Promise Mascot Agency
Promise Mascot Agency
Game
Game2023
The Tartarus Key
Developer Vertical Reach
The Tartarus Key is an adventure video game developed by Vertical Reach and published by Armor Games Studios in 2023. It features escape the room gameplay. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
244 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon, Lemmy) · newest Oct 31, 2026 · last updated Oct 31, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
93
LovedLoved
181 positive · 13 negative
95% range 89–96%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 181 | 13 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 24 | 1 | 22 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 1 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
246 of 259 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
93% recommend · 183 yes, 13 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 196 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (291 of 313 positive).
Players praise The Tartarus Key as a horror-themed escape room game with no combat, focusing on puzzles and atmosphere. [1][2][3] Some reviewers criticize the writing and dialogue as corny or excessive. [4][5][6]
Liked
Representative posts
- [6]
Lets start with the good: The presentation and world look amazing, like something straight out of a PS1 but with deeply decorated rooms that don't feel empty. The engine runs and controls well. The puzzles are challenging enough that you can't just breeze through them, but in general they are a bit too easy. But the problem is that this game goes nuts on pointless dialogue. There's so many unnecessary chatting …
- [1]
The Tartarus Key is a campy horror story that has free motion and relies on point and click for interaction and puzzles. You awake as Alex - a young woman who finds herself in a strange environment with no idea how or why she is there. As you explore the house, you discover 5 other people who are also trapped. Your actions either save each or kill each, with achievements awarded for both outcomes. Puzzles open up …
- [13]
Wow, really enjoyable escape-room game with frequent motivating dialogue that makes you forget there's no voice acting. The environments and artstyle made things insatiably intriguing and hence so fun to explore and collect clues. The puzzles were satisfying to solve and many of them centred around saving trapped individuals. A gem of a puzzle game.
- [4]
This recommendation comes with a caviat: Buy this game for the escape room puzzles and the graphics and atmosphere. Those were fun, and makes the game worth playing. Do NOT buy this for characters, story or the central mystery. That way lays only uninspired tropes, unoriginal caricatures, completely average writing, and a main character whose entire character voice is "Millenial marvel-quips".
- [8]
🔳 Essential - buy it NOW ✅ Recommended - buy it on sale 🔳 Avoid Time to finish: 5 hours Worth revisiting? Game is short enough to warrant a second playthrough to mop up the rest of the achievements. ✅Best Part The variety of the puzzles on offer are vast and the devs did a great job of making each 'room' feel distinct and memorable. ❌Worst Part I was a little disappointed in how easy the puzzles were. Even end …
Summarised from 34 of the 246 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 13, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
93% of the 196 Steam reviewers we collected recommend The Tartarus Key. The complaint that keeps coming up: writing and dialogue can be corny or excessive. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Critics, per Wikipedia
The Tartarus Key received mixed reviews on Metacritic. Describing it as "a must play for puzzle fans", Rock Paper Shotgun said the attention to detail necessary to solve the puzzles makes it "almost an immersive sim" and that some of them "feel revelatory to solve". Although they said puzzle game fans might enjoy it, Eurogamer felt that the game's meta aspects prevented it from becoming scary, making it more like a real-life escape room parlor game; Rock Paper Shotgun instead praised these meta elements. Though acknowledging that The Tartarus Key is not scary, Rock Paper Shotgun felt it effectively evokes nostalgia for a range of horror franchises. Slant Magazine, who did not like the…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 244 · most liked first14. The Tartarus Key God I loved this game when I played it earlier this year, and want to do a video about it. Ever played a Resident Evil and wished for a game that just took the puzzles and ran with that? That's this game! And it is genius. store.steampowered.com/app/1431850/...
positive · AI labelView post →23. The Tartarus Key I eventually want to do a video about this, because it fascinates me in that it's not just a puzzle game, it's very specifically survival horror puzzles. Like a Resident Evil mansion sans zombies, and oops all puzzles. A real hidden gem. store.steampowered.com/app/1431850/...
positive · AI labelView post →13. The Tartarus Key What if you had a Survival Horror game that stripped out the combat, and focused on the puzzles? This keeps the creepy mansion that opens up as you progress, has all the atmosphere of an evil residence, but without the zombies, and full of specifically Survival Horror puzzles.
neutral · AI labelView post →I don’t think cool devs Kevin and Leo are on Bluesky, so I’ll shamelessly promote for them. The Tartarus Key is 45% off! It’s a spooky adventure game with a strong atmosphere and well-crafted puzzles. Take a look! store.steampowered.com/app/1431850/...
