Review for Underground Blossom
Since its humble beginnings in 2015 as a mobile escape-room game called Cube Escape: Seasons, Rusty Lake has grown into an expansive world with its own mythos. If you’ve played a Cube Escape or Rusty Lake game before, I probably don’t need to tell you much about Underground Blossom. You already know exactly what to expect: a series of puzzles surrounded by a vague Lynchian narrative that is best understood in the context of the other games. Underground Blossom does have probably the most cohesive and comprehensible narrative yet, following Laura Vanderboom — a well-known character in the series — as she grows from infant to woman, and alongside this narrative is the same gameplay that fans of Rusty Lake have come to know and love.
Just as you travel from room to room in most games in the series, you’ll travel from metro station to metro station in Underground Blossom, solving puzzles to get at the mystery surrounding Laura’s life. As developers, Rusty Lake wear their Twin Peaks influence on their sleeves, and it especially shows here, with Laura being presented as almost a direct reference to David Lynch’s character Laura Palmer. That being said, she’s still a character in her own right in the Rusty Lake universe. As we move to each station, Laura grows from a baby to a child to a teenager and finally a young woman. Each station — and era of Laura’s life — has its own distinct feel and set of puzzles. The teenage station, for example, has you swapping yearbook photos in a who’s who puzzle featuring Laura’s classmates. The last couple of stations are too spoilery to talk about, but suffice it to say that Rusty Lake’s signature macabre spirit is alive and well.
I found the puzzles challenging enough to keep me engrossed without pushing me over the edge into frustration. A few puzzles seemed too simple and I ended up speeding through them, such as the aforementioned one with Laura’s classmates; but the rest demand enough brainpower to make up for the simplicity. It will probably take somewhere around one to three hours to get through the game, depending on how long it takes you to solve the puzzles as well as how much time you spend on the endgame and hidden secrets. Once you get through all of the stations, the beloved and enigmatic Mr. Owl shows up and tasks you with finding a series of mysterious cubes scattered throughout the metro. This tacks on some extra time and a bit more challenge. There is an official walkthrough on Rusty Lake’s YouTube channel for the main game but no walkthrough yet for the extra content or obtaining all of the achievements, indicating that a good chunk of the game is meant to be worked out all on your own.
The series is known for its visual style and surreal sound design, and both are implemented to great effect here. Underground Blossom elevates Rusty Lake’s sound to new heights. The characters have eerily stilted voice acting that adds to the game’s melancholy atmosphere. Noises of the metro are ever-present in the background, while beautiful piano lines and haunting cello music trickle in at intervals. There’s a puzzle involving a trumpet that adds another layer of musicality to the game. You can tell the developers had sound design at the forefront of their minds while making Underground Blossom, and it results in a lovely feast for the ears as you play. Rusty Lake’s signature illustrative art style is back as well, with muted tones that fit perfectly with the ambience. As you move through Laura’s life, the design and colors of each metro station reflect the time period. One of the stations has a ‘70s vibe with lots of burnt orange and an old-school snack machine. The art and sound in Underground Blossom come together to make the game feel alive in a way that previous installments didn’t quite match.
Underground Blossom doesn’t do much of anything different with the Rusty Lake formula besides showcasing a new setting and furthering the sound design, but for fans of the series, this isn’t a negative aspect. Rusty Lake has gained a large cult following over the years, and more of the same is comforting rather than boring. For those who have been piecing together the series’ amorphous narrative, Underground Blossom adds to the story by giving us more insight into Laura and her mother, Rose. And those who simply play for the puzzles might be pleasantly surprised by how easy this game’s narrative is to follow as opposed to other, more obtuse games in the series. Underground Blossom is mostly what I expected as a Rusty Lake fan, with some welcome surprises here and there, and I’m always glad for a chance to spend a little more time in its idiosyncratic world — well worth it, particularly considering its relatively low price tag.
