Submachine 4: The Lab

Origins
The Submachine (meaning "submerged machines") games is a series of point and click, "escape from the room" puzzle games where the player must find objects and clues scattered throughout various settings, figure out what to do with them, and apply them to certain objects and circumstances to open up more areas of each game and to hopefully eventually beat the games.

Basically all the player (who is never shown onscreen) has to do is use the mouse to search for onscreen items and clues and click on them in order to place them somewhere or store them into their inventory for later use, or to press a button or move a lever, switch or other device to perform a function that will help the player solve the mysteries of the game.

The Lab
This takes place right after Submachine 3: The Loop ends, as it reads "see you at the lab" as a final message when the game is beaten.

At first the game might look deceptive, as this is not a technologically advanced, modern lab like a person might expect (as the lab's computer seems to employ a very dated dot matrix printer), but it is rather mundane and seems to just be an ordinary house at first, especially when the player has to combine a few chemical elements to short out a panel later in order to gain more access to the lab.

However, the player will surprisingly not only make contact with an actual person (no people have ever been seen in any of the games thus far) through the lab's computer, but also that person turns out to be Mur as well, whose actions the player has been following since the very first Submachine game. This chapter also becomes a bit of a treat for Submachine fans not long afterwards (especially since it placed pretty highly in a poll for favorite Submachine games), once the player accesses an area with a teleportation device, as they will be able to start "jumping" to various sites, several of which are settings from earlier Submachine games, although with some graphical changes.

For instance, one jump point is the Basement, although with several big machines scattered around that were not there before, along with several holes in the walls. The Loop area also doesn't have the original unending looping corridors as before, and the Lighthouse area has a few new items as well. There is also an expansion of the Ancient game, but one area on a boat is totally new.

There are also major clues as to the nature of the Submachine, as notes have been left behind from various other teams that have been exploring these sections. It is unknown what has happened to the teams though, as well as what their current whereabouts are, although it does fit in well with the feeling of dread and isolation presented throughout the series, as the notes are pretty grim in nature, with pleas of help and all.

The game ends rather similarly to Submachine 3, which again a statue somehow is the key to the final puzzle, which a message says that you passed all the tests flawlessly, which you may now begin working at the lab, leading to The Root.

Links

 * Play game at the Stage Select arcade
 * Official site

This article uses material from the from the Submachine series article and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License.