Game Review: Oxide Room 208 (Xbox Series X)

It ain’t pretty to look at or listen to, but damn it, if Wild Sphere’s Oxide Room 208 doesn’t have a ton of charm. The kind that is bloody, gory, and absurdly violent. Think Hellraiser crossed with Saw, made on a small budget back in the late 70s/early 80s. You now, when anything was go, and before the age rating system came into force.

A sequel to Oxide Room 204 (I’ve never played it), Oxide Room 208 promises savage horror, and it delivers on that promise, even if it creates such a mess in the process.

The story is so hard to follow, and makes very little sense, but this is what I’ve been able to work out after completing all the character’s chapters.

Eight people. All trapped in a grotesque laboratory where horrors await behind every corner. They have all been kidnapped by the enigmatic Doc, a sinister man who seems to revel in causing his victims pain and suffering. He is experimenting with something called ‘Oxide’ and is using a woman named Eva as its host.

It’s her mind that shapes the laboratory and its surrounding areas, and as it begins to break under unbearable strain, the locations become warped by her agony. There is only one way out for the eight characters, and it is to find the elusive door to room 208 and confront Doc.

That is the goal of each character’s chapter. Find room 208 while trying not to die along the way.

The locations are maze like, keys are needed to open doors, puzzles need to be solved to progress, and horrific enemies await to stop your escape. Oxide Room 208 isn’t a difficult game thanks to the abundance of weapons and the near-invincibility of the characters, but finding the exit can be challenging. Not only does the game not have a map system, but enemies respawn after a period so you can’t even leave a trail of bodies as a marker.

The game is very dark too, and a lot of the rooms and corridors are a mish-mash of pulsating flesh, dripping blood, and meaty cartilage. It’s gross to look at, something Wild Sphere are very proud of, but it does make navigating tricky. That there is my biggest complaint, one that could be solved by a map, but it’s far from the only issue with the game.

It is ugly. I’m not just talking about the blood and grime, which really do push the limits of taste, I’m talking about how it looks so dated already. If that wasn’t bad enough, the framerate is rough, it has long loading times and has plenty of freezes too. When you move a character at speed, there’s also a hint of blur.

This ugliness extends even further to character models, some of which are just awful looking, and the game’s sound. It might be suitably horror based, designed to make you uncomfortable, but the repetition in sound becomes apparent early on. Least of all the sounds that come from enemies.

Speaking of enemies, that brings me to combat and unsurprisingly, it’s rough too. Pick up an item, swing until the creature is dead, occasionally take a hit (or be grabbed – that’s the common one), and repeat. It’s not particularly exciting, feels floaty, and is far too easy. Get a gun, and you’re laughing, especially with the abundance of ammo about the place.

So, it’s bad. Yet I found myself charmed by it and compelled to complete each character’s chapter. Maybe it’s the horror fan in me, maybe it’s the nihilistic part of my mind, maybe I was just having fun, in a sick sort of way. Regardless, I did enjoy my time with Oxide Room 208, even if I recognise that it’s a bad game, as far as conventional expectations go.

I’ve played far worse though, and Wild Sphere certainly approached its creation with gusto and belief. That certainly deserves praise.