neutral · AI labelView post →Hey folks, I've added The Tartarus Key to my curator page. This a terrific horror game that feels like a survival horror stripped down to just the puzzles, an incredibly compelling idea done really well. store.steampowered.com/app/1431850/...
positive · AI labelView post →As an addendum, another game that felt like a survival horror game but with the just the puzzles was The Tartarus Key, which I would also recommend, and I love that this sorta thing is branching off. Also a very neat game. store.steampowered.com/app/1431850/...
positive · AI labelView post →The Tartarus Key is a campy horror story that has free motion and relies on point and click for interaction and puzzles. You awake as Alex - a young woman who finds herself in a strange environment with no idea how or why she is there. As you explore the house, you discover 5 other people who are also trapped. Your actions either save each or kill each, with achievements awarded for both outcomes. Puzzles open up additional areas of the house (which is quite large) and are used to extricate…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →ty for coming to stream!! that game was pretty cool actually :3c i'll see y'all again thursday for ANOTHER cool game called The Tartarus Key!!
positive · AI labelView post →SYNOPSIS: yes, all the "positive" reviews are wrong. Screenshots will be taken as proof in case developer decides to erase my review. Let's start with an anecdote: - once upon a time there was a strong wahmen in a mysterious mansion, who despises the "institution" of law enforcement, and engages in vigalantism out of a sense of "justice". - A black wahmen with three university degrees, who despises the evils of the health care system, and practices illegally, getting paid under the table…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hey #gamedev! 👋I am open to part-time indie game consultation and producer work. I've got over eight years of experience in helping launch more than 30 titles across PC and console, including producing games like In Stars and Time, The Tartarus Key, Bear and Breakfast, and many more.
neutral · AI labelView post →The Tartarus Key is a very underrated horror puzzle game with a fascinating core concept; it's all the kinds of puzzles you'd find in Survival Horror games sans the combat, and it has some wonderfully spooky PS1 style visuals. store.steampowered.com/app/1431850/...
positive · AI labelView post →Lets start with the good: The presentation and world look amazing, like something straight out of a PS1 but with deeply decorated rooms that don't feel empty. The engine runs and controls well. The puzzles are challenging enough that you can't just breeze through them, but in general they are a bit too easy. But the problem is that this game goes nuts on pointless dialogue. There's so many unnecessary chatting scenes that this game feels more like a novel than a game. That wouldn't be a bad…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Unfortunately, if you're looking for a good escape room puzzler, I can't recommend this game. While the aesthetics (visuals, music) are pretty cool, the game is bogged down with so-so "puzzles" and excessive, inane (imo) dialogue/interactables. A good puzzle requires some degree of reasoning, which ultimately leaves you feeling pretty clever. So far the majority of puzzles in this game just feel like manual labor. An early puzzle (SPOILER) requires you to read little excerpts about serial…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I finally got around to playing The Tartarus Key. It was a neat game. @caseyexplosion.bsky.social described it as a survival horror game that's all puzzles and no combat. Which was very accurate! I liked how the puzzles were mostly self-contained with just enough escalating puzzle difficulty.
positive · AI labelView post →Wow, really enjoyable escape-room game with frequent motivating dialogue that makes you forget there's no voice acting. The environments and artstyle made things insatiably intriguing and hence so fun to explore and collect clues. The puzzles were satisfying to solve and many of them centred around saving trapped individuals. A gem of a puzzle game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →played though this puzzle mansion and while the game is fine i do think all the added text slows the pace quite a bit stopped opening the optional dialogue just to get through it when i got the game initially i did expect it to be more of a resident evil style puzzle game (from the 3rd person cutscenes) but it's actually just a fairly simple first person puzzle room style game with chill music the puzzles were actually pretty good, but i just didn't enjoy the game, and ended up tuning…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I guess YMMV but I hated the dialogue. Very “he’s right behind me, isn’t he”-core.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Tartarus Key is a very enjoyable low-poly 1st person adventure game that takes inspiration from Zero Escape, old-school Resident Evil, and Saw. The puzzles are relatively easy but fun to solve. Good story, fun characters, and great atmosphere. Give it a try! #Blutoid #VideoGames 🎮 #SpookySeason
positive · AI labelView post →👋 Been in the industry for over eight years in publishing and production. I've helped launch 30+ titles for PC and console, including In Stars and Time, The Tartarus Key, Bear & Breakfast, and many more. Freelance working on some secret projects with devs, including the next game from insertdisc5!
