Withering Rooms is the kind of game you don’t get every day. Back when the title was still in Early Access, one of the ways the developer described this game was somewhere along the lines of “If Clock Tower was an action RPG”. Which… fits and, even more surprisingly, works incredibly well. This game is so strange, yet so fascinating and inventive. Its influences are recognizable, yet its mood is immaculate… And while I didn’t enjoy every second of the game and do find faults with some of its aspects, it was also one of the most inspiring gaming experiences I’ve had in quite a while.
Let me attempt to describe how this game actually works. This is a side scrolling action RPG, with melee, ranged and magic attacks available and working as a somewhat simplified approach of the combat system one would find in a From Software’s “Souls” game. The layouts of the “dungeons” that are available for exploration during each of the game’s chapters are randomized every time you die, with rooms and their content moving around a set location, but never fully randomized. Inventory is also lost upon death, but as you continue playing you will be able to “remember” more and more items between deaths. And of course, there is also a system of leveling up that will help even the odds against some of the more difficult problems the game would throw at you. Curiously, and more in line with Clock Tower, stealth and traps also play an important part and while it is possible to just kill all enemies on the map, often times the game expects you to be smart and adaptable, hiding and running away when needed, leading enemies into traps and utilizing every tool you have.
One of the most memorable and coolest central mechanics of the game is the idea of the “Curse”. When comparing to other game concepts, I’d say this is a middle ground between the Sanity of Eternal Darkness and Insight of Bloodborne. Except, unlike the cool looking but purely negative impact of insanity from the former, and rather limited stylistic and gameplay impact of the latter, Curse is a resource you will learn to manage through the game. All magic curses you, lots of enemies curse you and as you get cursed, the locations change, becoming more distorted and creepy. Becoming fully cursed is deadly, as your health starts to gradually (and rather quickly) drain until you cleanse the curse or die. However, being cursed also reveals a lot of hidden elements that benefit you, lots of weapons and tools you have work better with curse and not being cursed at all puts you at quite a disadvantage. Meaning that you always need to consider managing this resource, sometimes even more closely than health, and it never gets old or uninteresting.
Another big reason for how interesting everything is lies in the presentation and storytelling. Despite being, from the technological perspective, rather plain, the game oozes creepy charm and its hard to not love how amazing the style is. The soundtrack is absolutely incredible too, so don’t be surprised if you find yourself humming along the tunes for different rooms and locations. The story is really well told and is genuinely interesting to slowly unravel. And out of all different types of “Lovecraft inspired” weird fiction/cosmic horror game stories, Withering Rooms is definitely among the more interesting ones. The game even builds its “new game plus” into the story in a really simple, but fun way, so don’t stop playing once you’ve finished the game once.
Now, that isn’t to say that you will definitely enjoy every part of the game. I feel like some parts of the combat are intentionally underpowered in a way, that eventually becomes frustrating, against the huge health pools of some enemies. And while stealth is a viable and often necessary option, you do need to kill at least some enemies and level up to go against bosses which you cannot skip. The side scrolling roguelite structure of the world also means that some of the locations eventually turn into very long hallways that start looking a little tired after a while. Since this game only has two layers of depth to the levels with the “front” layer and the “back” layer of rooms you can enter, some of which can be interconnected, but are usually only entered from the front layer. And some of the sections genuinely feel like huge difficulty spikes, if I’m completely honest. Though, to counter that the game has a “Storytelling” difficulty mode that you can switch to and from at any point of the game – it does “re-roll” the world, but additionally feels like a completely valid way of experiencing the game. So if you do get to a point, where you start constantly struggling, I would still urge you to finish the game even if on the story-focused difficulty, it’s absolutely worth it.
Because of that last option with difficulty switching, I can’t think of a reason not to recommend Withering Rooms to anyone who is even at least mildly interested in what this game promises in its trailers. It’s an unforgettable experience, with an incredible vibe, great soundtrack and lots of fun mechanics. Seriously, don’t miss out on such a unique experience.