Horror escape Horror puzzle Psychological horror Surreal horror Short horror

Samsara Room

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Wake in a strange room, and look closely at what stands in the mirror.

Platforms: PC, Mac, iPhone, Android
Stores: Steam, GOG, itch.io
Price: Free
Rated: Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam (97% of 10,302 reviews); 4.8 on the App Store (13K ratings); 4.8 on Google Play (121K reviews); 4.7 on itch.io (261 ratings); 4.4 on GOG (45 reviews)
Length: about 1 hour
Players: 1
Controls: Mouse or touch: point and click
Made by: Rusty Lake
Released: 2020

No. 3 of the phone horror games · No. 1 of the mirror horror games

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

What frightens You wake in a strange room with a telephone, a mirror and a grandfather clock, and in the mirror a dark figure with white eyes stands where your reflection should be; the room's odd objects and that double lead toward the only way out, which the store calls becoming enlightened.
Content: fantasy violence, nudity.

Samsara Room is a free point-and-click escape game by Rusty Lake, the makers of the Cube Escape series. You wake in an unfamiliar room of floral wallpaper, a telephone, a clock and a mirror holding a dark figure, and must solve its puzzles to find another way out.

About Samsara Room

Samsara Room is by Rusty Lake, the studio behind Rusty Lake Hotel, Rusty Lake: Roots, Rusty Lake Paradise and the Cube Escape series. Released on 29 April 2020, it remakes the game the store calls the predecessor of the Rusty Lake universe, rebuilt with new puzzles, story and hand-drawn art and a soundtrack by Victor Butzelaar, and given away free for the studio's fifth anniversary. It runs on Windows and Mac through Steam, GOG and itch.io, and on iPhone, iPad and Android.

You wake in a room you have never seen. There is a telephone, a mirror, a grandfather clock and other objects you do not recognise, and the store says there is only one way to escape: become enlightened. In the mirror stands a dark shape with white eyes instead of your reflection, and the clock's numerals are not quite right either.

Play is classic Rusty Lake: turn from wall to wall, zoom in on objects, collect small items and use them on the things around you, and work out the logic of codes, clocks and mechanisms. The calm pastel wallpaper and quiet music make the strange moments sit more uneasily than shocks would. Its eight achievements are named for small creatures, a fish, a gecko, a worm, a bird and a shrimp, which fits the title's idea of a cycle of lives.

It is short: GOG's time-to-beat puts the main story at about an hour, and most Steam players spend between one and three hours with it. It suits players who like escape-room puzzles with a surreal, unsettling edge rather than jump scares, and it is a free way to try the Rusty Lake style before the longer paid games. Brazil's rating board lists fantasy violence, fear and nudity; GOG shows it as PEGI 12.

How to play Samsara Room

Click or tap the arrows to turn between the room's walls.
Click on objects to look closer, and pick up any small item you find.
Select an item in your inventory and use it on something in the room.
Watch for clues in what the telephone, clock and mirror show you, and follow them to the way out.

Screenshots

Samsara Room screenshot: a room with green floral wallpaper, a telephone on a small table, a wall cabinet with a jar, and a gold mirror holding a dark figure with white eyes

Samsara Room screenshot: a grey shadow figure with white eyes waves from a gold-framed mirror on green floral wallpaper

Samsara Room screenshot: a pale grandfather clock with jumbled Roman numerals and a triangle panel above the dial, against green floral wallpaper

Samsara Room screenshot: a bare white room with a many-paned window showing a painted mountain, lake and windmill landscape, and a green lizard on the wall

Samsara Room screenshot: a paper boat and a grey rotary telephone with its receiver off the hook, over green floral wallpaper

Samsara Room store header: green floral wallpaper, a table with a black rotary phone, a pink grandfather clock and the title

Tips

Revisit every object after each change; the room shifts as you solve things.
Note down numbers and symbols you see; they often unlock something on another wall.
The achievements are named for creatures, so if you want them all, keep an eye out for small animals as you play.
Rusty Lake's site has an official walkthrough if you are stuck.

Questions

Is Samsara Room free?

Yes. It is free on Steam, GOG, the App Store and Google Play, and name-your-own-price on itch.io. The phone versions list in-app purchases, and the Google Play page says it contains ads.

How long is Samsara Room?

About an hour for the main story, by GOG's time-to-beat figures. Steam players' median playtime is around an hour and a half.

Is Samsara Room part of the Rusty Lake series?

It is by the same studio and the store calls it the predecessor of the Rusty Lake universe; this version is a remake of that early game.

Is Samsara Room scary?

It is unsettling rather than frightening: a surreal room and a dark figure in the mirror, with no chases. Brazil's rating board still notes fantasy violence, fear and nudity, and GOG lists it as PEGI 12.