looking for the secrets yet so I might need to scribble symbols in a notebook yet) but all of the mechanics - new and old - are incredibly smooth, and feel satisfying. Things that were jerky but manageable in previous games, like the sliding on combination locks, feel so much better. Victor Butzelaar composed a lovely soundtrack, as usual. I have a soft spot for the sheer creepiness of the other main games, but I enjoyed this thoroughly, and I hope the team are happy with their work.

My Second Rusty Lake Game

I never write reviews for apps but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed two of Rusty Lakes games thus far. So, I really wanted to share my thoughts. I played Samsara Room for a few days and finished it and then started White Door last night. I’ve finished this afternoon. I feel as if there should be more to White Doors story from where it left off but overall, I really enjoyed the play through. I love the cognitive thinking and investigating outside of what’s the obvious. This is what has me so addicted to Rusty Lakes series of games. I did have to pay $2.99 for White Door and I’m disappointed that it only took me half a day to finish it. I feel like for basically $3 - it should be a longer play through. I suppose it just depends on each person how long their play through is with whatever they may or may not have their time dedicated to. But back to White Door, I love the story line and how it really portrays a battle of the mind. I feel that White Door was a little easier than Samsara - maybe because I know what to “look” for vs having to learn Rusty Lakes different methods of decoding and problem solving. I am taking a star off for having to pay for this app and it not taking even a day to finish. But other than that, this was a great cognitive game!

Finally an exceptional masterpiece!!

I want to thank you 🙏🏼 for my first game I have finished and my first review. I have tried many other apps and games but I usually get bored or a massive headaches trying to solve puzzles ,or better yet just looking for something that I will actually enjoy and want more. First off I have been diagnosed with dyslexia and because of the hard work that was put into this story book with pictures I was able to enjoy and finish this. I also want to thank you for the style of art and puzzle into a storybook I used to do when I was younger. This is a masterpiece and touching story that actually had been a part of my life. I can relate to the character in so many ways I became nostalgic and it really helped me look through the eyes of another’s life experience. I became so immersed in the story and never put it down until I was finished. I really really hope that I will see more games in this style, not everyone likes the style but it blew the lid off of my head. Thank you 🙏🏼.

I wanted to love this

This game had all the makings of a game I would typically love - quirky animation, nostalgic 70’s era, puzzles...I wanted to love this game. But I didn’t. Instead, I found myself increasingly frustrated and not enjoying the game at all. The storytelling is very very slow. The narration is almost deadpan and the actors for some reason have chosen to use American accents when they clearly aren’t American. The fact it takes place in the 70s makes zero difference to the story. Robert and his love are boring. We dont know why they have come together and we dont know why she has left. I didnt care at all about either of these characters. The puzzles themselves were often infuriating. Many of them are vague, follow no particular logic except trial and error and can be extremely specific (aligning two hands perfectly, coloring something in just right). This doesn’t challenge me as a puzzle game if I need to align random things just right. There’s no hints, no guidance. You’re forced to go online and it ruins the game because you end up always seeing way too much of the level just for one little puzzle. I wanted to enjoy this. I really did.

a beautiful game

Even though the style of the game slightly differs from the ones previous, I enjoyed it very much. I struggle with mental illness and always seek out games and any type of media that kindles empathy and allows a person to establish an emotional connection with a character or story. I had no clue what the story of this game entailed so when I started playing it that night it was released, I was immediately hooked and finished it that night. With every game you release, it seems as if we’re just getting bits and pieces of a puzzle that provides us with more and more clarity to the concept of what this whole story is about. I love it. It must take a lot of time and hard work to create something as special as this. So I wanted to express my appreciation for all you have done and thank you for being able to feel understood. Thank you thank you thank you.

A haunting yet unfinished story

This was my first play through of any Rusty Lake game and after this decent experience I’ll still go back and play some others. I like the setup and the game play, I was instantly pulled in and wanted to know why this man was in this situation. The puzzles are easy at first and I like how they get gradually more challenging as you progress through the game. There were certain points where I just needed an online guide towards the end, it got extremely difficult. Some of the puzzles were tedious. I loved the dream sequences and the sleepy and detached narration. Fits the game well. I was very perplexed by the ending but I did a little digging around and came to understand that I am not getting the full story by not playing the other games. I didn’t know that and I wish I did. So even when you play the hidden level, Sarah, it still feels unfinished. That was a major letdown for me and took away from the experience. But the music and atmosphere and most of the gameplay were great. The music is chilling and probably the best part of the game.

AMAZING YET TOUCHING

I’ve been playing the rusty lake series ever since I found them every puzzle is a new odd twist and is often very well thought out. This game in particular was quite touching and had a great story line but was kind of depressing to be honest. So many crazy emotions and crazy ideas harmonized to create this game I can’t even begin to think of how long this took to make. Thank you developers at rusty lake for this awesome game and amazing introduction to the games you create. Lastly I hope to see more games come out as I’ve finished almost if not every game by this group of developers and I'm looking for more so I’d love to try and play some new ones when they release. Hope this helped some people and once again thank you rusty lake for this thrilling creepy fun game.

Short and sweet, but not as deep

I love the rusty lake series, and I have played through them all. While this one is certainly the least “oh dear heavens what’s outside my window?!” and world-bending (while staying in the universe) of the series, it was very enjoyable. The story is esoteric and abstract, and classically somewhat convoluted. Beautiful music, and simple scenes to generate though. Much like GRIS. However, I love puzzles. I love Professor Layton, mist, all those where you’re hunting and clicking etc. that being said, I paid money for this game, and it was by far the easiest of the series. Not all secrets have been uncovered (so I guess those are stupid hard to even notice let alone solve), but considering I didn’t pay for the other rusty lakes I was left feeling a little...idk. Like it wasn’t worth the money? I happily paid money, I just didn’t expect to be done after 2 hours with the fun puzzles at the very end and that extra thing that happens if you’re clever.

'The White Door' is the latest game created by the developers behind Rusty Lake, and the first by publisher Second Maze.

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