Paper Cut Mansion
Review

Paper Cut Mansion (2022) is a action-adventure where you explore a mysterious mansion floor by floor. You play by poking around each area, solving puzzles and battling enemies to slowly unlock abilities that help you survive.

You are Toby, a police detective investigating a mysterious old mansion. As you explore each floor you slowly unravel the story behind the strange house. It's a game where you give it your best shot, inevitably fail and then try again with the new equipment you've earned. Each run gives a fresh chance to add evidence to your investigation and to meet the mysterious characters who live there and can help or hinder your progress.

But there's another twist. Each floor contains portals to alternate dimensions that switch up the aesthetics and gameplay. You start in the escape-room-like NeoCortex dimension but can delve into the fiery Reptilian Complex and the icy Limbic Dimensions each with their own challenges.

As you progress you get a feel for where the dangers are and how to dig further into the mystery. Each run is slightly different and the enemies respond to each scenario (and your approach) with their own computer intelligence. Add to this the logic puzzles and collectible upgrades and you have a game with a lot to discover. Each new item offers further customisation to your ultimate build, allowing for truly unique set ups. Do you want to get in close as a melee fighter or take shots from afar as a ranged marksman?

The result is a game that invites investigation on a number of levels. The sheer variety of intelligent enemies, clues, quests, secrets, loot and logic puzzles are enough to keep you entertained for hours. But most of all, it's the mystery of the mansion itself that's the biggest draw, as you uncover its twisting story with your decisions subtly affecting the final outcome.

Our examiner, Jo Robertson, first checked Paper Cut Mansion 13 months ago. It was re-examined by Andy Robertson and updated a year ago.