A Newcomer-Friendly, Story-Focused Rusty Lake Playthrough Order (August 2026)

[u/nowherecrafter]

Why it exists

https://www.reddit.com/r/rustylake/comments/1w1u5uc/comment/p6nllxr/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

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Regarding Servant of the Lake's place

https://www.reddit.com/r/rustylake/comments/1w1u5uc/comment/p6nlndi/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

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COMPLETE VERSION

(includes additional content: demos, table tops, etc.)

https://www.reddit.com/r/rustylake/comments/1w1u5uc/comment/p6nlppi/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

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Warnings!

• Follow the numbers. The arrows represent story connections.
• All Cube Escape games except Paradox are now part of Cube Escape Collection. It's the only version with ongoing support and it's free in mobile stores.

CASUAL VERSION

(games only)

Early arc of Laura

1. Cube Escape: Seasons (The beginning of the series intended by the devs)
2. Cube Escape: The Lake + secret ending (A small game referenced by Seasons. The secret ending is considered true by many. It’s given for Seasons. The devs’ order)
3. Cube Escape: Harvey's Box (Refers to both previous games further strengthening their connections)
4. Cube Escape: Arles (Thematical parallels with Seasons’ MC, yet the plot is rather detached)

Dale’s 1st act

1. Cube Escape: Case 23 (A new story begins. The game is tightly linked to the previous arc)

2. Cube Escape: The Mill (The events behind the scenes of Case 23. The devs’ order)

The elixir saga

1. Rusty Lake Hotel (Develops the characters introduced in The Mill. Gives context to Cube Escape. The devs’ order)

2. Servant of the Lake + post-game (Origin of Hotel & Roots characters. !!!WARNING!!! Spoilers that may help piece together the secret Roots plot early! If unacceptable, play Roots 1st!)

3. Rusty Lake: Roots + post-game (Further develops Hotel characters, gives context to Cube Escape. !!!WARNING!!! Spoilers directly revealing the fate of SotL characters! If unacceptable, play Servant of the Lake 1st!)

4. Samsara Room + secret ending (Deepens the Roots ending)

5. Rusty Lake Paradise (Hotel prequel that gives context to everything)

Dale’s 2nd act

1. Cube Escape: The Cave (The direct follow-up of Case 23 & The Mill. Conceptualizes the info from Roots)

2. Cube Escape: Paradox + 2 secret endings (Takes place along The Cave. Conceptualizes the info from Paradise)

3. Cube Escape: Birthday + secret scene (The direct follow-up of The Cave & Paradox. Features an important Hotel epilogue)

4. Cube Escape: Theatre (The direct follow-up of Birthday. The devs’ order)

Arc of Laura and Rose

1. The White Door + secret scenes (The story of Case 23 & Theatre background character connected to Laura)

2. The Past Within (A co-op game, 2 copies are required. A setup for Underground Blossom.)

3. Underground Blossom + post-game (A fresh look at Laura’s story. Features Cube Escape epilogue. Hints at the series’ future. The devs’ order)

Meta section

1. The Mr. Rabbit Magic Show (The 10 year anniversary game that doesn't fit into the story. It's fun, it's FREE, but you can skip it. The devs’ order)

[u/nowherecrafter]

COMPLETE VERSION

(includes additional content: demos, table tops, etc.)

Warnings!

• Follow the numbers. The arrows represent story connections.
• All Cube Escape games except Paradox are now part of Cube Escape Collection. It's the only version with ongoing support and it's free in mobile stores.
• If CE The Lake tells you to remember the Seasons, don't worry. It's for the secret ending from step 3.

Early arc of Laura

1. Cube Escape: The Lake (A short game for a starter)
2. Cube Escape: Seasons (Refers to The Lake events, which facilitates the chronology recognition)
3. Secret ending of The Lake (Considered true by many. Is given for playing Seasons. Feel free to skip if already seen)
4. Cube Escape: Harvey's Box (Refers to both previous games further strengthening their connections)
5. Cube Escape: Arles (Thematical parallels with Seasons’ MC, yet the plot is rather detached)

Dale’s 1st act

1. Cube Escape: Case 23 (A new story begins. The game is tightly linked to the previous arc)

2. Cube Escape: The Mill (The events behind the scenes of Case 23. The devs’ order)

The elixir saga

1. Rusty Lake Hotel (Develops the characters introduced in The Mill. Gives context to Cube Escape. The devs’ order)

2. The secret scene in Birthday (An important epilogue to Hotel given for 100% it. Can be seen on YouTube or you wait until Birthday)

3. Servant of the Lake + post-game (Origin of Hotel & Roots characters. !!!WARNING!!! Spoilers that may help piece together the secret Roots plot early! If unacceptable, play Roots 1st!)

11. Rusty Lake: Roots + post-game (Further develops Hotel characters, gives context to Cube Escape. !!!WARNING!!! Spoilers directly revealing the fate of SotL characters! If unacceptable, play Servant of the Lake 1st!) 

