Facility 47
Genres: Puzzle, Horror, Mystery, Point & Click, Story Rich, Atmospheric
Play modes: singleplayer
Release Date: 14-9-2020
Rating: 4/5
Developer: Inertia Game Studios
Our verdict
7.5/10
- Difficulty: Medium
- Players: 1
- Playtime: 3–4 h
Facility 47 is a hand-drawn point-and-click escape game set in a research base buried in the Antarctic ice. You wake in a frozen cell with a letter and a bottle of pills, and work outward room by room, unlocking new parts of the facility while piecing together why you are there. It suits solo players who like hidden-object searching mixed with a cold, slightly dark mystery.
Steam reception is solid, with roughly 73 of 81 reviews positive, and players tag it for its atmosphere, detective feel and hidden-object scenes. One reviewer enjoyed the puzzles and the story. A more critical one found the opening puzzles logical but the later ones arbitrary, with some unfair red herrings.
That same review flags interface friction: no cursor change over interactive spots, items that only become clickable once you hold the right key item, and a hint button that simply gives the answer. Expect around four hours. At a low price it is a fair pick for point-and-click fans who do not mind some pixel hunting; players who want tightly designed puzzles may get frustrated in the second half.
Pros
- Frozen Antarctic research base gives a strong, lonely setting
- Facility opens up gradually as you solve each area
- Hand-drawn art suits the dark mystery tone
Cons
- No hotspot cursor, so finding clickable items can be fiddly
- Later puzzles feel arbitrary to some players
- Hint button reveals the full solution instead of nudging
About
You wake up alone and freezing in an icy cell. You try the cell door but it’s locked, it seems that you are stuck with no apparent escape. All that surrounds you is a letter and a bottle of pills, and no sign of how long you have been here or why!
Escape from this room and you will begin a journey through an isolated research facility in the freezing depths of the Antarctic, solving exciting puzzles as you go and unlocking new locations around the Facility. A point and click, hidden object mystery thriller that encourages you to explore, investigate and search for the clues that will ultimately allow you to piece together the mysterious history of Facility 47 and how exactly you came to be there!
