The Unwelcomed

[h1]Introduction[/h1] Calling The Unwelcomed, an “uninspired choice” may not be entirely accurate. True, it has quite a few flaws which I’ll explain in detail below, yet for a Steam debut and a title that offers both VR and Non-VR support, I’d say that it eventually redeems itself in my eyes. Developed by The Unwelcomed Studios and Isolation Inc, the game on “today’s menu” is an almost abstract puzzler which I tested with my trusty mouse + keyboard configuration. It’s 2018 and VR headsets are still overpriced gimmicks, sadly. Guess we’ll have to wait another year or two for appropriate price tags on those. It’s not like GPUs haven’t doubled in price thanks to cryptocurrency mining. Strange and equally troubling times for PC gamers, indeed… [h1]Story[/h1] The Unwelcomed’s story is stranger still. It starts off nice and promising in the tutorial level but then falls off a proverbial cliff within the main levels of the game. First things first. The tutorial presents us with a modern apartment belonging to a certain anonymous guy (the voice acting can at least confirm his gender) which receives a letter from lawyer about an inheritance. Of course that our hero had a long lost uncle, wealthy to the point of owning a sizeable estate but certainly not bright enough to remember that he had any living relatives while he was still alive and kicking. Whoever sent the letter, invites you to this presumably inherited mansion and they’re quite eager for you to get there ASAP. I’d almost call this spam or some sort of financial scheme if the next level wouldn’t actually take place in the rundown mansion you were "lucky" to inherit. From here onwards, it just keeps getting weirder. And I don’t mean haunted-mansion-weird. The place is deserted and you have access to seven rooms which contain puzzles of varying complexity, but fairly easy to figure out nonetheless. What I found out of place, was that all those rooms feature a distinct theme and they are in stark contrast to the rest of the building. Level design wasn’t a priority it seems. Either that or this “visual fallancy” is somehow intended. Confusion is the key word in The Unwelcomed’s case. Upon entering the mansion itself, the front door gets unceremoniously locked behind you. A grand staircase is right in front of you, yet there are no rooms to explore above ground level. Only an ominous message written in red paint. It identifies your Steam nickname and informs that “we hope you find it hard to leave”. You almost got me, Unwelcomed Studios. Most of the narrative threads, you’ll be discovering slowly, through the reading of various notes scattered across the aforementioned puzzle rooms. One name stands out: Victor Murchinson. Apparently a famed architect who’s been commited to an asylum. Horror elements are sadly lacking from The Unwelcomed’s equation. I didn’t get any Layers of Fear vibes, even if both titles start of in a similar manner. A few other names appear in the notes, but they seem to have been left by previous squatters and thrill-seekers. As if exploring an abandoned mansion that you have no right to visit, is ever a good idea. I’m actually disappointed that there are no jump scares or a “big bad wolf” type of threat that might force me to solve those puzzle faster or present some sort of incentive for any further exploration of the surroundings. Even "The Crow’s Eye" felt less underwhelming that this particular experience. [h1]Graphics[/h1] Just like Layers of Fear, the game I’m reviewing today is also powered by the Unity Engine. It doesn’t look nearly as chiseled, but at least the graphics engine’s stable performance gets carried on from one title to another, like an excellent “set of genes” that comprise a healthy DNA sample. Never had any issues with The Unwelcomed, in terms of crashes or glitches. Frame rate remained constant even at 4K resolution. [h1]Audio[/h1] Here’s one element which did surprise me in a most pleasant manner. The voice acting is featured only through the protagonist’s monologues and inner thoughts. He’s both sarcastic and breaks the 4th wall (addressing players directly) quite frequently. So in way, the hero of this barely developed tale, is fully aware of its absurdity and almost sympathizes with the equally confused players of this title. I can only appreciate such honesty. [h1]Gameplay[/h1] I could summarize it all as a key hunt, but I will refrain from that. There were a couple of creative riddles which require a careful examination of the room in question. As I mentioned already, there are seven distinct rooms, each with its own theme and set of puzzles to solve. The difficulty is not scaling progressively though. Some sections can be solved in a matter of several minutes, while the riddles can take you as much as half an hour each. It’s a pity that there isn’t much to see or do once you’ve completed the mysteries within each room. What I really couldn’t understand, is why I couldn’t manually save the game progress myself. An autosave of sorts has been implemented, but if you return to a previously solved room, the puzzles have to be restarted for some reason. Collectibles come in the form of teddy bears which you just have to pick up (or throw in the fireplaces, found across several rooms) in order to unlock some extra Steam Achievements for this "monumental" task. Also, if you’re going to offer both VR and mouse + keyboard support, at least make sure that the control scheme for the latter, has been streamlined as much as you can. I didn’t expect the same driving functions you can experience on a Virtual Reality headset and its special controllers, but why doesn’t the Non-VR gameplay mode offer something as simplistic as rotating the items you have to interact with, in-game? Yes, as long as you’re playing on the “traditional” PC gaming control scheme, The Unwelcomed will only allow you to pick up items and zoom them closer or further away from you. In order to rotate the pages which contain riddles or password and electronic vault codes, you have to improvise, like I did. Pick the page in question and drop it on the corner of another object, let’s say, a table. And then, just hope that it finally flipped on the printed side. Such compromises should never exist in the first place. EDIT: The developer has responded to this issue and the objects within The Unwelcomed can be rotated in the Non-VR mode, through the Left Alt key. [h1]Verdict[/h1] In the end, I won’t penalize this title to the point of not recommending it, for the simple reason that its puzzles and shifting environments are clear examples of hard work. Definitely not an asset-flip, unlike more than a few Unity Engine puzzlers I played over the past three years. The Unwelcomed has to serve as an example and important lesson to its developer, should they wish to continue releasing titles in the future. Catering to the VR crowd while still refusing to neglect the many gamers that haven’t bit that particular bullet yet, is commendable. [h1]Strong Points[/h1] + Decent puzzle sections. + Pleasant graphics and sounds. + Steam Achievements & Trading Cards. [h1]Weak Points[/h1] - Brief and with no replay value. - Non-VR control issues. - Flimsy storyline. [b]Rating 65/100 [/b] [quote]This review was submitted for [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/sgiveaways]SUPER Giveaways[/url], through the generous contribution of [url=http://steamcommunity.com/id/ghostalau]GhostalaÜ[/url] and the Steam Curator Connect program.[/quote]

