Submachine Four: The Lab

Found:
http://submachinegames.com/submachine_4.html
Created by: Created by Mateusz J. Skutnik
Flash game
Rating: Everyone (challenging puzzle-game)

Related reviews:
#3 - The Loop:
http://lcakgamerev.blogspot.com/2009/03/submachine-three-loop.html
#2 - The Lighthouse:
http://lcakgamerev.blogspot.com/2009/02/submachine-two.html
#1 - Extended:
http://lcakgamerev.blogspot.com/2009/02/submachine-one-extended.html


Oh, I know how you are feeling 'not another Submachine game!'. But inside, you are silently joyous, as you are addicted.

This one opens with the same "cut-scene" from The Loop: the rooms flipping by as if on a spin-dial. Subtitles state that you have been teleported from within the Loop (aka Machine) into the Lab...or somewhere near it...

Unlike the other Submachine games, there is actually somewhat of a walk through in the beginning through the use of pop-up windows explaining how to move and pick up items. My guess is that Mr. Skutnik's games gained in popularity, until people who were unacquainted with the series would start playing at number four. (Which in itself sounds ridiculous, but anyways--)

I have included a "brief" walk through of the beginning of the game, just to help you along, as well as give you a taste of what the gameplay is like if you haven't gotten hooked on the series yet. While recording, I tended to do things quickly, and I had forgotten that the fps capture on the Screencast-o-matic, so the video may seem really jumpy and low-grade, but we all start somewhere. But at least you can preview the game now.

http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cQeI6Le2x

As you can see, Mr. Skutnik has really amped it up on the craziness and looking for obscure objects. But of course, it is the fourth in the series, so you should be used to it by now. In theory. Apart from the improved running-around-iness, there is also an improvement on the graphics, and a consistency from the music.





Look familiar?






Throughout the game, he peppers in items and references to the other previous Submachine games. The creepy phonograph from The Lighthouse, the journal pages written by M, rooms that look very similar to the rooms in the first game, jumping temporarily back into The Loop (thus further incorporating that out-of-place sequel into the rest of the saga); tons and tons of easter eggs everywhere in this game.

Not only are you exploring the lab and piecing together the story of M, and the people researching other dimensions, but you also get to explore other dimensions as you take control of the teleport system (hopefully remembering to use the journal you pick up that has known coordinates to jump to, as well as your own notes if you find new ones).

Another thing Skutnik carried over from a previous game is the looking for "secrets" or the small, red marbles from The Lighthouse, except in this game they actually achieve something if you find them all. At the end of the game, there is an option to see sort of the "behind-the-scenes" section of the game; collecting all of the secrets in the game helps with revealing more. You get an interesting inside view of the series, as well as notes and explanations from Skutnik about different saspects of the series.

All in all, Submachine Four: The Lab is an all-encompassing sequel to an awesome series. The feel and atmosphere is continuous, and you see a wide range of the Submachine story and the world(s) it inhabits. I can just keep playing it over and over, and it is longer than the others to boot. It only makes me want to keep playing this series.

4.8/5





...No, I'm not showing you the secret code on the teleport device to warp to one of the rooms at the end of the game. That's just absurd...