Playing video games on a Chromebook can present a challenge. Most games don't have versions compatible with this Google OS, limiting users to games that can be played without downloading -- and that means browser games. The Neutral room escape games are some of the best browser plays available and are not limited by their platform's seeming simplicity.
Japanese Flash creator Mya has released 13 escape room games of various length and complexity over the last 15 years under the Neutral room escape banner. With the exception of the most recent game written in OpenGL, all of the room escapes use Flash to allow players to interact with the rooms in a browser window and even save their state in case a playthrough takes more than one sitting.
Neutral's room escape games showcase what's good about extensible, browser-based games with limited system requirements.
The Neutral room escape games feature simplistic, minimalist design that hides often complex object relationships, bringing hours of enjoyment for limited investment. In the way of escape rooms everywhere, players find themselves in a room with a locked door and must figure out a way to unlock the door to leave. With fixed viewpoints for each of the room's four walls, players must interact with objects on shelves, hidden beneath couch cushions and built into the architecture to find keys and solve puzzles.
The Neutral games feature much more complex design than many other digital escape room experiences, which are often no more interesting than "find all 10 keys to progress!" In these games, players will dive deep into the fabricated room for less obvious puzzles, often including things like playing through minigames modeled on in-game computers, turning lamps on and off in the right order, or recreating patterns displayed in hanging pictures.
The complexity of the Neutral room escape games is unexpected, given the simple modeling and their browser-based nature. However, these games do not underestimate a player's ability or their desire for difficult, sometime frustrating puzzles. The Neutral games raise the bar for browser games and open up the world of complex puzzle playthroughs for Chromebook users everywhere.
The Neutral room escape games are must-plays for any puzzle- or escape room-lover. Their OS-agnostic accessibility means they're available for anyone who is interested in diving deep into these tiny, puzzle-filled worlds -- at least until Flash is discontinued at the end of the year.