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Rate five things you know, from any shelf. Your archetype shows up in about a minute, and gets sharper with every log.
Platform, Puzzle, Strategy, Adventure
OpenCritic69IGDB65
Check-in to The Spectrum Retreat for a stay you won't forget. Manipulate your way to the truth in this captivating narrative-driven puzzler. You awake at The Penrose hotel, a peaceful yet unsettling refuge from the outside world. All is not as it seems, and your desire to unearth the truth is obstructed by an array of color-coded puzzles, mind-bending physics challenges and the growing fear of exposing your true intentions.
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Dark, contemplative, tiny and plot-driven.
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A few lines from each review; the whole review is on the critic's site. Not part of Taste Buds's numbers.
Jump Dash RollMatt JordanJul 20189/10The Spectrum Retreat impresses with its devilishly tricky puzzle solving, which rewards exploration and new ways of thinking about challenges. A real delight — check yourself into the Penrose Hotel today.
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Nintendo LifeGavin LaneSep 20188/10The Spectrum Retreat is a valiant stab at a Portal-esque puzzler which largely pulls off what it sets out to achieve. It lacks the dynamite script and surgical timing of Valve's masterpiece, but the test chambers (sorry, ‘authentication challenges') withstand the comparison. If Gone Home's pace is a touch too navel-gazing for your liking, we'd heartily recommend a trip to The Penrose Hotel.
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GamePittRob PittJul 20189/10The Spectrum Retreat is a challenging, first-person puzzle game set within the near future. As you awake and being to explore the Penrose hotel, you will begin to unlock your memories through the various colour-based logic puzzles and various interactions you have with the mysterious Cooper. You must solve each of these ingenious puzzles as you uncover the truth behind why you are in such a place and who is behind your imprisonment. The Spectrum Retreat has AAA quality voice acting, an amazing soundtrack and the perfect amount of mind-bending and thought-provoking puzzles all contained within a single package.
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PlayStation LifeStyleJanet GarciaJul 20185/10Overall, I would have to say not really. The puzzles themselves are this game's saving grace. I didn't have a bad time playing it, but I can't recommend it in good faith. If you're a huge puzzle fan, like me, there's something here for you. But in all honesty, there are plenty of puzzle games out there that wouldn't come with this big of an asterisk. Go play those. All of that said, a player's reaction to the narrative and hub world is going to be the big deciding factor for whether or not you think this game is good. The narrative and gameplay combined together detract from the experience of one another, resulting in something decent at best and eye-roll inducing at worst. The Spectrum Retreat really went for it, but a swing and a miss is still a miss.
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We Got This CoveredEric HallJul 20182.5/5 starsThe Spectrum Retreat is a perfectly serviceable puzzler, but it rarely rises above mediocrity. There's potential within the ground of the Penrose Hotel, but it's never capitalized on.
Read the reviewSnippets via OpenCritic, where 37% of critics recommend it.
IGDB rating 6.7/10 from 20 ratings.
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“Is the story better than the gameplay?”
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“Would a little humor have helped?”
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“Is The Spectrum Retreat too earnest?”
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