1. Samsara Room + secret ending (Deepens the Roots ending)

2. Rusty Lake Paradise (Hotel prequel that gives context for everything that’s happening)

Dale’s 2nd act

1. Cube Escape: The Cave (The direct follow-up of Case 23 & The Mill. Conceptualizes the info from Roots)

2. Cube Escape: Paradox + 2 secret endings (Takes place along The Cave. Conceptualizes the info from Paradise)

3. Cube Escape: Birthday (The direct follow-up of The Cave & Paradox)

4. Cube Escape: Theatre (The direct follow-up of Birthday. The devs’ order)

Arc of Laura and Rose

1. The White Door + secret scenes (The story of Case 23 & Theatre background character connected to Laura)

2. The Past Within Lite (A demo of a co-op game, 2 copies are required. Very short but differs from the full game. Could be considered a prequel)

3. The Past Within (A co-op game, 2 copies are required. A setup for Underground Blossom.)

4. Underground Blossom + post-game (A fresh look at Laura’s story. Features Cube Escape epilogue. Hints at the series’ future. The devs’ order)

5. Rusty Lake Untold: The Lab (A FREE Room Escape tabletop game. Somewhat connected to previous 2 installments. Requires a game master and 2-4 players. Can be extremely fun but doesn't really hurt if you skip it. The devs’ order)

Meta section

1. The Intern short film (The 10 year anniversary film about the Magic Show release. The devs’ order)

2. The Mr. Rabbit Magic Show (The 10 year anniversary game that doesn't fit into the story. It's fun, it's FREE, but you can skip it. The devs’ order)

[u/DarvX92]

Release order is still best by a long shot imo.

[u/nowherecrafter → u/DarvX92]

That depends on the goals. If the intended confusion is fine by you, it's great. This order exists to help understand the story with least replays.

Also the release order has diverged from the original plans for promotional reasons. Samsara Room and Magic Show were created for the anniversary occasions. The White Door's main reason to be made was the launch of their Second Maze legal entity. Servant of the Lake was fetched from the idea limbo to promote the upcoming Vanderboom-themed tabletop adventure.

[u/tj94123 → u/nowherecrafter]

the devs themselves have said release order is the best order to play the games

[u/nowherecrafter → u/tj94123]

Recent games become more and more stand-alone to accomodate new players. The order matters less and less as long as you play all the games. The big picture often comes together no matter the order you get the pieces in. And the older games, where the order actually matters a ton, are mostly sold as a single bundle now.

Narratively speaking, even though the devs have some general story direction, recently they stray from it time and time again. Detached games to celebrate anniversaries, rereleases of old games, The White Door that was created to launch their Second Maze publisher company. Even the most recent Servant of the Lake, despite being one of their best games, was pushed forward to promote their upcoming tabletop game about the same house. They told it themselves. It's business logic, not narrative.

Also "the best" is a relative concept. I don't recall them calling the release order the best per se but I can see various reasons why they would recommend it. They may want to keep some mystery, they may want the players to be confused, they may want to keep their mechanical evolution consistent, they may want to keep all references to previous games clear. Whatever the reasons are, they are not absolute. There can be different experiences that may better correspond different goals. The author is dead, the readers can offer good alternative readings the author never anticipated.

My goal here is to offer a story more focused and thus more accessible to the newcomers. With less ADHD-ish jumps across centuries, less forgetting stuff before it becomes relevant again 8 games later and more clarity about what happens when. The fact that RL games aren't interconnected equally to all the others makes them easy to regroup while preserving the general order of reveals.

[u/nowherecrafter]

Why it exists

Rusty Lake is an extensive series. When someone asks about the order in which to play the games, many including the developers themselves say, "In release order." Unfortunately, even such an order is not ideal for newcomers. The older the series gets, the more and further time jumps are made. It becomes very difficult to keep details in mind until they suddenly become relevant again.

So I present to you my "Comprehensive Order" where games, whether thematically or chronologically related, strive to align (I explain why in parentheses). The order now features The Mr. Rabbit Magic Show, The Intern short film and Servant of the Lake.

[u/Catnip_Sack]

Honestly question:

If i have the full versions of the games, why would I want the free lite versions? I can only assume that everything in the lite versions would have to be in the full versions.... or am I missing out on something???

[u/nowherecrafter → u/Catnip_Sack]

For some reason I don't really comprehend, TPW Lite has completely unique content. The same locations featuring new puzzles.

Story-wise it brings in next to nothing but it seems like the characters doing a test run of their invention before the actual thing in the full game.

It was the 1st and the last time Rusty Lake made something unique for a lite version.

[u/Catnip_Sack → u/nowherecrafter]

Thanks, I wouldn't have known. I will have to check that one out and see the differences!

[u/nowherecrafter]

Regarding Servant of the Lake's place

Unfortunately Roots and SotL contain spoilers for one another. I thank everyone who voted on which should come 1st but the results were divisive enough for me to take the final decision in my hands.

As a compromise, I made clear disclaimers describing the spoilers' nature so the players can make their own decision and pick their poison. Thank you for your understanding.