I’m always interested in seeing what games are released during the months of the year. When you play as much as I do, it’s necessary to be able to plan my time and wallet, and while those factors usually get thrown away, I end up with something that looks fun once it’s released. However, Withering Rooms didn’t hold my attention at all, despite it having been out in Early Access since late 2022. Now, however, it was ready for full release in just a few days, and with absolutely no idea what kind of experience awaited me, I ended up entering the Victorian mansion called Mostyn House and taking part in an atmospheric adventure.
The protagonist Nightingale wakes up, trapped in a dream, and must work to find a way out and solve the mystery of the mansion. To be honest, first impressions weren’t great, as this horror adventure offers something that feels a little “cheap” in a lot of ways. Both the animation of the main character and the first voice acting I heard left a very bad impression, but luckily the atmosphere got closer and saved this first impression. At least a little bit. At first, I thought you would just hide from the creepy characters in the mansion. This is because you can hide behind, under, and inside a lot of furniture and other things and wait for them to pass by or turn around. Straight from the beginning, it was also a necessity for survival, but Nightingale soon equipped herself with various weapons, discovered the possibility of creating spells and could craft other tools to kill various monsters and others that stood in her way thing. Killing also becomes something to do, as different types of body parts need to be collected for various reasons, both to craft items and to progress through the slowly unraveling story. The game has a variety of horrors to fight, and it’s always fun to discover a new enemy and see its unique design.
One element that you’ll quickly realize takes up a lot of space is its rogue-like nature. Each time you “die” and wake up again, the mansion changes and you lose your artifacts, although this is somewhat preventable. I really don’t know how I feel about this particular feature of this adventure. To me, things like this usually only create frustration if it’s not a title in which you do a classic “dungeon” run. Here, it’s more of a “back to square one” moment, which feels annoying. However, it creates a bit of a warning of not wanting to die, otherwise you might not care much. As time goes by, you can also choose different items to remember them so you have them when you wake up again. So, I think losing your artifacts and having to find them again can still work. To make matters worse, the mansion has changed. A big part of the magic of exploration is getting to know where I am. Here, that charm gets lost as the location changes, and while there’s a handy map to tap on the screen while playing, the layout of the mansion and its surroundings is also a bit confusing, as you can’t really see the rooms and How other things are connected. There are so many hidden passages and stairs leading to other floors that it’s hard to get a good feel for the whole thing. Additionally, it’s mostly built along a long corridor that leads to many smaller rooms, so you’ll be entering and exiting doors as you explore.
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You’ll meet a lot of strange characters as you explore the mansion, and this is where I found one of the greater charms of the game. The different rooms are all very small, which is a shame, I would have liked to see a more consistent screen to explore rather than constantly jumping in and out of smaller rooms. But the design and atmosphere are great and it’s a real pleasure to explore every corner and discover what’s there. However, as I said, I thought the rooms weren’t a bit bigger and the mansion felt more cohesive, and the fact that it changed after each night also meant that it didn’t really get the character it could have had, which was a real shame. It becomes more annoying when you learn its layout and then it changes and you have to find certain rooms again instead of learning how things relate to each other. Or the map is updated with content you explore when you start a new dream. In my opinion, this would be better.
I mentioned before that Nightingale can protect itself, and in addition to various weapons and spells, there is also a simpler role-playing system where you can level up and find different types of equipment and tools, which tells you to fight against different things, such as being attacked by poison. A rather unique feature is a curse that can cast a spell over you and then change different things in the house as it becomes more powerful. It’s a fun little element that’s added to the bunch of very unique things that Blight Room still has to offer. Because even though the game feels a little simplistic in execution, it still offers some really nice stuff. Some of the puzzles are pretty tricky, and I largely enjoyed the tension and atmosphere. There’s also a surprising number of places to visit, and while Withering Rooms isn’t particularly scary, it’s mostly cozy despite its visual style and atmospheric soundtrack creating an eerie atmosphere. Some elements feel like something out of a nightmare, but it never scares you. There are some very strange rooms and enemies, but the perspective and graphics make it feel a little creepy, if that. However, I don’t think this is a particular drawback, as games like Little Nightmares also have more of that cozy eerie feel, more so with some character designs that feel a bit nightmarish.
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All in all, The Blighted Room manages to be engaging with a good atmosphere, but unfortunately there are some elements behind it that feel a little too simplistic. There’s a lot of running in and out of rooms, and aside from a few enemies and items on offer, the game’s best puzzles and other shenanigans are rarely present. I also didn’t really like how I had to revisit a lot of rooms to find items every time I unlocked a large portion of the map and died. Personally, I would have preferred a better background to explore the mansion bit by bit, rather than being reset. Despite these weaknesses, it’s an adventure with some unique features, and if you’re looking for something in the horror genre, there are definitely some highlights worth experiencing, though it’s more atmospheric and cozy than any horror.
