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Procedurally generated games have been steadfast for decades, pretty much since Beneath Apple Manor introduced such ideas to the world. Then came a genre spawner, Rogue, pushing forth roguelike and roguelite ideas.
Withering Rooms has some roguelite elements, some try, try, try mechanics as well as procedurally generated rooms in its world that are forever changing up the gameplay. It’s a strange game, where things are real and unreal and you’ll never know whether the whole thing is just created inside the hero’s head. Are you ready to follow the white rabbit?
Withering Rooms is a 2.5D horror adventure game that will test your nerve, skill and – at times – patience. After being in early access for a while, the game features a young woman called Nightingale who wakes up in a room that isn’t her own. She has been placed in a mansion, working as a mental asylum in Victorian times. But the place is a dreamlike world, with horrors walking the corridors and rooms that don’t make sense. There are witches, spells and strange prophecies playing out in this odd reality. Nightingale’s goal is to escape – but that is a hard task indeed.
The world-building is very strong, with a good horror narrative running through Withering Rooms. You don’t really hear the thoughts or care that much about the main character, and that is something of a shame, but I liked the journey she goes on, as well as the characters she meets.
Gameplay-wise, Withering Rooms plays like a roguelike, combined with a bit of a Souls game at times. You can walk around at first, exploring the 2.5D world, opening doors, entering rooms. Neatly you also have the option to peek in first, to get a bit of an insight into whether or not anything nasty is lurking inside. You are tasked with exploring all the things you can see and collecting trinkets, weapons, spells, and healing items to add to your inventory. These items will stay with you – unless you die.
Dying is encouraged by some of the characters of Withering Rooms, and if you do succumb, you’ll end up back in the room you started with, just without the items you collected. Unless that is you have a special item that allows you to keep what you gained. The rooms in the place are procedurally generated, so it keeps the interest up when venturing out into the fray. Your guests stay put, and it is easy to keep track of them – even when coming back from the grave.
You have a choice at the start of Withering Rooms as to how to play; will you hide behind tables or inside cupboards so you can wait for the big bads to pass? As you progress you get access to different weapons, each with various attributes, letting you go about attacking the enemies. These combat sections can be quite slow, hard affairs with you needing to use your brain, timing your attacks perfectly. There are spells you can cast as well, so you soon start to develop a style or build, depending on your playstyle of choice.
Visually, Withering Rooms is interesting, especially in terms of what has been done with the characters and the world. The design of the enemies is great, and the rooms themselves are fascinating places to explore, even though at times it does get a bit samey. The sound effects are brilliant though, with the type of audio that should be in place in any and all good horrors; it makes you second guess what’s around every corner and location. The dread of the sound exceeds expectations and delivers wholeheartedly.
I like the story and strange dream world of Withering Rooms, as well as the Souls-like RPG elements and location. It’s a bold move, but it works, pulled off well. Personally, I didn’t fully engage with the combat like others will do and I’d not have missed the procedurally generated rooms, but if you’re after a challenge and on the hunt for a new adventure horror, then Withering Rooms could be for you.