Viveport Review: Dwingle B.O.T.

Locked in your apartment and alone until you build your new BFF, Dwingle B.O.T. is equal parts virtual pet, escape room, and horror show as the mystery unfolds in this deceptively whimsical narrative puzzle from XXII Group.

By Desmond Madison, Greenlit Content

At the dawn of the first day, you awaken in your apartment to find yourself locked inside with a curious robot core sitting on the table next to you. You spot some legs on the floor, some arms near the couch, and then a robo hat suddenly appears near the front door. Piecing all of these things together, you quickly assemble what appears to be your friendly new playroom pal! He’s got a thick French accent, he loves shooting hoops, and he seems to want to order more pizza than he can handle. Just like your first roommate in college, right? Well, maybe not…

Dwingle: B.O.T. tasks you with resolving small riddles and objectives throughout your room, like feeding your fish and baking cookies as the days pass by while you’re locked away in your quarters. A big part of the game involves trying to understand exactly what to do in your apartment as your robot friend drops hints while also beginning to exhibit some unusually sinister behavior. Most players will experience the story in different ways as the Bot’s mood will change and adapt depending on how you interact together, so each playthrough has the potential to feel very different along the way.

As the days continue to roll on, sanity begins to slip away. Did your robot friend just threaten your existence with a message written on the wall smeared in blood? What are these hidden numbers sprawled across the apartment? What’s locked in this safe, and why do I need to open it while this robot is asleep on his charger? You’ll be asking yourself these questions and more as things escalate towards a surprising finale that we wouldn’t dare spoil here, but credit goes to the team at XXII Group for creating a highly original escape room experience that stands apart from the rest.

The experience never holds your hand too closely and allows you to experiment just enough without the pressure of a timer ticking down on a clock that must be beaten.  It’s safe to say that the experience isn’t the same by the end, as what it seems to be when starting off, and that’s perhaps the best part about Dwingle: B.O.T. overall – it manages to delight, shock, and surprise you all within its roughly one-hour playtime alongside your potentially homicidal housemate.

Priced just right on Viveport and available in Viveport Subscription, you shouldn't pass up the chance to spend a week with your new robotic buddy in an escape room puzzle that’s full of charm, atmosphere, and character that’s rarely seen in the genre. Just remember to turn off his phone privileges before he gets carried away with the pizza… he really doesn’t know when to stop!

Dingle B.O.T. is available on Viveport or with a Viveport Subscription.