Line #15 VideoGame/RoomBreak


1	'''''VideoGame/{{RoomBreak}}''''' (aka ''[=RoomBreak=]: Escape Now!!'') is a 2011 episodic RoomEscapeGame by Korean developers gameday for the [[UsefulNotes/IOSGames iPhone and iPad]].
2
3	In a unique twist, each of the five episodes has an independent storyline with [[AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent its own protagonist]] [[GenreRoulette and genre]]: you'll play through a domestic drama, a murder mystery, a government spy thriller, a TwoFistedTale and a conspiracy thriller. A sixth episode with a more conventional LockedInARoom setting was later made available as DownloadableContent.
4
5	Aside from the vignette-style storytelling, ''[=RoomBreak=]'' sets itself apart with its LifeMeter. Each action you take is CastFromHitPoints, so if you try to [[ICantUseTheseThingsTogether brute force your way through each room by combining everything you see]], it's GameOver. At the end of each level, you're [[GameplayGrading graded]] based on time taken and life remaining.
6
7	LetsPlay/{{slowbeef}}, along with several guests, did a LetsPlay of the game in 2013 ([[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHMH6OVy54OGoY5D4oPyM8yDaMseWzwAr compiled here]]), though he only went as far as the beginning of Episode 4. A later LP by slowbeef and LetsPlay/{{Diabetus}} as part of WebVideo/{{Retsupurae}} [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLo4M1tlpv9rtpYow4d9HVp5qjoUTg-ds9 would be uploaded by the channel in 2016,]] this time covering the entirety of the first four episodes.
8
9	-----
10	!!''[=RoomBreak=]'' contains examples of the following tropes:
11	* AgentsDating: Agent Call turns out to have already reached this stage with the cute little number who serves as his MissionControl. The two are engaged as of the start of Episode 3 ([[AsYouKnow not that the player would be expected to know this]]) and occasionally [[FlirtingUnderFire take the time to flirt and compliment one another as she guides him to safety]].
12	* AlienInvasion: Episode 4 begins with a UFO appearing over the Statue of Liberty, and the protagonist is called in by the U.S. government to investigate. [[spoiler:The extraterrestrials thankfully [[BenevolentAlienInvasion have come in peace]], hoping to broker a peace treaty with humanity for the continued preservation of those who live on the earth and in outer space.]]
13	* AllegedlyFreeGame: The base game is free and supported by in-game advertising, but hints are given through {{microtransactions}} and a sixth episode is available as paid DownloadableContent.
14	* AncientAstronauts: [[spoiler:Episode 4 deals with an ancient, scientifically-advanced, and seemingly Greco-Egyptian civilization (the protagonist discovers both [[Art/TheSphinx a Sphinx]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antikythera_mechanism the Antikythera mechanism]]) that appears to be of alien origin, or at least connected to it. They seem to have been wiped out by a nuclear explosion caused by [[WhenThePlanetsAlign the alignment of the planets]] and sent a decipherable message to mankind in attempt to prevent them from sharing the same fate.]] [[BlindIdiotTranslation We]] [[MindScrew think]].
15	* AsYouKnow: Agent Call and his MissionControl discuss [[AgentsDating their engagement]] and upcoming marriage this way.
16	* BadassInANiceSuit: Agent Call at least ''looks'' the part, being a UsefulNotes/{{CIA}} agent and all. He even opens up his episode by [[BoomHeadshot capping a man in the head]], [[spoiler:though we later learn it was [[NotQuiteDead a botched assassination]]]].
17	* BatmanGambit: In Episode 2, Dr. Alice [[spoiler:pretends to break Keith's hypnosis and places him in a version of her office with an easy means of escape and a fully-loaded weapon, counting on Keith, a suspected murderer, to not only make a break for it and attempt to kill Alice, but also confess to his previous crimes]]. Incredibly, it works.
18	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Episode 1 ends with its protagonist [[FiveStagesOfGrief finally coping with the tragic death of his wife]], thus enabling him to step outside and get on with his life for the first time in who knows how long.]]
19	* BraggingRightsReward: The hidden golden keys, one per room in every episode.
20	* ClearMyName: Keith, the protagonist of Episode 2, is the prime suspect in a criminal investigation. He agrees to subject himself to [[HypnoPendulum Dr. Alice's brand of hypnotherapy]] and sort through his memories in order to prove his innocence. [[spoiler:He ends up failing.]]
21	* CopyAndPasteEnvironments: Episode 1 has you escaping from the same apartment room five times, albeit with different (and harder) puzzles each time. Justified by the mundane setting and conflict, as later episodes have much more variety.
22	* CreatorCameo: gameday's logo appears as part of a puzzle in Episode 3.
23	* CuttingTheKnot: At least OnceAnEpisode you'll open a locked door through unconventional means, whether it's breaking it with a hammer, [[ShootOutTheLock shooting out the lock]] with a double-barreled shotgun, or blowing it open with dynamite.
24	* DeadAllAlong: [[spoiler:Juliet. Episode 1 is about her widower coming to grips with the reality of her death, and moving on.]]
25	* {{Fanservice}}: gameday's female characters deliver handily in this department.
26	** Juliet [[ModestyTowel wears nothing but a towel]] for most of the first episode.
