Paranormal Detective: Escape from the 90's
Genres: Puzzle, Escape Room, Mystery, Story Rich, Adventure
Play modes: singleplayer, VRONLY
Release Date: 18-1-2022
Developer: LunaBeat
Our verdict
8/10
- Difficulty: Medium
- Players: 1
- Playtime: 2–3 h
Paranormal Detective: Escape from the 90's is a VR-only escape room from LunaBeat and the sequel to Escape from the 80's. As a ghost-curious detective you search an abandoned mall arcade for a girl who vanished in 1998, solving puzzles between working arcade machines such as skee ball, air hockey, basketball and pinball. There are no jump scares, so it suits VR players after a light, nostalgic puzzle night.
Players rate it Very Positive, with 45 of 55 reviews in favour. Fans love the dense 90s references, the playable arcade games, the pog collectibles and a chaotic, funny ending. Puzzles are described as tricky but fair, and the phone-based hint system earns repeated praise for nudging step by step rather than spoiling. Most finish in two to three hours.
Critics call the arcade dark and partly lifeless, with many machines that do nothing, and a few got lost on the penguin-collecting door code. Several who loved the first game felt this one was shorter or no better. Some wanted smooth locomotion and subtitles. Fans of the 80's game should get it; newcomers will have a good time too, ideally on sale.
Pros
- Playable arcade games woven into a 90s mall mystery
- Tiered phone hint system that nudges without spoiling
- Dense 90s references, collectible pogs and no jump scares
Cons
- Dark arcade with many non-interactive machines
- Short for the price; some feel it trails the 80's game
- No smooth locomotion or subtitles
About
You play as a detective who is super in to the supernatural, and you've been tasked with tracking down a girl who went missing back in 1998 at the old abandoned mall- possibly the arcade where her big sister worked. Investigate the old haunted arcade in an abandoned dead mall to try and find the missing girl!
Explore the arcade, unlock hidden secrets, solve puzzles and play awesome retro 90’s arcade games in this VR escape room adventure!
