In SUBNET – Escape Room Adventure, a 3D puzzle game, it is your job as a government agent to enter an abandoned subway tunnel hacked by the terrorist organization “drkFORCE” and defuse a bomb.
The game starts very easily. You learned of the attack while you were in your apartment and received a voicemail instructing you to open your package and head to the subway.
It also begins enigmatically. To open the package (and actually do anything in the game), you’ll need to find clues that will help you solve the puzzle. For example, the luggage you are given is locked and you have to find the passcode in the room before you can open it.
The game continues like this. When you open the package, you’ll find it consists of AI earbuds that help you navigate your location and track down hackers. On your way to the subway, you’ll find yourself needing to unlock doors, hack security devices, and move large objects to reach your destination.
In Chapter 1 of the game, you’ll find many puzzles that need to be solved in order to progress as you hack the subway train to move it to a specific location. In this chapter there are many doors that need to be unlocked. One is to enter the correct password for the security lock. Of course, this code can be found by solving puzzles. This puzzle is one of the easiest because the passcode is a shape, not a number. The outer wall of the train has the required shape and the inner wall has the corresponding numbers indicating the order of the codes. There are many more such puzzles. Some are easy, some are hard.
As you progress, you will find yourself in different locations such as alleyways, trains, and tunnels. They’re all related to the subway, and each has an eerie vibe that adds to the thrilling aesthetic of the game. It can also be played in first person, which makes the game feel more personal, which can be a little scary. Your only companion during your exploration is the AI. The AI will occasionally talk to you and tell you what’s going on and what to do. Everywhere you explore is dark and lonely, and in some places the lighting is so dim that you may need a flashlight.
The music is also eerie. SUBNET – Escape Room Adventure does a great job of giving the player a thrilling feeling as they make their way to the hackers, which makes the game suspenseful and fun.
The controls are pretty straightforward, with the left Joy-Con stick to move, A to interact with objects, B to go back, and Y to open the inventory. I didn’t encounter any interface issues while playing and the game felt very smooth running. Exploring your surroundings is easy as the objects you need to interact with are displayed through symbols that pop up. The graphics and animations are very well done and help you enjoy the game.
SUBNET – Escape Room Adventure is not a very long game. The story isn’t the most interesting ever told, but it’s still fun exploring the eerie subway tunnels and solving puzzles along the way. Playing this game will make you feel like a real agent, from the first person perspective to the satisfaction of solving chapters alone.
