Since the first launch of their premium game, Rusty Lake Hotel, in December 2015, this newest chapter, "Rusty Lake: Roots", will be the tenth game of the series and the second one to take on the Rusty Lake label.
The games series shares a few things in common such as the setting which is in an eerie, mysterious lake resort in shifting time periods. The player gets the chance to experience being in the shoes of the different new protagonists whose every step move towards unraveling the secrets of Rusty Lake. Roles may vary from being a guest, a murderer, detective, or proprietor. Some objects and areas recur, which may seem harmless at first but of certain value in the next.
Taking hints from the trailer, "Rusty Lake: Roots" will be unique in terms of the clothing worn by the characters and the technology they use, which seems to imply an earlier timeframe in the history of the lake. New characters will be introduced such as James Vanderboom who may be related to the previous characters in the installment. The stoic expressions, the surreal play of images like the masked man in the family portrait, the devious pumpkin man pulling something out from the well, the Ouija board moving by itself, the crow silhouette on the window pane, and many others, captures the same nightmarish horror consistent with all the other previous installments.
One review from Gamezebo compares the visual style to a Wes Anderson movie, specifically "The Grand Budapest Hotel" with the same quirky bordering to disturbing design. This adventure game expects you to solve puzzles and achieve objectives but with a twisted logic that may leave you at a loss of how to go about it. Nonetheless, it is a unique and exciting game to look forward to. The launch on Oct. 20 promises an immersive game with more than 33 levels full of suspense and unique storytelling.