27	** Dr. Alice sports a look expected more of a HotTeacher[=/=]HotLibrarian than a tenured psychiatrist, and the panning shot of her during Episode 2's ending [[RuleOfSexy inexplicably]] has her shirt unbuttoned, revealing a generous amount of cleavage.
28	** Similar to Dr. Alice, Agent Call's MissionControl fiancée wears an unbuttoned shirt, only she happens to be quite a bit ampler in the chest department. The ending of the episode shows that her CIA uniform also includes a short skirt, [[MaleGaze calling attention to her derrière]].
29	* FiveStagesOfGrief: [[spoiler:The protagonist of Episode 1 is going through Depression after losing his wife, Juliet. After completing the episode, he reaches Acceptance.]]
30	* HerHeartWillGoOn: [[spoiler:Agent Call's fiancée doesn't seem too torn up about the fact that her lover died on the job. In her defense, the mission was a top priority, so she may simply have been compartmentalizing and not allowing any grief she felt to be shown.]]
31	* IdiotBall: One that's grabbed before the game even starts, at that. Agent Call and his MissionControl partner are caught by surprise when all of the building's doors are locked as part of security measures [[FailedASpotCheck they apparently overlooked]]. Of course, [[AnthropicPrinciple without this gaffe, Call wouldn't be locked in a room]].
32	-->'''Agent Call:''' [[LampshadeHanging "How come we had no idea there was this security system in this building!? We examined every detail of this building!"]]
33	* ModestyBedsheet: Juliet wears one (and a pillow across her chest) constantly, except during the intro and ending of Episode 1.
34	* NoNameGiven: Most characters are never referred to by name, including the protagonists of Episodes 1 and 4.
35	* OurPresidentsAreDifferent: The U.S. president, who appears in Episode 4, is a [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed President Unmodified]] version of UsefulNotes/BarackObama.
36	* {{Pixellation}}: [[invoked]]During the TwistEnding of Episode 3, the scene where [[spoiler:your MissionControl stabs the BigBad in the stomach]] is censored in this way. Unfortunately, due to the combination of the censorship and the way both characters are placed, it gives the scene some [[FreudWasRight unintentionally sexual implications]].
37	* PsychoPsychologist: Growing more and more frustrated with Dr. Alice's insinuations about the dubiously incriminating messages that appear on the windows in his dream world, Keith accuses her of trying to get him to confess to a crime he didn't commit via {{gaslighting}}. While the ethics of [[GuileHero her methods]] can indeed be called into question, [[spoiler:Keith admits in Room 5 that he was not only guilty of murder but a ''{{serial killer}}'' (or [[BlindIdiotTranslation "series killer"]])]].
38	* RecursiveTranslation: gameday are independent South Korean developers who translated the game's script into English themselves. Surprisingly, the result is ''not'' a TranslationTrainWreck, though there's more than enough [[BlindIdiotTranslation spotty grammar, awkwardly structured sentences, and odd word choices]] to go around. Good luck trying to make sense of [[MindScrew Episode 4]] with this in mind.
39	* ShoutOut: A poster of Music/TheBeatles plays a part in a puzzle early in Episode 1.
40	* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Due to the title font, expect to see ''[=RoomBreak=]'' spelled as two separate words.
41	* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Near the end of Episode 3, [[spoiler:Agent Call tries to make a BedsheetLadder out of curtains in order to escape the multi-story complex he's been infiltrating. Other far more insane puzzles have gone off without a hitch, but this one works about as well as it would in RealLife, and TheHeroDies as a result]].
42	* TattooedCrook: [[spoiler:Keith has tattoos on his arms extending from his forearms to his wrists, and his actions as the episode progresses show he's anything but unassuming.]]
43	* TwistEnding: Each episode has one.
44	** Episode 1: [[spoiler:Juliet died of a SoapOperaDisease before the game started, and the various [[TitleDrop room breaks]] are her husband trying to deal with his grief over losing her.]]
45	** Episode 2: [[spoiler:Keith was the murderer and a [[BlindIdiotTranslation "series killer"]] the whole time and brags about his crimes to Dr. Alice before killing her with her own shotgun. He flees the scene only to find out [[BatmanGambit he's still under hypnosis]] and [[ThePerryMasonMethod has just confessed everything to a still-alive Dr. Alice and several policemen]].]]
46	** Episode 3: [[spoiler:[[TheHeroDies Agent Call dies]] believing that his MissionControl {{Love Interest\|s}} [[FemmeFataleSpy has betrayed him]], but at the last minute she reveals herself to be TheMole and stabs the BigBad in the stomach, retrieving the MacGuffin for the CIA.]]
47	** [[invoked]]Episode 4: [[spoiler:The [[AlienInvasion alien invaders]] [[BenevolentAlienInvasion actually want to make peace with humanity]]. By the end of the story, the aliens and the U.S. government are on amicable terms, leading to the [[{{Narm}} incredible scene]] of Barack Obama and [[TheGreys a grey]] shaking hands at a press conference.]]
48	* VillainProtagonist: [[spoiler:Keith in Episode 2.]]
49	* WaistcoatOfStyle: Agent Call's target in Episode 3, presumably a CorruptCorporateExecutive, wears one of these.

Context VideoGame / RoomBreak