PAX Aus had so many amazing games this year! The section dedicated to indie games on the show floor, PAX Rising, is always one of my favourite places in the whole expo and this year was no exception. With so many incredible titles from our many amazing Australian indie developers, it can be hard to stand out but one little vacuum cleaner has absolutely captured my heart. I’m talking, of course, about the one and only Rumu.
Rumu is a beautiful narrative driven adventure game from the aptly named, Sydney based studio, Robot House.
At first glance the premise of Rumu is simple, Rumu is a sentient AI vacuum cleaner. Your mission is simple as Rumu; clean the house. As the game continues, you become sucked deep into the larger narrative at play. A story of intrigue and mystery is happening all around Rumu. It’s up to you to find the dirty laundry of the household.
I’m going to be trying really hard not to give away any potential spoilers. So you’ll have to bear with my vague and suggestive language for the time being.
“…the team had a lot of discussions around morals and ethics in technology…”
Gameplay is centred around puzzles involving everyday routines, devices and events in our day to day lives. I was lucky enough to speak with Ally McLean from Robot House while I was at PAX.
She explained that the team had a lot of discussions around morals and ethics in technology. She noted they wanted to approach these themes with the mechanics of point and click adventure games in the same vein as The Secret of Monkey Island.
Rumu is presented with a beautiful dollhouse/diorama aesthetic. With clean lines, bright vibrant colours and gradients Robot House manage to really communicate the mood of the room. All this while delivering an absolutely beautiful world to explore and lose yourself in.
This is a style that you really need to see to get a real idea of, the soft warm lights of the morning feel welcoming and inviting while the blues and dark colours of the evening give a real feel of isolation and foreboding. Rumu was one of the standouts at PAX for me. With a gorgeous design, adorable robot and a strong and emotional story that will have you in tears. I recommend you keep a close eye on Rumu.
The Robot House team are super excited to be bringing Rumu into our homes in late 2017 on Steam for PC and I for one cannot wait.
About the Author
Morgan Archer
Having arguments in 140 characters or less since 2010
