Horror puzzleHorror escapePsychological horrorSurreal horror
Cube Escape Collection
Rate itNine strange rooms, one dead woman and the mystery of Rusty Lake.
- Platforms
- PC, Mac, iPhone, Android
- Stores
- Steam, GOG, itch.io
- Price
- Paid
- Rated
- Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam (98% of 8,091 reviews); 4.9 of 5 from 6,714 App Store ratings; 4.7 of 5 from 64.1K Google Play reviews
- Length
- about 7 hours
- Players
- 1
- Controls
- Point and click with the mouse on Windows and Mac; tap on iPhone, iPad and Android.
- Made by
- Rusty Lake
- Released
- 2020
On GOG: one of the GOG horror games.
No. 4 of the party horror games · No. 6 of the murder mystery horror games · No. 3 of the detective horror games · No. 5 of the painting horror games · No. 6 of the lake horror games
What frightens Homicide detective Dale Vandermeer investigates the death of a woman and is drawn into the world of Rusty Lake, through small puzzle rooms where a crow-headed man stands beside a giant glass and a fish with human legs, clocks tick, phones ring and nothing quite makes sense.
Content: disturbing imagery, violence, blood, death and loss, ads on mobile.
Cube Escape Collection gathers the nine Cube Escape games, Rusty Lake's first point-and-click puzzle series. You follow homicide detective Dale Vandermeer as he looks into the death of a woman and is drawn into the surreal world of Rusty Lake, escaping one strange puzzle room after another.
About Cube Escape Collection
Cube Escape Collection was released on Steam in October 2020 by Rusty Lake, and is free to start on iPhone, iPad and Android. It bundles the nine chapters of Cube Escape, the studio's first series and the start of the Rusty Lake universe, preserved from the end of the Flash games era with achievements, a new hint system and translations but no new content: Seasons, The Lake, Arles, Harvey's Box, Case 23, The Mill, Birthday, Theatre and The Cave.
You follow Dale Vandermeer, a homicide detective, as he investigates the death of a woman and finds himself drawn into the mysterious world of Rusty Lake. Its makers say it was heavily inspired by Twin Peaks.
Each chapter is a small room seen one wall at a time, full of objects to examine, codes to crack and items to combine. The flat, hand-drawn rooms look ordinary, a grandfather clock, a phone, a desk, a room after Van Gogh, but strange things wait in them: a man with a crow's head, a fish with human legs, an old man at a birthday party.
Rating boards flag violence and horror: PEGI 12 on Google Play, 13+ on the App Store. It suits puzzle fans who like the uncanny, and it is the natural start before Rusty Lake: Roots.
How to play Cube Escape Collection
- Get it on Steam, GOG or itch.io for Windows or Mac, or free on the App Store and Google Play.
- Pick a chapter and look at each wall of the room.
- Pick up items, combine them and use them to open the next part of the puzzle.
- Use the hint system if you are stuck, and follow the detective's story through all nine chapters.
Screenshots







Tips
- Note down numbers, colours and symbols; they are often the codes you need later.
- Play the chapters in order, from Seasons to The Cave, to follow the story.
- Try the built-in hint system before looking up a walkthrough; it nudges you without giving the whole answer away.
Questions
Is Cube Escape Collection free?
It is free to start on iPhone, iPad and Android, with ads on Android and a premium unlock in the app. On Steam, GOG and itch.io it is a small paid release.
What is in the collection?
The nine Cube Escape chapters: Seasons, The Lake, Arles, Harvey's Box, Case 23, The Mill, Birthday, Theatre and The Cave.
Is it new content?
No. Its makers say the games are the originals, with achievements, a hint system and translations added.
How long is it?
About 7 hours for the main story, according to GameBrain; the Family Gaming Database puts it at 7.5 to 10.5 hours.
Is it suitable for younger players?
It is rated PEGI 12 for moderate violence and horror, and 13+ on the App Store. There is blood and death, shown in a flat, drawn style.
Ratings and reviews
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