neutral · AI labelView post →The Tartarus Key is a really effective demonstration of how a horror game can work with no enemies and no threat of player death or progress loss - it's lighter weight than some of its contemporaries but it keeps the tension high and has some fairly effective scares. Its puzzles are, for the most part, fun and interesting to solve (I like having to take notes and I was routinely pushed hard enough to have to) and though its narrative wasn't all that complex, I was curious and engaged enough by…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Happy Bandcamp Friday! You can pick up my last big OST release for horror puzzle game The Tartarus Key and 100% of sales goes to me today! 👁️🖤 visager.bandcamp.com/album/the-ta...
neutral · AI labelView post →This deserved as much Mouthwashing success as Mouthwashing itself...
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I rarely say this and repeat this but, I know you probably played a game where you said: "Man, I wish I could lost my memory so I can play it for the first time.". This is one of those games. My best friend were staying with me for a week and we decided to play this. An hour or two later and we had papers laying around, brainstorming, taking turns of each puzzle when other was stuck. What an experience that was. Honestly this is no horror game, just your good old bloody spooky escape room. I…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Short and sweet little puzzle game. Lovely artstyle,great atmosphere and music. Although me and my partner got a little stuck on one puzzle for a while, none of them felt too hard or illogical. there are some horror elements, but i wouldnt say any of it is scary. but works well to set a relatively spooky mood. be warned that there are some (at least i think they are) timed sections were you have to do puzzles, so if you get stressed easily by doing things on a time limit this game might not…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Unfortunately, I can't recommend this. The premise of the game is okay, but after less than 20 minutes, I got frustrated with the visuals. There are options to disable them, but they don't actually seem to work. Even with the "wobble" disabled, there are still objects in the environment that wobble and even with the texture warping disabled, there are still objects that have warping textures. There's also an antialiasing options that would presumably disable the pixel filter, but it doesn't…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Forgot I had ordered this a while back but The Tartarus Key looked like my kind of game from the minute I heard of it and my copy just arrived from Super Rare Games. Can't wait to dig into this after Persona 3! 😍
positive · AI labelView post →This recommendation comes with a caviat: Buy this game for the escape room puzzles and the graphics and atmosphere. Those were fun, and makes the game worth playing. Do NOT buy this for characters, story or the central mystery. That way lays only uninspired tropes, unoriginal caricatures, completely average writing, and a main character whose entire character voice is "Millenial marvel-quips".
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A good puzzle/horror game with some nice characters that doesn't overstay its welcome. It has some minor flaws I'll note here: -If you plan to play this, savescum whenever you meet a new character and do their puzzle. There is a separate achievement for saving them and failing to save them, and two of the three endings require you to save all of them, so it's best to just play it safe so you're not replaying the entire game just to fix one mistake. Plus, the bad ending is so unsatisfying as to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I still think one of my favorite bug reports I've ever gotten was when I was working on a horror game (The Tartarus Key) and the programmer, Kevin, told me, completely earnest and straight-faced, that the "screen had started bleeding randomly"
neutral · AI labelView post →Check out Manlybadasshero's channel, he plays a lot of games like that. CJU does as well. A lot of them are very narrative-based, which might not be what you're looking for. The Coffin of Andy and Leyley for example, freaking fantastic game but it's a slow creepy burn rather than action-oriented. Little Misfortune is another personal favorite, and the Tartarus Key. They also play some random ass games like this `https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VWL4vKRp8U` where it's a dystopian world and you…
neutral · AI labelView post →We're back to compiling our finished games for the year, starting with this low poly escape room game that was a lot more than I expected it to be. These will all be on Backloggd so I can have longer wordcount and alt text easier. backloggd.com/u/detectivek... And so, Game #1: The Tartarus Key
positive · AI labelView post →YOU HAVE A FLASHLIGHT! (F by default) THIS IS IMPORTANT! They may have mentioned it early in the game, but my heavy fingers must have accidentally skipped over it. I found myself digging through the settings looking for a Gamma control to find clues for a puzzle early on. All I needed to do was hit F. Overall a good game. The in-game clock says it took me about 6 hours, 15 minutes. In real-time it took closer to 7 hours 20 minutes. (I did some save-scumming) Each of the puzzle rooms is self…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I found the story to be lame. Puzzles were so-so and way too much irrelevant dialogue that was just a filler for time play. I also found the graphics to be poor quality making it hard to actually to figure out some puzzles. I rate it a 5 at best.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An absolute snore. Imagine old-school Resident Evil with no action or horror and 100x more puzzles. - This game has A LOT of dialogue and 90% of it is just unnecessary and boring filler, probably added to make this 8-hour game feel longer than it really is. - Solving puzzles yields absolutely nothing. You get no reward whatsoever, making this whole game feel like a big chore. - There are also no stakes or tension. You never truly feel in danger or feel the horror. - The main character's…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hey yous! Excitingly Armor Games Studios has a bundle over on Humble and you'll never guess what game is in it alongside a bunch of incredible games!? 13 days to go! 💜 SOLAS 128 🐻 Bear and Breakfast! 🔑 The Tartarus Key! ⭐ In Stars and Time! ➕ Many More! www.humblebundle.com/games/armor-...
