Elsewhere Electric Review: A Challenging, Intriguing Escape Room

Elsewhere Electric is an intriguing co-op escape room puzzler that's out now for VR and mobile. Read on for our full review.

I've been closely following Elsewhere Electric since its initial reveal. Following the studio's work on Broken Spectre, Games By Stitch has taken a different approach that unites these platforms through mandatory two-player co-op. With the mobile player acting as your operator from your van, it's up to the VR player to directly investigate a strange power plant.

Having mobile players handle input is a sensible call, which is much easier than typing codes using a set of motion controllers. What's both surprising and disappointing though is that Elsewhere Electric doesn't include built-in voice chat, which is a crucial omission for a co-op only game. That's easy enough to get around as Games By Stitch directly suggests using external solutions like Discord, though hardly ideal for non-local play.

Instead of direct in-game tutorials, Elsewhere Electric aims to ease you into the mechanics gradually with some guidance through environmental clues. More direct onboarding would be useful as you're very much left to figure this out alone, and one of my co-op partners found this rather frustrating. Data drives located around certain floors also unlock useful new abilities for the mobile player, like keeping facility doors open. Once you've got the idea, the different floors (so far) provide a steady but tougher difficulty curve.

The VR player directly moves across each floor to power up machines and solve puzzles, carrying a power source called juice. It's a memorable approach as transferring and collecting energy occurs through your glove's finger, which then involves sticking your finger into the power socket. What's both unsettling and hilarious in equal measure is your hidden energy reserve. Placing your glove's finger near your mouth lets you, uh, swallow the juice. Does this have any side effects? No idea. I'll cross that bridge of corroded organs when I get there.

Each room changes layout across different playthroughs, though basic gameplay remains the same. There is a welcome challenge as these rooms slowly get more advanced. I won't detail these puzzles too closely because the puzzle solving is most rewarding when you figure out the answers yourself. This can be tricky, yet there's a consistent logic underlying these floors.

Seemingly straightforward tasks like describing symbols, which range from silhouettes in corridors to newspapers, effectively test you and your partner's communication skills. This is a necessity for the mobile player to power up devices and certain symbols will keep reappearing, though the specific ones that show up are randomized in each playthrough. I won't spoil the logic here either, though I'm beginning to understand their meanings, and you need to pay close attention. Being able to label them is also useful.

Once the mobile player inputs the correct symbols for each device, they can provide assistance like helping to open doors, move security cameras, or activate the lights. Missing certain criteria can block the doors from opening, which can leave Elsewhere Electric feeling frustrating when you've missed a clue and can't figure out where it is, and some clues are more obvious than others.

Even if the mobile player doesn't actively use the surveillance camera, which drains that floor's juice when used, a multi-room floor might require a camera facing the door for an entry scan to work. Whatever is down here, the company doesn't want it escaping. Why wouldn't they want a camera there to play it safe? That comes back around to each symbol's meaning, cleverly tapping into the game's logic. This isn't always that simple, and clearing floors is rewarding.

Speaking of which, now's a good time to mention that you shouldn't worry too much if you're easily scared. Walking through the dark rooms can be rather tense, building up that environmental tension well as you progress. However, you're not always alone exploring these locations. The mobile player can't pinpoint exactly where any threats are, but they can detect if hostile entities are lurking in the room.

Small creatures can latch onto your arm to steal your juice, and these foes are invisible until you find them. I wouldn't exactly call this scary; the vibe is more mysterious than outright horror, but these weird foes still make me jump. This adds some additional strategy since you can shake them off with relative ease, but they'll still target machines filled with juice. If you leave a door open? That's on you for letting them freely roam.

You do eventually learn how to take these foes out, and the move is actually available from the start, but you wouldn't know it unless you've played before. My only real avoidance tactic in the earlier floors is running away and being careful, since running out of juice forces the mobile player to rescue you back to the surface and refill from the van. Your floor progress won't reset, though any machines previously powered up will lose their juice.

Despite its colorful presentation and gripping atmospheric tension, Elsewhere Electric is also significantly undermined by a persistent visual issue. While I can't speak for the finalized version on Quest 2 or Quest Pro, playing natively on Quest 3 has strong aliasing issues that leave much of the presentation noticeably blurry or jagged. I'm still experiencing this issue three months since launch, and you can see some more prominent examples above.

Elsewhere Electric Review - Final Verdict

Elsewhere Electric offers a compelling but challenging mystery, featuring some clever escape room puzzles that initially intrigue but soon feels repetitive. As a co-op only experience, your mileage may vary depending on how well you and your gameplay partner communicate. Unfortunately, it's also hampered by minimal onboarding, no built-in voice chat, and distracting visual issues.

If you love VR puzzlers, Games By Stitch has created a good foundation here that delivers effective, tense atmospheric design. Those prior frustrations mean I'd struggle to recommend more widely but finding solutions can be highly rewarding. If you're up for a new challenge with a friend, Elsewhere Electric is worth a look.

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