The pizza in the apartment seriously has the grossest sound when you drop it. Highly recommended! Still early access. 1 room available at the time of this review. About an hour of gameplay for me. I wasn't in any kind of hurry though. Played with a lot of objects. Almost everything is interactable which is awesome. Only a few cons. Hands feel clunky (Devs promise an update soon). Careful not to drop any object through walls or tables. And some of the puzzles could use some polish. Can't really go into detail without spoilers. This game has a ton of potential. Can't wait for room 2!

[h1]Reviewed using HTC Vive Pro[/h1] 🗝️Escape Rooms done right 👍 So go solve them 🔎 Claim your family inheritance 💵 has no cheesy jump scares 🕷️

[b]The Unwelcomed is highly recommended if you like escape room games.[/b] I really like the atmosphere and I have no complaints about the graphics and audio quality. Not to mention the voice actor who does a great job delivering the story and also some fun commentaries when interacting with objects in the game. Currently there’s only one escape room available with more to come. The first room should take 30-60 minutes to figure out, however it took me longer since I got stuck at one point. Also the save feature is not yet available so I had to replay the first sections a couple of times because I didn’t complete it in one session. But with a little help from the developer I finally figured it out. This puzzle was actually quite logical and the fault in this case was mainly mine since I was trying to force a wrong solution. Anyways, I had a great time figuring out the puzzles and I’m looking forward to try out more rooms as soon as they are available.

Pros: -Currently 3 rooms, looks like there is room for more too -There seems to be a story in development -Creepy atmosphere adds to the immersion -Devs seem to be pretty active with updates & on the discussion board Cons: -voice acting isn't very good -there are are number of "bad" puzzles which takes the fun out of the game and replaces it with frustration -on the topic of puzzles, a lot of the time in this game is spent hunting for hidden items, which may appeal more to crowds who enjoy treasure hunts (while disappointing those who enjoy solving puzzles) -door/drawers are operated by the trigger, instead of using the motion controllers to pull/push them open which breaks the immersion I've played a number of other room escape games on the vive, and I am of the opinion that this game is the least polished out of the ones that I have played. But hey, it's early access, I may yet change my review as it progresses :)

Absolutely fantastic game. The scale of the environments feel real. I spent a good 5 minutes just taking in the feeling of "presence". The puzzles were challenging and really interesting. As a side note, it doesn't show the game as "requiring a vr headset" on the store page. At least not for me. You might want to fix that on your steamworks page.

