Demo escapes from Dr. Finklestein's Marvelous Room 

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

First glimpse of community-driven experimental adventure available on Steam and Epic

Can a (so-called) walking simulator really be a walking simulator if it takes place in a single room? Can an escape room adventure really be an escape room adventure if you're not really trying to escape? The answers are yes and yes (and no), plus a whole lot more in DEVBEEF's upcoming Dr. Finklestein's Marvelous Room.

It's 1970, and the bad news is, the world is about to end in six months due to the imminent arrival of a colossal "space worm, officially dubbed the 'Dark Doodad.'" The good news is, there's one last chance for humanity, and it all depends on you. Not through force or other conventional means, but by being the sole hand-picked subject of an unusual experiment conducted by the "distinguished (mad) scientist, Dr. Gumphrey Finklestein." You know little about “The Marvelous Room Experiment” going in, except that it involves something to do with the "transfer of objects between worlds." Fifty objects, to be precise, whether "a book, a piano, or a playable arcade cabinet" (or something much, much stranger). Sounds harmless enough, but beware, as they all come with their own "unique attributes" that can lead to unexpected consequences. 

Building on the success of the indie developer's similarly story-driven 2022 release of Title_Pending, Dr. Finklestein's Marvelous Room takes place almost entirely in a single 10m x 8m x 5m space, once you've made your way there through the alarmingly dysfunctional halls of the International Space Agency. Stepping directly into the free-roaming (if not far-roaming) shoes of the protagonist known only as "Participant," you will carry out your mission under the watchful eye of the titular scientist, who soon proves to be more than little unreliable as a narrator/host, giving the experience a noticeable Stanley Parable vibe. What's particularly interesting about the fifty items you'll process is that they were left to the whims of the developer's "lunatic fanbase" to decide, giving the game a diverse and thoroughly unpredictable collection of elements to incoporate. And all you need to do to facilitate their transport into the room is throw a lever. What could possibly go wrong? 

The full version of Dr. Finklestein's Marvelous Room isn't due out until sometime later this year, but you can get in some early switch-pulling practice right away with the launch of the playable demo, available now on Steam and Epic, introducing the first six items on world-saving list. 

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