Servant of the Lake review: a haunting point-and-click puzzler full of mystery

Game developer Rusty Lake has made a name for itself for its minimalist macabre mysteries. In each iteration of these bite-sized adventures, players are tasked with completing an array of uncanny puzzles, typically revolving around a strange family known as the Vanderbooms.

From the franchise’s origins as a Twin Peaks homage – the main characters of its early adventures are named Dale and Laura – the series has evolved to encompass a greater mythology. The latest game in the series, Servant of the Lake, goes back to the origins of the game’s story, tracing the lineage of the Vanderbooms and exploring the root of the darkness in their home estate.

With clever puzzles that balance challenge and reward, and an ever-growing, ever-creepy mystery at its heart, Servant of the Lake is another compelling chapter of the Rusty Lake story.

The servant’s hands hide many secrets

You enter this new chapter as a servant arriving to the Vanderboom estate. You’re greeted by a wide-eyed and blank-faced maid, who indicates that your presence is appreciated but it’s lucky you’re only spending a weekend at the estate. After all, the Vanderbooms can be a strange and demanding bunch, and there are suggestions the estate may be haunted by a malevolent force.

As with others in the Rusty Lake series, the true mystery of Servant of the Lake remains obscure throughout its hours of gameplay (this is a longer title compared to others in the series, to its great benefit). When you think you have a grasp on what might be happening, a spooky jump scare or glimpse of the unknown will set you back, pushing you out of your comfort zone.

Rather than outright horror, this game goes for a simmering tone of dread that builds until the horrors become unavoidable. The slowly ratcheting tension is to be admired – the story holds enough back to encourage intrigue before it reveals its final hand.

The best horror is the most understated, and the Rusty Lake team works well within the game’s bounds (a simplistic visual style and reactionary point-and-click mechanics) to develop these notes of horror and allow them to play out slowly and artfully on screen.

A solid balance in puzzles

The easy mistake games like this can make is being too obtuse. The horror depends on the player’s investment and curiosity, as well as their ingenuity. Puzzles must be challenging to the point where they amplify the fear and strangeness of the game, but without off-siding players or making them feel hopeless.

Servant of the Lake strikes an impactful balance. The puzzles here are challenging, but not to the point of players giving up or needing a walkthrough. Some can be solved with a surface-level approach and a simple application of logic. Others require testing – poking, prodding, trying out new combinations or playing around with the elements on screen.

One particular puzzle that was a standout for me was in the middle chapter of the game, taking place during a hunting trip with Aldous Vanderboom. This particular trip is very off-putting, as you’ll be hunting for animals and discover, in the course of your puzzle-solving, that the only way to summon a deer appears to be dispatching a wandering man in the pathway.

What follows is a puzzle concerning the pieces of animals you discover – cartoonish, but macabre – as you work to figure out how they correspond to a combination lock and a nearby poem.

At first, you might pair animal pieces, thinking that they belong and respond to others of their kind. When that doesn’t work, you may pick up the pieces to discover a physical response to touch when the correct pieces and their corresponding numbers are found.

Elsewhere, Servant of the Lake is littered with equally odd and occasionally disgusting puzzles, with the true horror hidden behind the game’s cartoon art style. It’s the juxtaposition that gets you. These characters and objects might look silly, but the minimalism gives you a glimpse of what’s beneath the surface.

A more realistic game would imbue more disgust into puzzles involving the corralling of cockroaches, severed eyeballs, or blood and guts. But Servant of the Lake uses its art style to disguise these more hideous moments, creating a sense of surreality while also engaging players as the bowstrings draw tight.

A perfect introduction to the Rusty Lake adventures

If you’re unfamiliar with the Rusty Lake series – there are around a dozen stories in the canon so far – the layered and well-rounded Servant of the Lake is a great jumping in point. Its suite of puzzles are among the most clever in the series so far, and while there are some unreasonable jump scares, its horror is mostly well-contained and breeds curiosity.

Beyond the still-unravelling lore, the puzzles are the key draw here. They’re clever in their many facets, and with ‘escape room’ style delivery, they allow for players to experiment freely without being too overwhelmed by choices.

Between them, you’ll find more of the game’s story oozing through the cracks, leading you along the pathway to the central mystery – with trepidation in every step. A good horror makes you want to close your eyes, but to maintain focus on the action through your fingers.

Servant of the Lake is a very good horror, and a great puzzle game to boot.

A PC copy of Servant of the Lake was provided by the publisher and played for the purposes of this review.

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