History Main / ControlRoomPuzzle

* ''ResidentEvil'' games do this quite often.

* The ''{{Myst}}'' series is practically built on this, although without the possibility of getting killed. And, thankfully, trial and error, or extensive trekking. ''This does '''not''' prevent them from being mind-bogglingly hard''.

* ''KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' has this on the Mannan Sith base, and an NPC remarks on what a pain in the ass these puzzles are.

* ''CastlevaniaDawnOfSorrow'' has a Control Room FifteenPuzzle: fifteen rooms in a 4X4 grid, each with exits in certain parts, which you had to shuffle around to reach various paths that led out from the puzzle. Luckily, there wasn't just one "correct" solution, and the paths were easy to make with a bit of thought; it also came with a handy PuzzleReset button in the control room.

* ''{{Secret of Evermore}}'' had small one of these to get to a hidden boss.

* The Altador Plot in ''{{Neopets}}'' did this near the end. If you failed, Altador would be flooded, and you had to restart.

* The medicine puzzle in ''{{La-Mulana}}'' is a ControlRoomPuzzle in disguise: here, the room is actually a corridor, and toggling switches is replaced by casting spells at fairies. If you get it wrong, you have to go all the way back to the sage before trying again. Another ControlRoomPuzzle, lying in the second level of the Endless Corridor, is so cleverly disguised it doesn't even look like a puzzle at first.

* ''[[VideoGame/DukeNukem3D Duke Nukem 3D]]'' has a lot of these, in the form of doors (or other objects) which can only be activated by a "combo lock" that is composed of three to five big switches. Opening the lock is just a matter of pressing the right combination of switches, which can be easily brute-forced (and it's the only way to open them). The only exception is on the secret level of episode four, where, to finish the level, you have to find out a ''ten-button'' sequence; you've got to find one of the two places in the level where the sequence is shown.
* Appropriately enough, the Shrine of Control in ''UltimaVI''.
* ''MassEffect'' has one where you need to set a bunch of switches to get a door to crush a geth ship's landing claw. This one is relatively sensible as a control panel, the switches are properly labeled and it's really a matter of simple addition to figure which switches to press for the right pressure. There's even a pressure gauge as such a control panel should. Needless to say it isn't much of a challenge as a puzzle.
** ''MassEffect2'' has the player have to do one of these during a side quest to unlock a door in the central room. It's insultingly easy.
* That Damn Tank in ''AnotherWorld.''
* ''SuperPaperMario'' had a room where you had to hit colored blocks in a certain order to first get to Flopside.

* There are about two close-together control ''panel'' puzzles featured near the end of [=LucasArt's=] ''FullThrottle''. There are only about two commands that really still work somewhere in the maze of options. An earlier puzzle involving projectors also applies.

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* In ''{{The Dig}}'' there was one of these. You had to use some unlabeled alien controls to pick up a focusing lens at the bottom of a pit. Problem was, it was unclear what you needed the control panel ''for'' rather than how to operate it.

* ''{{Lufia}} 2'' had quite a few of these (though thankfully, the switches directly affected whatever platform you were on, keeping the whole thing nice and self contained), often in two difficulty flavors apiece - "Required", and "Complete". Only a few switches were required to be turned in order to proceed with the dungeon, but most players would still try and complete the puzzle absolutely for the excellent loot.
* ''{{Runescape}}'' has a very difficult ControlRoomPuzzle in "Ernest the Chicken", one of the earlier quests available. To make it worse, the old installment didn't even give any indication whatsoever of when a switch the player pulled locked or unlocked a specific door, forcing the player to just try and brute-force the whole thing through trial and error.

* ''StarWars: Dark Forces'' had one of these in its Coruscant mission. It consisted of a spiral corridor, divided into sections. Each section had a switch, and you had to flip each switch in a specific order as you worked your way through the sections. Flip too many, and everything behind you would seal off, and getting that last door to open was maddening. One might reasonably ask how the stormtroopers manage to successfully use this thing every day. They can't even shoot straight!

* ''{{Fallout}} 2'' has an area where a "switches opens doors" puzzle is taken to its logical extreme - a surprise door maze. There are nine connected rooms in the Oil Rig area, and the whole setup has four exits. Each room has a console and using different consoles toggles the state of different doors. The objective is to move through the rooms, using different consoles to open different doors, to get to the four exits. The floor is frequently electrified.

* ''TheLegendOfZelda: Phantom Hourglass'' has this, but there are usually stone tablets with the proper switch sequence written on them.

* ''{{Marathon}}'' had a lot of these, but the one that sticks in everyone's craw is the platform puzzle in ''Colony Ship For Sale, Cheap!''. Several platforms need to be adjusted to the correct height using switches so that you can jump atop them and reach a high alcove, but all of the switches are far away from each other and the platforms, and you [[RocketJump must use grenades]] on each try.

* The hidden summons in ''{{Wild ARMs 2}}'' is protected by a switch puzzle. The player has to push some panels in the walls in a certain order with only a cryptic message about spirals for a clue. The puzzle is especially awkward because of a poor cultural translation. The Japanese original was based on the [[spoiler: the names of weekdays. In Japan, these are linguistically transparent and well-known. When they decided to make the puzzle the same, but convert it to English, it ended up much more obtuse.]].

* ''{{Castlevania}}: Dawn of Sorrow'' has a Control Room FifteenPuzzle: fifteen rooms in a 4X4 grid, each with exits in certain parts, which you had to shuffle around to reach various paths that led out from the puzzle. Luckily, there wasn't just one "correct" solution, and the paths were easy to make with a bit of thought; it also came with a handy PuzzleReset button in the control room.

* Super Paper Mario had a room where you had to hit colored blocks in a certain order to first get to Flopside.

