Rule of Rose is a disturbingly surreal survival horror game that pits you up against a cadre of sadistic children aboard
Rule of Rose features a very dark graphical tone and a surreal atmosphere. The game unfolds as a badly-drawn children’s storybook, with sections narrated in the tone of an unfortunate girl finding herself in increasingly dire situations. Even the menu screen looks as if it were scrawled by a spastic five-year-old. The zeppelin is truly the children’s kingdom and they rule it with a tight, sadistic fist. Jessica must use whatever she can to hold her own against those gathered against her. Like most survival horror games, you’ll find an incredible array of weaponry at your disposal as you fight for survival. (The first of these often bizarre weapons is a dessert fork, so you can imagine that it takes some time before you get a “decent” weapon.) Also like most survival horror games, the combat engine leaves a lot to be desired, so you’ll spend more time running from opponents rather than facing off with them.
The game moves along fairly quickly, especially since your canine companion can quickly locate your essential items to progress the story. Unfortunately, the game is quickly hampered by its linear nature. You can’t do much exploring, and often doors that were locked become accessible without warning, forcing you to check every door as you move up and down the length of the zeppelin. There is also a long load time as you move from room to room, which can quickly become tedious to sit through. Like most games in this genre, there isn’t much replay value to Rule of Rose, unless you are desperate to unlock all of Jessica and the dog’s alternate costumes.
What truly sets Rule of Rose apart from other games in this genre – aside from its storybook narrative, which is definitely unique in its own right – is its very unsettling content. Early on in the game, Jessica witnesses the savage beating of another character and she is frequently tortured by the Aristocracy. Much of the game is very unsettling. For the survival horror fan, however, Rule of Rose is certainly worth investigating.