It’s not just about escaping the room. It’s about escaping death.
Oxide Room 104 is an indie body-horror video game developed by WildSphere, a seasoned Spanish studio with over a decade of experience. Seamlessly blending escape room mechanics, eerie atmospheres, and time-loop elements, the title marks the team’s first bold venture into the expansive world of horror. While WildSphere already boasts a diverse portfolio, this 2022 release stands as their debut in the genre—arriving on PC and consoles with a hauntingly distinctive and deeply unsettling identity.
Masters of Our Own Fate
You play as Matthew, a lone man driving through the dead of night on his way to the Night Soul Motel, where he’s set to meet a contact for what promises to be the deal of a lifetime. But the meeting never takes place—something goes terribly wrong. In a sudden cut to black, he regains consciousness in a decrepit bathtub inside a rundown motel room: Room 104. Naked, disoriented, and with no memory of how he got there, Matthew must solve puzzles and confront lurking threats to escape the twisted games of a cryptic figure clad in a classic orange prison jumpsuit. The narrative unfolds through scattered documents and environmental storytelling, gradually revealing the dark secrets behind this sinister place.
Escape or Die Trying
The goal is clear: uncover the truth by solving environmental puzzles, deciphering scattered documents, and exploring the motel’s decrepit rooms—your only hope of escaping this waking nightmare. The atmosphere is unrelentingly oppressive, immersing you in a constant state of tension, dread, and psychological vulnerability. Trapped at the mercy of a sadistic captor, the experience channels the grim spirit of Saw, blending fear, helplessness, and suspense into a terrifying game of survival.
A Raw and Sadistic Art
Oxide Room 104’s artistic direction pays homage to classic horror, immersing players in claustrophobic environments rich with eerie, unsettling details. The relentless sadism of our captor permeates the experience, unfolding through brutal, unvarnished scenes of violence. As we navigate the motel’s shadowed corridors—both inside and out—we hunt for the keys that will unlock each successive door, steadily drawing us closer to the elusive promise of escape. Could we ever truly be alone? Certainly not. Grotesque creatures will lurk nearby, emerging suddenly—not just from doors and corners, but even from within the very walls themselves.
Silent Hill Meets the Upside Down
The game runs on Unreal Engine 4, which lends a fittingly atmospheric aesthetic to the experience, despite the visual fidelity being somewhat limited by the constraints typical of an indie production. Character models and animations, while functional, may at times feel dated or derivative. The grotesque creatures that stalk the corridors readily evoke comparisons to the nightmarish abominations of Silent Hill, or the more recent Demogorgon from Stranger Things. Yet their appearances are far from forgettable—thanks to a sharp artistic sensibility and the unmistakable passion of a committed and talented development team.
Sound and Gameplay: The Core of the Experience
Sound design is one of Oxide Room 104’s most compelling strengths, masterfully layering unnerving ambient music with visceral sound effects to sustain a constant state of dread. As players traverse the motel’s dim, decaying corridors, they’re engulfed by distant moans, tormented cries, unsettling whispers, and grotesque noises—each carefully crafted to unnerve and disorient. The result is an oppressive sonic atmosphere that keeps your pulse elevated and your nerves on edge. The only shortcoming lies in the voice acting, which, while serviceable, falls short of delivering the emotional intensity needed to match the game’s chilling tone.
From a gameplay perspective, the focus leans heavily on puzzle-solving and resource management, with limited combat and a reliance on stealth mechanics. Death is not merely a consequence—it is a core component of the experience, and it doesn’t take much to meet your end. Each room hides its own unique danger: toxic gas, hallucinations, venom, fire, or sudden attacks from monstrous abominations—any of which can swiftly drain Matthew’s fragile health, replenishable only by rare antidotes.
The game’s most innovative twist lies in its death loop system. WildSphere has crafted a cleverly unforgiving mechanic in which Matthew can only die a limited number of times. Each death drastically alters the game world: items, puzzles, room layouts, and even your inventory shift unpredictably, creating a constantly evolving environment. This forces players to approach every decision with care and foresight—because survival depends on it.
Generally Approved by Critics
Oxide Room 104 is WildSphere’s first foray into the horror genre, which manages—through its strengths that offset its shortcomings—to earn a solid, passing approval from critics.
Oxide Room 104
PRO
- Immersive and unsettling atmospheres that ensure a constant sense of terror;
- Effective sound design that masterfully builds tension;
- Time-loop mechanics that encourage replayability, allowing players to choose their own path to the goal.
CON
- The storyline loses momentum towards the end;
- Graphics and animations could be improved, despite showing creative intent;
- Aiming and environmental interaction systems feel imprecise compared to the standards players have come to expect.
6.5/10