* Subverted in ''EyeOfTheBeholder''- In one of the later floors, there is a room labeled "Combination Lock- Be Quick" with 5 switches and a group of items on the other side of a pit (by this point, the game has already established that pits can be moved or gotten rid of entirely). Each time a switch is hit, the party must move quickly to dodge a fireball that gets launched from the other end of the room. The player obviously thinks that they need to find the right combination to get rid of the pits; the catch, though, is that it's actually impossible to remove the pits, the switches do nothing, and it's just an excuse to frustrate the player.

* ''{{Pokemon}} Gold/Silver'' has one of these in Goldenrod City.

* ''Runescape'' has a very difficult ControlRoomPuzzle in "Ernest the Chicken", one of the earlier quests available. To make it worse, the old installment didn't even give any indication whatsoever of when a switch the player pulled locked or unlocked a specific door, forcing the player to just try and brute-force the whole thing through trial and error.

* ''[[DukeNukem3D Duke Nukem 3D]]'' has a lot of these, in the form of doors (or other objects) which can only be activated by a "combo lock" that is composed of three to five big switches. Opening the lock is just a matter of pressing the right combination of switches, which can be easily brute-forced (and it's the only way to open them). The only exception is on the secret level of episode four, where, to finish the level, you have to find out a ''ten-button'' sequence; you've got to find one of the two places in the level where the sequence is shown.

* ''MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga'' has two such puzzles: one at Woohoo Hooniversity, and the other when Luigi is alone in Guffawha Ruins.

* ''Runescape'' has a very difficult ControlRoomPuzzle in one of the earlier quests available. To make it worse, the old installment didn't even give any indication whatsoever of when a switch the player pulled locked or unlocked a specific door, forcing the player to just try and brute-force the whole thing through trial and error.

* In ''{{Starship Titanic}}'' there was a robot band that needed to be re-calibrated to play the right music. The controls were easy enough to use and determine what did what, but the solution was in fact found in the game's ''manual'' and not through any other means.
** Um, no. The solution is right on the chairs to the left, you don't need the manual to solve the Music Room.

* [[WallBanger If the room really was a Control Room]] you could reasonably assume that the switches and what they would do would be at least labeled and perform some sensible task.

* In ''[[Starship Titanic]]'' there was a robot band that needed to be re-calibrated to play the right music. The controls were easy enough to use and determine what did what, but the solution was in fact found in the game's ''manual'' and not through any other means.
* In ''[[The Dig]]'' there was one of these. You had to use some unlabeled alien controls to pick up a focusing lens at the bottom of a pit. Problem was, it was unclear what you needed the control panel ''for'' rather than how to operate it.

* [[WallBanger If the room really was a Control Room]] you could reasonably assume that the switches and what they would do would be at least labeled or preform some sensible task.

* ''MassEffect 2'' has the player have to do one of these during a side quest to unlock a door in the central room. It's insultingly easy.

* ''StarWars: Dark Forces'' had one of these in its Coruscant mission. It consisted of a spiral corridor, divided into sections. Each section had a switch, and you had to flip each switch in a specific order as you worked your way through the sections. Flip too many, and everything behind you would seal off, and getting that last door to open was maddening. This troper recalls thinking, as he slogged back and forth bewteen locked down sections, "how the HELL do the stormtroopers work this thing if they can't even shoot straight?"

* ''ZorkGrandInquisitor'' had one of those when you were escaping from jail, where you have the ability to open or close any cell block in the prison. As one of the last major puzzles before the end of the game, the solution is quite obtuse, and requires reading a map, tracing air vents (and realizing [[spoiler: the map is a side view instead of a top down]]), and watching camera footage. Any wrong answer leads to death.
* ''KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' has this on the Mannan Sith base, a lampshade is hung on how much a pain in the ass these puzzles are.
* This editor remembers spending several hours attempting to solve a switch puzzle required to get the hidden summons ''{{Wild ARMs 2}}'' where you had to push some panels in the walls with some text about different religions in a certain order with only a cryptic message about spirals or something. Eventually he gave up and [[GuideDangIt resorted to]] {{GameFAQs}} for the solution. [[spoiler: It turns out that each panel had a word that sounded like a day (moon=Monday, Thor=Thursday etc)]].
** It's so awkward because of a poor cultural translation. The original was based on the origins of the day names in Japanese... where they're transparent and well-known. When they decided to make the puzzle the same, but convert it to English day names, it ended up much more obtuse.

** Worth noting that its possible with appropriate character skills to untrap and unlock the doors as well as shutting the floor electricity, thus delicately brute-forcing your way through.
* The ''{{Glider}} PRO'' scenario "[=SpacePods=]" had four control rooms with eight switches each. In each one, you had to toggle the correct four switches, with only cryptic clues to guide you. (The correct solution could be found by checking the icons next to the switches and seeing which four had something in common.) Players of the scenario "Sky Links" by the same author were relieved when, in the part recalling the environment of "[=SpacePods=]", they were directed to just hit all the switches on the control panel.

* The medicine puzzle in ''{{La-Mulana}}'' is a ControlRoomPuzzle in disguise: here, the room is actually a corridor, and toggling switches is replaced by casting spells at fairies. If you get it wrong, you have to go all the way back to the sage before trying again. [[spoiler:The Hell Temple requires you to do this in three different ways.]] Another ControlRoomPuzzle, lying in the second level of the Endless Corridor, is so cleverly disguised it doesn't even look like a puzzle at first.

* ''Runescape'' has a very difficult ControlRoomPuzzle in one of the earlier quests available. To make it worse, the old installment didn't even give any indication whatsoever of when a switch the player pulled locked or unlocked a specific door, forcing the player to just try and brute-force the whole thing through trial and error.