neutral · AI labelView post →This game is OK. It does not deserve the current rating it has so I am doing my bit to correct that. The visuals of the game are good, if you like the style (I do), but this is about where the positives end. There are some good puzzles but often they are either way too simple, way too obtuse, or way too reliant on spotting something miniscule (especially given the low fidelity art style). For example there is no way of distinguishing which notes/books are actually relevant without combing…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I finished playing The Tartarus Key and really liked it. It’s a horror-themed escape room game. I say horror themed because while there are plenty of bloody scenes and chances of death, there are no monsters chasing you or jump scares. No need to hide, run or fight. Many escape room games can be somewhat formulaic. Trapped in a house, puzzle, puzzle, puzzle. Well, in this game, yes, you are trapped in a house, puzzle, puzzle, puzzle. But in this game 5 other people are trapped in…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →8/10 spooky puzzle game. Most of the puzzles are decent and simple, one or two left me clueless. Not difficult to 100%
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Tartarus Key, developed by Vertical Reach and published by Armor Games Studios, is a first-person mystery puzzle adventure that channels the spirit of classic survival horror while deliberately removing combat from the equation. Instead of arming the player with weapons, the game equips them with logic, observation, and patience. Set inside a sprawling and ominous mansion filled with traps, locked chambers, and cryptic devices, the experience centers on escape-room design layered with…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The puzzles were just hard enough to be challenging, but not so bad that I ever needed to reach for a guide. The story also took me in some wild directions. Loved everything about this game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nice little puzzle game with a horror theme, it's mostly atmosphere, graphics are emulating the psx/n64 era, it has a bunch of filters like shaky models, and the warping textures, crt filter and so on, they can be disabled if you have headaches or other problems with them. Story is pretty neat, the game is short but it doesnt overstay it's welcome, the puzzles might be easy for most people, im terrible at lots of them though, so you experience might be different, still i would recommend to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Tartarus Key has been one of the better puzzle games I've played. Though there definitely are spooky/horror elements to the game, it plays much like a series of escape rooms. Each room/area is largely self contained, meaning you don't have to bring items from one place to another or look elsewhere for clues to solve the puzzles. This makes most of the puzzles pretty straight forward to complete. Usually if you can't finish a puzzle, it's because you have missed an item or a clue. That…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →🔳 Essential - buy it NOW ✅ Recommended - buy it on sale 🔳 Avoid Time to finish: 5 hours Worth revisiting? Game is short enough to warrant a second playthrough to mop up the rest of the achievements. ✅Best Part The variety of the puzzles on offer are vast and the devs did a great job of making each 'room' feel distinct and memorable. ❌Worst Part I was a little disappointed in how easy the puzzles were. Even end game puzzles can be breezed through without much trouble. 🔎Overall The Tartarus…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fairly solid. I liked how it created suspense without needing an enemy to chase you or stupid jump scares. The characters were interesting, the riddles too. The ending was a bit over the top for me and I wish we could have had even more time getting to know the characters, but overall it was a good experience.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →2023: The Tartarus Key No combat in this game, but lots of puzzles, a retro PS1 aesthetic, and a cast of bizarre eccentrics. With a conspiracy to unravel and multiple endings, this is a fun, tongue-in-cheek take on escape rooms, haunted mansions and Lovecraftian cosmic horror.
positive · AI labelView post →By taking the vibes of a classic survival horror game but removing the combat and instead focusing purely on the puzzles, we're left with a series of escape rooms wrapped in the trappings of a creepy mansion. Most importantly, these puzzles are balanced perfectly, never too easy but also not so difficult that hints become a requirement. The Tartarus Key is a true hidden gem.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great little game. It's slim pickings to be a horror fan who also wants things to be *about something.* In that regard above all others (but not to their exception), this one has been a rare treat. Naturalistic dialogue, good puzzle balance, great central concept, solid-as-hell execution, and it took me 20 hours *with* some time afk--in other words, respects your time. Also, I love a puzzle game that lets you *fail* the puzzles, get the others killed, and just sally forth like no business…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Have some horror game screenshots and consider them each glowing recommendations. Mundaun/Paratopic/Dead Island 2/The Tartarus Key (For the record. Tartarus Key is what I'm considering my Game of the Year. Extremely good.)
