Hands-on with The Underground Blossom
Rusty Lake has been making point-and-click puzzle games for quite some time now and The Underground Blossom is their 17th. I have been a fan of Rusty Lake since the Flash era, so when I saw The Underground Blossom at Gamescom this year, I waited in line to play it.
It follows the life of Laura Vanderboom, who is often seen travelling with her mother, Rose. In the first scene, you are at a train station. Rose is happy you came but doesn't interact with you otherwise. Laura is a baby, who clearly needs attention. You will then set about solving puzzles and figure out how to master this level before continuing on the timeline.
In classic point-and-click fashion, you are meant to tap various parts of the screen, zooming in on images or getting various objects that are dotted around. Some things are quite straightforward; baby needs a new diaper, for example, while other things like the meaning behind Rose's necklace and how that will solve puzzles take a bit more attention to detail.
The Underground Blossom felt really straightforward for me to play, with things easily connecting and being solved. There aren't many rooms in each level to go through, and not too many interaction points, so it feels natural to use objects and find different puzzles. I actually was able to complete the first chapter quite quickly.
The second chapter of the game brings you quite a bit forward in time, with Laura being a toddler at the same exact train station. I also got to keep some of the items that I had found in the previous chapter - though it's not likely I would still have a random bar that I got years prior at the same location, but these items give you something to start with in the new chapter.
The Underground Blossom feels like another strong entry into the Rusty Lake universe, with the same art style that is known with this game developer. It is a stand-alone game, so you do not need to play any of the previous games to understand what is going on - and I found the puzzles to be very well made.
