Horror puzzle Horror escape Psychological horror Surreal horror

Rusty Lake Hotel

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Five guests, five dinners, and each one worth dying for.

Platforms: PC, Mac, iPhone, Android
Stores: Steam, GOG, itch.io
Price: Paid
Rated: Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam (96% of 10,688); Metacritic 65; 4.8/5 on the App Store (1.6K) and Google Play (20.6K); 4.7/5 on itch.io (232); 3.9/5 on GOG (30)
Length: 2.5 to 3 hours
Players: 1
Controls: Mouse on PC and Mac, touch on phones and tablets. Click or tap the arrows to move between views, tap to interact, and pick an inventory item then tap where to use it.
Made by: Rusty Lake
Released: 2016

On GOG: one of the GOG horror games.

No. 4 of the hotel horror games · No. 4 of the lake horror games · No. 1 of the Victorian horror games · No. 3 of the cannibalism horror games

Get it on Steam App Store Google Play Rusty Lake GOG itch.io

What frightens Crow-headed staff welcome five animal-headed guests to a hotel on an island in a still lake, and every dinner must be worth dying for. You are locked in each guest's room, solving its puzzles to prepare the next meal, and what you prepare is the guest's end.
Content: blood and gore in a cartoon style, killing of characters as part of the puzzles, guests are served as meals to other guests, alcohol and smoking shown.

Rusty Lake Hotel is a dark point-and-click puzzle game from Rusty Lake. As an employee of a strange hotel on a lake, you serve five animal-headed guests over a week of dinners, solving the puzzles in each of their rooms to prepare the meal, and each dinner is meant to be worth dying for. It takes about two and a half to three hours.

About Rusty Lake Hotel

Rusty Lake Hotel is a point-and-click puzzle adventure by Rusty Lake, the Amsterdam studio behind the free Cube Escape series, and it was their first paid game. It came out on Android and iOS in December 2015 and on Steam for Windows and Mac in January 2016. It is also sold on GOG and itch.io.

The setting is a grand hotel on an island in a still green lake, with crow-headed staff at the desk and the oars. This week five guests are staying, each with an animal head, among them a stag, a hare, a boar and a pigeon. There will be five dinners, and the hotel's motto is to make every one of them worth dying for. You play Harvey, a parrot-headed employee working for the owner, Mr. Owl. You enter each guest's room and stay locked in until its puzzles are solved: codes, scales and chemistry sets, pinned moths, small board puzzles and hidden objects, all gathering what the next dinner needs.

Its horror is not about being chased. The hand-drawn rooms are tidy and the guests well dressed, and the darkness comes from what your work is for and from the grotesque, bloody moments the puzzles lead to. GOG says the setting was inspired by Twin Peaks, and GamesRadar+ compared the art to Edward Gorey. Each room has its own theme music.

Critics were mixed: some praised the macabre atmosphere, while others found some puzzles illogical and the mobile version's precise tapping fiddly, with no hint system. Players have been much warmer, and it is rated highly on Steam, the App Store and Google Play.

The makers put a first play at about two and a half to three hours, a little less for players who know the Cube Escape games. Finding every extra ingredient takes longer. It ties into the wider story told in Rusty Lake: Roots, Rusty Lake Paradise and the Cube Escape games, and suits players who like quiet puzzle adventures with a macabre streak more than jump scares.

How to play Rusty Lake Hotel

Buy Rusty Lake Hotel on Steam, GOG or itch.io for Windows or Mac, or on the App Store or Google Play for phones and tablets.
Start the week at the hotel and meet the five guests in the lobby and dining room.
Enter a guest's room, use the arrows to look around, and click to pick up objects and clues.
Use items from your inventory on the scene and solve the room's puzzles until the dinner is ready.
Serve each dinner and move on to the next guest until the week is over.

Screenshots

Rusty Lake Hotel screenshot: a deer-headed man in a mustard jacket sits on a red sofa in a lounge with damask wallpaper and a checkered floor

Rusty Lake Hotel screenshot: animal-headed guests in Victorian dress stand at a dinner table with candles, wine and a silver cloche under a chandelier

Rusty Lake Hotel screenshot: a crow-headed receptionist in a suit stands behind the lobby desk, beside a chandelier, potted plants and a door marked Kitchen

Rusty Lake Hotel screenshot: a wallpapered room with a table holding a glass distillation apparatus, a small wooden cabinet and a brass balance scale with weights

Rusty Lake Hotel screenshot: beetle puzzle on a beige board of grey holes, with round pegs blocking some, on a pink checkered tablecloth

Rusty Lake Hotel screenshot: a gold-framed display of three pinned moths on damask wallpaper, with navigation arrows at the screen edges

Tips

Look closely at every wall, drawer and picture; many clues are small details in the background.
Hold on to items until you know where they go; some players found that using an item in one place cost them another goal.
Each dinner has extra ingredients to find if you want to see everything, which takes a second, longer pass.
If you like it, Rusty Lake: Roots and Rusty Lake Paradise continue the same world with larger stories.

Questions

Is Rusty Lake Hotel scary?

It is unsettling more than frightening. There are no jump scares or chases, but the story is about preparing deadly dinners from the guests, with bloody and grotesque moments in a cartoon style.

How long is Rusty Lake Hotel?

The makers say about two and a half to three hours. Players who know the Cube Escape games may finish in two hours or less, and finding every extra ingredient takes longer.

Do I need to play the other Rusty Lake games first?

No. It stands on its own, though it connects to the wider Rusty Lake story in Roots, Paradise and the Cube Escape games.

What platforms is Rusty Lake Hotel on?

Windows and Mac on Steam, GOG and itch.io, plus iPhone and iPad on the App Store and Android on Google Play. The GOG version is in English only; Steam lists 20 interface languages.

Is there a hint system?

No. Some reviewers missed one, so a walkthrough can help if you get stuck.