Chapter 2 Cube Escape Paradox

[Michele Firmasyah]

Cube Escape: Paradox is the tenth game in the Cube Escape series. It was developed alongside a short film of the same name, and was released on September 20th, 2018. Despite being a Cube Escape game, and not one of the separate Rusty Lake titles, this game is available on paid services and contains a second chapter of DLC, which must be purchased. The first chapter does not.

In this game you play as Dale Vandermeer, who is trapped in an ominous room without any recollection of his past. Dale must solve increasingly challenging puzzles to escape the room and recover his memories.

As we step into the second half of the Cube Escape series, the Rusty Lake world expands in depth now. A lot of the questions before are slowly falling into place with these next few games as The Woman, Dale Vandermeer and how Rusty Lake and its mysterious Mr. Owl and Mr. Crow all come together to create this time travel, fate changing sort of deal.

The sixth game of Cube Escape is set in The Mill which is starts off as one of the more complex games of the series. The Mill has multiple levels which open up through the main level where it all starts. It has the normal puzzles of point and click adventure with picking up items initially but also give little additional games like its memory game as well as some other formats. The Mill itself overlaps a section of the story that was shared before and this time is reflected also as the other side of the story, which gives it such a clever play at this point. At the same time, The Mill is the center of the link between Rusty Lake and how it works and something of the operation between Mr. Owl and Mr. Crow and how they use their victims and their memories and such, giving a deeper glimpse of this own Rusty Lake world.

Cube Escape: Theatre keeps on with the whole down memory lane as it changes to another year in the life of Dale Vandermeer. Theatre has a lot of depth as it takes place at a bar with a stage for the whole program. There are puzzles around the entire room but the big piece of the puzzle is in finding the pieces to complete the entire program of the performing show with a lot of the familiar faces played by the actor. It has a lot of little fun bits from connecting pipes to make certain things happen to balancing out different items to the same weight or even mixing drinks to get more clues. There is a lot of detail and yet so much intrigue bits. Its actually much more grounded in the last few games as the NPCs are interactable and give a direction to what needs to be done next. It might feel a bit like hand-holding for some but with the depth and complexity of some of these puzzles and where to even find the objects to combine together, it sometimes feels rather necessary. Cube Escape: Theatre is a very complete experience of point and click and room escape meshed together and adds some depth to the whole Rusty Lake world as a lot of past elements are thrown in here.

And we are at the last game (unless more get released) of Cube Escape series, although it does feel like a somewhat wrapped up version. Cube Escape: Paradox is separated in 2 chapters. The first is available for free and the second is a DLC purchase (or in-game purchase if you are on mobile). A little side info that I had backed the Kickstarter project so I got the game that way. On top of the two games, there is also a short film paired with it that you can watch HERE.

Paradox is a much more complex and deeper version than any of its previous games. It links to a lot of the elements that had been seen in the previous games and brings the characters together. One of the main reasons is that there are other premium games that help add to the story with Rusty Lake Hotel, Rusty Lake Roots and Rusty Lake Paradise all happening during these last 5 games which add a lot of depth to the world and link everything together. Its not necessary to play them but it does help to perhaps piece it better together. Review for those will be coming up.

Look beneath the TV and plug in the right cable. Back out and turn right. Open the red curtain to find Harvey, then look in the mirror to see that you are a bit cold. Next examine the dresser and open the left box to find a key. Look at the puzzle box on the right and slide the tiles around until they match the engravings beneath them. Open this box and take out a photo piece (1/5).

Back out and turn right again. Look at the framed painting on the wall and take another photo piece (2/5). Look at the set of drawers on the left and take the cigar. Look at the set of drawers on the right and examine the flyer - flip it over to see the message "Not the blue vial".

Back out and turn right once more. Flip the light switch up. Take the jacket from the hanger, then look at the drawers on the left. Take the scissors, photo piece (3/5) and pencil from the unlocked drawers. Use your key on the bottom drawer, then open it and take out a wooden cube. Use your scissors on the plant to the right to get a twig.

Back out and turn right, then take the next photo piece (4/5) from the left light. Turn right and look in the mirror again. Give the jacket to your reflection, then give it the cigar. Look down at the dresser and put the wooden cube into the left slot Wooden Cube.

