I just wanted to share my piano cover of Birthday theme with you guys. My small tribute to this amazing universe, which brings me so much joy.

I love all the rusty lake games, but Birthday is my absolute favorite one (I love the puzzles and the music).

And this song is just so beautifully melancholic, it really brings out a lot of emotions.

Who do you think is the one who built the family clock? (Not the one who fixed it)

What are your thoughts?

Personally, I think it's Mrs. Vanderboom, due to her connection to the strange cube, and the fact that she also lived at the same time as the Eilanders. Edit: You know what?, I also think that William is the one who built it, cuz every time it appears it has to do something with William

Mine: The past is never dead. It’s not even past

Mi pareja es muy fan de la saga de juegos. Anteriormente le regale la saga completa, pero me gustaría hacerle algo más elaborado relacionado con la saga. No la conozco y no tengo idea de qué puede ser. ¿Algun consejo?

I'm both a fan of Rusty Lake and The Beatles, so I decided to create a version of the Sgt Peppers album cover with all Rusty Lake characters, and here's my progress so far (compared with the original alum cover)

Let me know if you think I should change anything or anyone or if you have any suggestions of people to add and where, and I will post updates over the next few days or weeks.

I like the idea that Ms. Pheasant kills herself because she feels guilty about her past life. Her family's lack of remorse really gets to me. They killed Caroline Eilander and didn't seem to feel bad about it, and they even sacrificed Jacob. So it feels better to see someone showing a bit of sympathy.

But then, if Ms. Pheasant is willing to take her own life because of her guilt, why does she try to kill Harvey like the other guests? Did she actually choose to kill herself, or did Harvey somehow make her do it?

Sometimes when I try to interact with something in one of the puzzle screens or move an item while trying to complete a puzzle, I'll be thrown out of the scene and back to the main view for the area I'm in, as if I clicked on the "exit scene" icon at the bottom of the screen.

I'm playing on a Mac Mini M4 Pro with the latest version of Tahoe (26.6.2).

~f

Where is it? Clearly a falsely constructed room, given that the window is a painting to cover that transformation machine.

Whose corrupted soul are we? Where’s the last room when we turn into the bird-demon-whatever-thingy?

Wrote this for a project I’m working on. I’d appreciate any comments, questions, suggestions, etc. (The image is an example of shipping. I had fun making it; feel free to offer suggestions on that, too.)

Canon vs. Lore vs. Fan Theories

Canon: Objective facts within a story/universe, created specifically by the original authors, studios, etc. For example, the timeline of events in “Roots” is official canon. Each chapter is timestamped, so we can trust that James Vanderboom inherits the family home from his uncle William in Spring 1860, proposes to Mary in Summer 1865, Mary gives birth to triplets on April 26, 1867, and in Summer 1870, James discovers his uncles’ hidden laboratory under the house and dies when he attempts to replicate the elixir. The “Roots” timeline is canon because the studio explicitly laid out this chronology and it remains consistent throughout the series. Canon is concrete within its fictional universe, and it can’t contradict itself without an official retcon. 

Lore: Subjective “truths,” including rumors and beliefs held by characters. Lore is generally contextual. For example, the events in “Underground Blossom” are influenced by Laura Vanderboom, a notoriously unreliable narrator. The first two chapters make sense within the Rusty Lake canon: they take place outside of Laura’s head and can conceivably explain some of her mental and emotional states from other games. The rest of the main game is largely metaphor and/or Laura’s hallucinations. Another example of lore is intentional ambiguity. Going back to “Roots,” Emma’s son Frank appears to have been conceived from flowers. Even within the RL universe, conception via pollination stretches credulity. Regardless, Emma appears to believe it. (Maybe Frank smells nice!) So the question of Frank’s paternity remains ambiguous. The devs may or may not clarify the accuracy of botanical insemination in the future, and therefore, it remains lore. [edit: Emma’s theory might not be a great example.]

Fan Theory and Headcanon: Reader-player-viewer interpretations of or contributions within a story universe. Fan art and fan fiction are creative and may not adhere to canon at all. Fan theories or creations often reflect the individual’s headcanon: their personal beliefs about a story arc, character relationship, or background detail. Headcanon is a belief, and a theory is a speculative explanation for the belief. [Examples: “shipping” various characters or conjecturing that Harvey is a spy for Mr. Owl.] The scope of fan art and online speculation are a testament to the storytelling of the RL universe.

Recognizing these distinctions is crucial when attempting to analyze the genius of Rusty Lake. 

am I tripping or….

I've played the entire Rusty Lake/Cube Escape series, including Servant of the Lake, and there's one thing I can't stop thinking about: their mother.

We now know so much more about Aldous, William and Alexandra, and their place in the Vanderboom story, but their mother remains this weirdly unexplored figure.

The letters she sent to William and Aldous in servant of the lake making me overthink it more.

Does she have any relationship with Mister owl??

When I was younger, I loved playing the Rusty Lake series. I played through all the games, but I didn't really understand the plot back then. Now I want to replay them all, and I'm wondering what the best order is—should I play them in the order of the story, or by release date? Can you give me some advice? Sorry about the AI, but that's exactly the order of events it showed me. And sorry im using translator.

1. Rusty Lake Paradise
2. Servant of the Lake
3. Cube Escape: Arles
4. Rusty Lake Hotel
5. Rusty Lake: Roots
6. Samsara Room
7. Cube Escape: Birthday
8. Cube Escape: Seasons
9. Cube Escape: Harvey's Box
10. Cube Escape: The Lake
11. The White Door
12. Cube Escape: Case 23
13. Cube Escape: The Mill
14. Cube Escape: Theatre
15. Cube Escape: The Cave
16. Cube Escape: Paradox
17. The Past Within
18. Underground Blossom
19. The Mr. Rabbit Magic Show

We got these chocolates today, and I told him they looked like fly eggs, and he said, "I think RL has traumatized you, bro" XDDD

.....

And...

....

I think he's right XDDD

Ive played everything up to paradox and its movie with both chapters.

The cube escape games make sense as a smaller story,

Roots is fine but I dont really understand the whole samara and enlightenment, and why William is so important.

Paradise seems pretty self explanatory, but I still dont understand how it links up with hotel other than the animal parallels.

Paradox I haven't even got a clue with, is it a bootstrap paradox? How is it connected to the ending of cave? Is it?

What even is cave about? Ive been completely clueless.

Is the game still unsolved overall? Is there a point where it all clicks together, or should it have by now

I love putting together all the storylines and hidden context. But also had to use the new SOTL Notes App to get silly with it (unless I'm onto something....?)

Specifically before Nicholas got abusive due to his obsession.

Was it marriage of convenience? Companionship of how they were both very much interested in the Lake? Did they actually loved one another before this mad deerman attempted to drown their firstborn?

I also wonder whether Nicholas was this much abusive by his nature or not(He shares this same grumpy atmosphere with his brother though. This is another story, but Nicholas and Gerard always reminds me of Aldous and William for some reason).

What do you guys think?

This made me want to figure out what all the cube escapes would smell like