The Room trilogy is a brilliant series of puzzle-based adventure games for iOS and Android devices. If you’ve already finished all three titles, here’s our pick of the best puzzle games for iPad, iPhone and Android devices which are similar to The Room.
The Room 3 came out well over a year ago now and there’s still no sign of a successor in the App Store or Google Play store. That said, developer Fireproof Games has promised that a new game in the series (nicknamed The Room: Old Sins) will be released towards the end of 2017, to sate our appetite for complex multi-structured brain-ticklers.
To tide you over until then, we’ve compiled a selection of our favourite adventure games that are similar to The Room. Expect unforgiving, sprawling and imaginative puzzles, as well as gorgeous presentation throughout.
If you want more great adventure games for iOS and Android, check out our round-up of the best mobile point n’ click adventure games.
The House of Da Vinci
The House of Da Vinci seems to take direct inspiration from The Room, offering a similar presentation, control scheme and intricate puzzles based around complex mechanisms.
Like The Room, you have to work out how to progress in each location by opening up boxes, tracking down keys and so on. You can glance around by swiping, zoom in and out of hotspots with a pinch and interact with the environment at will, to find secret hiding places and manipulate puzzles. Items which you pick up can be closely examined and played with, while you also collect some objects which grant special powers.
So far, so familiar, although The House of Da Vinci shouldn’t be viewed as a straight-up homage. This is a great game in its own right, offering a near perfect difficulty level to keep things challenging (yet not frustrating). You get a built-in hints function too, if needed.
Myst
Chances are pretty good you’ve heard of classic adventure game Myst. This brain-stretching puzzler has been released on pretty much every platform since its initial release 25 years ago. Now you can grab it on your smartphone or tablet, as it’s out on the App Store and for Android devices also.
If you haven’t had the pleasure, Myst is a complex point and click adventure game that won over audiences with its beautiful visuals and complicated puzzles. Many of the challenges must be tackled after taking in your entire surroundings, with tasks that have to be completed in order for eventual success – just like The Room. We recommend taking lots of notes, to give yourself the best possible chance of emerging victorious.
On mobile, you get the remastered ‘realMyst’ version of the game. This includes built-in hints and a whole new age to complete, so you’ll be occupied for quite some time – but never stuck.
Riven
Riven is actually the sequel to Myst, offering an even more complex challenge. While Myst was separated into self-contained ages, see, Riven is one massive open world. In order to finish the game you’ll need to explore every square inch, decipher alien languages, break through cultural barriers and much more besides.
This game is notoriously difficult, so thank the deities above (or simply the mobile developers) that a hint guide is included as standard.
Agent A
Agent A offers a different kind of presentation to The Room, with cartoony graphics and a fun spy plot that sees you chasing down a master criminal in their own home. However, we recommend Agent A to fans of The Room as the smart puzzles are well integrated into the environments, while the difficulty level is just right.
If you’re after a point n’ click adventure game to while away a journey, we recommend this one fully.
Machinarium
Although Machinarium is a different style of adventure game, this game and The Room share many qualities. The lack of speech throughout being just one of them.
In this title, you must steer a cute robot fella to freedom, solving all kinds of complex puzzles in order to progress. Difficulty levels are definitely up there, yet the detailed and attention-grabbing presentation mean you’ll rarely want to quit before solving the next brainteaser. Some of the puzzles are tricky multi-layered beasts, similar to the sprawling efforts in The Room (and the other games here).