Back out and turn around twice, then pick up the final photo piece (5/5) from the floor. Turn left and insert all of these pieces into the photo frame on the left drawers. Slot them together, then look at the back to see an image of a typewriter and the phrase "the woman". Back out and turn right, then examine the typewriter and type "the woman". Use your pencil to color in the man, then the door, then the woman, the blade, and finally the key. Take the key.

Back out and turn right. Use the key on the tall dresser to the right. Look up and open the evidence folder, then take the cassette tape, slide and newspaper article. Take the grip from just below the evidence folder, and notice the books on this shelf. On the shelf below, turn on the slide projector and insert your slide.

Turn around twice. Attach the grip to the hook on the screen so you can pull it down. Take the photo from the top of the screen. Line up the outline of the mirror, and you will see a white circle around the Roman numeral IV, and a dot on the mirror. Next line up the outline of the left light, and you will see a white circle around the Roman numeral V, and a cross on a frame. Turn right and examine the small clock. Set the time to 4:25, then take the matches. Next examine the cassette player here. Press the eject button and insert the cassette tape. Close it and press play to hear "enin xis xis lennahc", which is "channel six six nine" backwards.

Back out and turn around twice. Look in the mirror and use your matches to light the cigar. Click on your reflection repeatedly to see a series of 5 symbols. Turn left and open the cupboard door beneath the projector, then enter the 5 symbols you have just seen (circle with dot, S, square with line, Z, spiral). Take out the tape.

Back out and look beneath the TV. Use the tape on the broken cable, then plug it in. Examine the TV and use the dials to change to channel 669, then press the square button. As per the instructions, view channel 012, then channel 067. You will see an image of the typewriter and the phrase "the lake". Back out and turn left, then examine the typewriter and type "the lake". Use your scissors on the paper, then drag the bottom up until you can read "call 14335".

Back out and turn left, then use the phone to dial the number 14335 (drag from each number clockwise). Go through the conversation until you are told to "look through the keyhole". Back out and turn right, then look through the keyhole and you will see an image on Laura's eye. Look at the clock and set the time to 12:45. Take the triangle key.

Turn around twice and take the burning cigar from the mirror. Turn right and look at the left drawers. Unlock the drawers with the triangle key. Look for the following authors of the books from the shelf:

Also find the file for Laura Vanderboom and take the prescription. Back out and unlock the right drawers with the triangle key. Search these drawers to find slide 2 and a handkerchief. Turn around twice and look at the books in the shelf. Arrange them according to the order of the symbols on the files (as listed above). Now flip through the last book and take the glass eye and iron cube.

Put slide 2 into the slide projector. Turn right and insert the iron cube into the right slot on the dresser Iron Cube. Turn right and drag the projector screen upwards. You will see that the projector now gives you the message TV 588 on the left, and it also circles 5 objects in the image, with associated symbols. Turn around twice and view channel 588 on the TV, which shows these same 5 objects in a specific order. Look at the lower left cupboard and enter a new series of 5 symbols based on this order (upside-down T, Z, triangle with line, square with line, S). Take out the globe key. Use this on the globe to the left, then examine the globe.

Open the globe and take the newspaper article and glass cup. Examine the 3 bottles here. Put a match in the third bottle, then tap it until it breaks. Take out the hook. Next put your twig in the second bottle. Tap it until the moth flies away. Back out and look at the top of the cabinet on the right. Collect water in your glass cup. Turn around twice and examine the moth hovering over the couch. Look at the stitching in the couch and cut it with the scissors until you get the string.

Return to the bottles in the globe and pour water into the first bottle. Lift up the cork, then add the string and hook. Use this combination to hook the glass eye, then take it. Back out and examine the deer skull on the wall, then add both glass eyes. Back out, then drag the dark dots down over the deer skull so they change shape.

Turn left and drag the dots over the clock, then the typewriter. Turn right and drag the dots over the TV, then turn left and drag them over the door. Turn around and drag the dots over the mirror, then look in the mirror. Click on each of the black dots, then click on the darkness.

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