Scholar’s Mate, developed and published by JanduSoft, is a game that fits into the horror escape room genre, and it has left me with mixed emotions that I am still working through. It puts you in control of Judith as she is brought to a creepy, run-down, and seemingly vacant psychiatric hospital, and it is here that you must try to escape.

While evading the hulking antagonist roaming the halls in a non-stop recurring pattern, you’ll need to solve fairly difficult puzzles to learn the hospital’s history, and maybe a bit about yourself. Complete enough riddles and you’ll make your way out, but be wary, they are still working out some kinks. That is the only reason I haven’t escaped, but I am so close.

The game will tell you that using a controller will enhance the gameplay experience, and I tend to agree, but choose your preference. There are, technically, three types of movement; Crouch is slow, and renders you almost invisible to the lumbering assailant, and walking or running.

I would consider these the same, as both will alert the behemoth of a man to your location. You will need to run to escape him, but if he gets anywhere near you, it’s an automatic game over, so it really feels like there is no benefit to walking.

You have an inventory, which for me was the triangle button as I used a PS5 controller. The triggers, R2 and L2, are used to lean and peak around corners, while L1 and R1 turn your flashlight on and off, as well as cycle through your inventory. X is the action button and O is the cancel button.

Though they seem like pretty basic controls, and they are easy to use, completing the puzzles can be tricky. The controls aren’t very smooth – turning dials is a nightmare in itself and it can be hard to find the right spot to click, but perseverance will get you there.

Visually, it does look pretty good, and as a whole, it does the creepy abandoned crazy house vibe well, but it’s restricted to a very small area. I would have preferred to have been able to move into different areas, given this is meant to be a hospital, but the lack of patient rooms or other wards takes you out of the immersion. I also had some graphical issues towards the end, and this basically stopped me in my tracks.

There was a puzzle that used books, and the overlay got stuck on my screen, making it hard to work out what I needed to do, and when I did manage to resolve that, a couple of the books vanished from my inventory. It was a shame because I was close to the end, and if I load from the last save, even now, the books are still missing, and the puzzle still bugs out.

The music is very creepy and the sound effects are on point. The haunting sounds of footsteps or the creaking as a door opens all sound terrific, and when you are being chased, the music flairs into a more thrilling tone. It’s everything you would expect in a horror game. The only issue I had was how good the big, bad and uglies hearing was. If I was on the floor above or below, he could still hear me walking, which I found a little unreasonable.

Besides a few issues, Scholar’s Mate is a solid horror game. It’s not overly original, but nowadays, being original is hard, and sometimes it doesn’t pay off. While it isn’t big enough to need one I feel like a map would be a nice addition so you can plan your movements, but hey, once the kinks have been ironed out, such as that book puzzle that stopped me in my tracks, it will be a great addition to any horror game fan’s collection. Until then, it will wait in my library.

Written by: Adam Brasher