- Specs say it supports Linux - Specs say it supports VR - However it does not support both at the same time! Either VR or Linux! - Ok, at least Valve allows me to use Proton, the windows compatibility framework. I try a couple different versions of Proton with the game, always crashes when starting the tutorial. Note: I have more than 100 windows games which work perfectly in my VR (Valve Index) through Proton. - Also, it does not even support ultrawide aspect ratios? What the funk! - Uninstalled, refunded. - Game is now unwelcomed. Perfect name for it!

First, I should point out that I have the KB/Mouse version, and have not played the VR version. With that said, this game is still very enjoyable even just using KB/Mouse. The design and art are fantastic and the puzzles really make you think. You can tell the devs are passionate about this game and are still working to make the game better.

Room escape done RIGHT!!! Loved this game! Wish it would have been longer! This is one of the BEST room escape games I have played to date! ESCAPE!VR- The basement is another I highly recommend you check out if you enjoyed this one. Again I wish it was longer and the dev's would add more levels!

Pros - puzzles are creative and clever - the overall look of the rooms is pleasing - the lighting engine works really well Cons - the controls, for non VR expecially, are very clunky - Some of the puzzles were more guesswork than puzzles Spoiler warning These are more aimed for the devs, I made a few mental notes whilst playing the game, I figured I would share them. [spoiler] General more games should have a no-spider option There needs to be some way to spin objects whilst holding them in non VR where is the options in non VR? why is the interactions mouse 2 and e? why not mouse 1 and mouse 2? maybe make the footsteps a little quieter by defualt in the main hall, by the small stairs blocked by the draws, you can see the outer map, also the roof doesnt slope with the stairs the main staircase looks really nice! I can walk through the pillars. I dont think im ment to, but i can Room 1 Game crash (x3 times) This is a nicely made room! This place is HUGE in vr! the canned food looks a little out of place in this old style kitchen is it just me or has the racipie change since i played it on vr? nice touch, yeah but what happens if i just throw any random stuff in the pot. Oh that works too. the wine puzzle is really fun! but the key is just kinda pooped out, maybe have it chained to a wall or something, where its in plain sight so you know youve done the puzzle right kinda sad i didnt get to do the pipe puzzle D: your buttons look like lights. I thaught there was a red and white light in the dumbwaiter a lot of objects fall throught the pot when its full of soup I sent a lot of pots of soup down the dumbwaiter and i got like 5 identical keys in return none of the keys i can actually pick up in non VR bit of a letdown i didnt get to go into the freezer for anything Room 2 really dark. Spooky in VR THANK YOU for the extra candles! Really useful that the corkboard actually work. at first, the bottle puzzle seemed really redculous, it took a while to notice they were the answeres to the fuses too. Fell out the map trying to light candles in non vr Room 3 By far my favorite room! burning the room to the ground is a great way of doing a puzzle keypads 1 and 2 were easy to do, the third took a lot longer, but wasnt too hard the fuseboxes werent very well indicated that they could be opened in Vr, only the hinge lit up sometimes, the keypads dont turn on whe the fuses are in Room 4 crooked lamp, brilliant! book puzzle a little problematic. I cleared all the empty books off and didnt knotice the stickynotes before they all fell off. Maybe make these so they are actually written to the bookshelf? You can highlight the whole bookshelf, kinda gives it away that it will move screwdriver doesnt work in non-vr whats the point of the drawer puzzle? all i got from the clock is the number two and that never came handy at all safe puzzle was really well thaught out, took a while but it had a logical answer Room 5 By far my least favorite room, but not becuase it's bad. The puzzles feel a little rushed and the room looks like it should have more in it WHY IS THERE BABY NOISES IN THE BACKGROUND ITS SO ANNOYING the moonlight puzzle is really clever! opens the box, gets the letter, gets the girraffe, does not knotice the BLACK key inside the BLACK box. Panics for 20 minutes. shadow puzzle was really cleverly done, but i feel something can be done to make it a bit harder the logic block one was really good. It was great to have the small bit at the bottom to test out each block. ok, the last puzzle in this room is shinanigans. This was just 100% guesswork and it needs to be changed. I got that the sumbols were all over the place, but I did not know what order to put them into the keypad. Also, what was the arrow for? What did the numbers on the wall do? did the placement of the images in the room matter? If so that rainbow one need somewhere for it to go, if your like me and just destroy the room, It's impossible to know where anything is to begin with again. [/spoiler] overall, whilst this game has a lot to go, Its by far one of my favorite escape the room games on steam as of yet. The devs seem really keen on updating it and fixing any bugs, so i look forward to how this game turns out in the furture.