positive · AI labelView post →OOooOOo Is that a new retro horror game I see? Looking forward to The Tartarus Key! 🗝️🍷🩸❤️
neutral · AI labelView post →So far I'm really enjoying my time with this game. It manages to be both relaxing and tense... the puzzles are relatively simple and there's no combat to stress over, but it can still get tense thanks to the atmosphere, mild jump scares, and the perilous stakes facing the characters you meet. The story's mystery continuously builds and it never feels predictable. In other words, the game delivers on everything it promises in the store page. So if it seems like the sort of game you'd enjoy,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Starts off engaging. The puzzles get a bit old as you get deeper into the game. Boring, non-engaging dialogue, most of which is unnecessary. Definitely only purchase this when it's on deep discount if you're intrigued.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Just an absolute joy to play. I am always a sucker for PSX horror aesthetics, but the quality of the puzzles and the cast really are what made this for me. Especially the latter; I found at the end I that I still wanted to spend time with them all, this gang of odd people drawn together by a plot that is Saw mixed with Cabin in the Woods. The puzzles themselves were clever and never frustrating. Well made, well thought out, and I am sure I will be coming back to experience it all over again!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Playtime was about 5.5 hours. Ending felt satisfying, but I did manage to get both the true and good ending so may be biased. Dialogue was corny but endearing. Didn't feel too obnoxious, in part because there wasn't really any voice acting to oversell it. Puzzles were very approachable, only issues were of my own making. The artstyle was cool, I enjoyed the 'breathing' shifting effect that is on a lot of textures. I was worried it would get annoying quickly but it stayed fresh. The game…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I wish escape room was listed as one of the first tags cos that is what this game is first and foremost. I did enjoy it but I'm not a fan of escape rooms so I just would've liked to know that beforehand. Great atmosphere and I love the art. Dialogue is a bit cringy sometimes (marvel tier "lets make a joke while we're in mortal danger" type stuff) but the characters are likeable and the puzzles are good.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'll go through my main criticisms first - the writing isn't stellar, which I see others have pointed out. Lots of "I literally can't even" kinda stuff. The puzzles are hit or miss, and fortunately it doesn't suffer from the obtuseness that plagues indie puzzlers and bad Escape Simulator maps. There are some problems with item finding - things that are only accessible from certain angles, that kind of thing. I'd say it's a step above its class, but still needs a lift to be great - it's good,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Really adored this game! I thought it walked a great line of the puzzles requiring thought, but not being so abstract that you're completely lost. On top of this, the writing and characters really entranced me in the mystery! For the price and length of the game (about 6 hours for one play through and another hour to wrap up achievements) I would say this in absolute gem of an indie title. If you're looking for a fantastic horror/puzzle game, you can't go wrong with this one
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Overall a pretty good game but it certainly has its problems. I really liked the art style and the general premise of the game. The PS style graphics and the horror theme is pulled off very well. They really nailed the way these old games used to convey emotions without facial features or complex movements. The puzzles started interesting but quickly soured for me with a lot of them boiling down to hiding the one hidden object in the room to get the "true" solution. There were some puzzles…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Working on The Tartarus Key with Vertical Reach (Kevin Colegate and Leo Parra!) when the devs told me their horror game, quote, "starts bleeding randomly when it shouldn't", which was a top tier message to open up. The game was indeed "bleeding" copiously all over the screen for no reason.
neutral · AI labelView post →Got this game for my birthday and I must say, I had a really great time playing through it: The atmosphere is great and the puzzles are really fun. If you thrive for big spooky mansions to explore and have a soft spot for thematic puzzles, then you should really give it a try!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very neat little game for anyone who likes adventure games with lots of puzzle and a good story Pros: +Variety of puzzle which is not too frustrating, most can be solved by logic and obsevation. Though some can get tedious +Tense atmosphere that can challenge your courage without cheap jumpscare, while there is many life or death situation none of them are timed so you are not rushed and can slowly figure things out +I love the character writing, all of them are distinct without falling into…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
Posts are quoted from public profiles with links to the original. Want yours removed? Contact us.
