Our Secret Below

I enjoy these kinds of "figure it out" horror/suspense games, and this one was pretty cool. The story was creepy, despite me putting it together pretty early on. I love that there are multiple endings, and the solutions to the puzzles change on you with each try. Some of the "flashbacks" were ultra creepy and fun. Looking forward to finding the other two endings!

If you like escape the room games you will like Our Secret Below. As far as puzzles and difficulty are concerned, this game is one of the harder and higher quality examples out there. There is also a pretty good helping of things to learn and read and story beats to earn, all with above average presentation, especially for a solo developer. Despite doing a great job of scratching the spooky puzzle game itch (far more capably than most of the now common Twitch bait horror games do), Our Secret Below is not a perfect game. I will try to explain why while keeping any spoilers vague. The premise of the game is that you are a woman trapped in a kidnapper's basement. There are some notes from other women to help you figure out how to escape and you have to start over if the kidnapper comes downstairs while you're out and about. Nothing ground breaking, but interesting enough to justify some puzzles and add some tension. The very beginning of the game starts familiarly enough -- you find keys and locked boxes and various other puzzles to solve and make slow but sure progress. The tension of having to start over again if your captor catches you is compelling. Unfortunately, there is a relatively simple (and sort of annoying) intended method to ensure he never does that I think most players will figure out very quickly. This is a little at odds with a poorly-explained note taking system that allows you to leave sticky notes next to solved puzzles so you don't need to go through the motions again. Each new "run" randomly generates new codes/numbers/symbols (although not for everything) and using the sticky note system keeps this from happening. The game introduces the broad strokes of its twist a little too quickly, allowing the player to guess at 80% of what is actually going on after solving a few puzzles. The last two thirds of the game is more puzzle solving at the same pace and clarifying the details of the final 20% to make what's happening sort of make sense. It is difficult to describe the story without major spoilers so I will be extremely vague. The twist will be familiar to most players and does not make much of an attempt to distinguish itself from or improve upon other stories from which it takes inspiration. A lot of the story is made up of flimsy contrivances to justify stitching key bits together. I don't believe there are any plot holes exactly, but there are a dozen small things that don't quite add up. Still, I have to give the developer a lot of credit for putting together a story that is enhanced by playing the perspective character since very, very few game stories truly take advantage of the medium. It cannot be stressed enough that, despite its flaws, the story is enjoyable and stronger than what you get in many triple A titles. Although the puzzles are pleasingly challenging for the most part, some areas of Our Secret Below's problem solving are unpleasantly convoluted. I think many players will find a puzzle or two aggravatingly difficult and even the ones they enjoy often don't make a ton of sense in the context of the world. The meticulousness with which your captor has hidden away various bits and codes you need to progress makes the game feel, well, like a game. This would be less of an issue if the game was not trying to tell a serious, immersive story. Even worse, some of the requirements for the extra endings (which are more like critical story beats on the way to the true ending) are comically contrived and completely immersion breaking. It would be one thing if you simply had to puzzle out what to do all in one run, but you are forced to repeat a variety of mundane puzzles while hoping that you trigger things in the correct order. Fail to do so and you need to watch an ending cutscene you have already watched and go through the tedium of trying again. The sticky note system becomes an absolute life saver here since no one would willingly play through the full puzzle series again for the hope of a different 2 minute cutscene. If you have read this far, you may be wondering how Our Secret Below compares to this developer's newer, more well-known game, Mortuary Assistant. Right off the bat, you will notice a lot of similarities between the two: the inventory system, code and symbol puzzles, repeating actions in the same room, jump scares, and hallucination walking simulator sections. The biggest difference is that Mortuary Assistant puts you on an actual timer and forces you to repeat tedious actions much, much more. Additionally, Mortuary Assistant is legitimately 20 times easier and the puzzles are extremely simple. All in all, I liked Our Secret Below better. Mortuary Assistant is mostly an experience while Our Secret Below is more of a game. Our Secret Below also wins out in story. Bonus: it's also half the price. If you like puzzles, escaping rooms, reading journals, discovering twists, and spooky moments, you will like this game. If you do not like these things you will probably not like it.