The Room VR: A Dark Matter

Thankfully, it is a perfect fit for VR, and the series’ barebone narrative makes this is a great chance for newcomers to jump onboard. The puzzle-box gameplay is great for VR, and Fireproof’s moody environments should delight fans of atmospheric horror. In some ways, A Dark Matter is the culmination of everything Fireproof has done on mobile, but I also hope that it is a new beginning for the series in VR.

Fascinating mechanical puzzles with you in the center.

While lighter on adventure elements than earlier games in the series, the gameplay is as innovative and fun as ever (with one or two exceptions), and the story of The Craftsman is advanced in an interesting way. If you have the proper hardware and enjoy puzzles, The Room VR is a must-have for your collection.

The Room VR: A Dark Matter is great. It’s got plenty of unique puzzles, which never felt overused once, and has some very creative environments. It also has a deeply mysterious story, which was designed in the same vein as the original mobile games in the series. Consequently, in the same vein as those, it didn’t feel like it was a completely new and authentic VR experience. The developers didn’t utilise all that VR is capable of, which is a real bummer for what this title could have ultimately been.

If you’re a fan of the franchise then you won’t be disappointed with The Room VR: A Dark Matter as Fireproof Games continues to improve upon the gameplay. For those that have never played The Room before, then its standalone storyline won’t make you feel like you’ve missed out. Varied environments filled with detail, rich lore and polished puzzles prove that The Room VR: A Dark Matter is an essential VR puzzler for all fans of the genre.

The Room VR: A Dark Matter is an exemplary puzzle game that not only serves as a prime example of what makes puzzle games so compelling in the first place, but elevates the genre via VR with supreme interactivity, excellent visuals, and a palpably mysterious atmosphere. It’s only held back slightly by some minor frustrations with pacing and difficulty, but is otherwise one of the best puzzle games available in a VR headset. It carries the torch lit by Myst and demonstrates how engrossing a puzzle game can be when done right.

As well designed as the game is though, its also very short. Only a few short hours in and the game will be over. With little in the way of replay value since you'll already know how to solve all the puzzles, there's not a ton of long term value here. While it lasted I really enjoyed The Room VR: A Dark Matter but it ultimately left me wanting more. More environments, more movement options, more story. For the right price, I definitely recommend experiencing it but what I'm really looking forward to is a follow-up, to see if a great start can be grown into a truly great game.

The Room VR: A Dark Matter does a great job of making its interactive puzzle boxes more than just hunting for the right knob, often leaning into what VR does best by putting you into cool situations that are shown off in flashy and polished fashion. Unfortunately, there’s just not a lot of it here, and its intricate detail can occasionally cause confusion as you flail at the mostly inert world around you. Still, its two hours of puzzles were certainly worth solving.