Month: November 2020

Scarlet Envelope – Envelope Three: Distress Call from Outer Space (Review)

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Location: Your Home!

Players:  We recommend 1-3

Price: $20 monthly

Lost in Space

Theme:

From the Scarlet Envelope website:

The year is 2220, a century into the human colonization of Mars. Humans remain the same: two planets are in constant political conflict. Your spaceship picks up a distress call from a Martian spy who has discovered how to stop the war! Now encrypted Martian files are in your hands, along with the fate of both Earth and Mars.

First Impressions:

I’ve gotta say, Canada has been knocking it out of the park lately with puzzling subscriptions. Scarlet Envelope is one of two fantastic monthly puzzling capers that I’ve picked up recently, and I have to say, they are quickly becoming some of my favorite mailings every month! With a brand new theme for every game, I really love seeing how the creators pivot from 1920’s mystery to sci-fi to horror and beyond!

High Points:

The thing I really loved about Envelope Three was how intuitive each puzzle was once you’d uncovered the requisite clues. Though the game certainly didn’t hold my hand, it did provide small clues within each puzzle to ensure that with the application of some critical thinking, the answers would reveal themselves during an excellent ah ha moment! The first half of the game flowed beautifully, with a beginning that had me scratching my head, but with just enough breadcrumbs to ensure I could find my way. One of my favorite puzzles came during the initial stages of the game, and cleverly disguised the method of solving, leaving the puzzle hidden in plain sight. Difficulty ramped up smoothly, and as the conundrums became more challenging, the ah ha moments became ever more satisfying! There are some real doozies further in, and the Experienced level games are perfect for battle hardened puzzle enthusiasts that really want a challenge. I adored one section that involved a ship’s computer, as I loved exploring the options and branching paths I could take, and the design of all the web based materials is really slick.

I’m still enamored with the overall theme of Scarlet Envelope, and am interested to see how all these time hopping good deeds I’m doing will pay off. As I mentioned before, it is awesome to receive a totally different theme from month to month, and I really love opening up new envelopes to see how these themes have been implemented. So far, Scarlet Envelope has done a top notch job ensuring that the story and puzzles are wonderfully woven into the game, and are engaging experiences, with no red herrings or puzzles that feel out of place or just there for the sake of puzzling. Though this is, I believe, (and feel free to correct me if I’m wrong,) the designer’s first subscription puzzle experience, it feels like they’ve been making these forever, they’re so well designed!

Low Points:

My main critique for this particular episode is that while I understand why there is a lot of online content, due to the futuristic nature of the game, the non-linear nature of the mystery, coupled with how many branches there are for the online component, really convolutes the proceedings. I played this game over the course of two days, and it was really difficult to set back up to where I was since I essentially had to run back through everything. And when you take chaotic notes like I do… While I definitely appreciate the intent of what’s being done, a more linear approach would definitely provide a somewhat cleaner puzzling experience. The logic of one particular puzzle still eludes me, and the set up doesn’t quite have enough cluing to completely relate how the solutions are meant to line up. While I had the correct answers, it took a little more guess and check than we’d like to get the solution in order. This, joined with the solution requiring a bit of eyeballing to boot, created a situation where I was never quite sure if the answer I arrived at was truly correct, (until, of course, I verified the solution in the online component.)

Verdict:

I’m loving the journey that Scarlet Envelope has set us upon, and am looking forward to next month’s envelope, as number four promises to be right up my alley! I wholeheartedly recommend this subscription, as there’s a difficulty level for beginners and enthusiasts alike, and so much to love about the experience. Start your journey into the mysteries of the Scarlet Envelope here! The creators currently have a cool new Kickstarter on right now for Christmas Puzzle Cards here! You should check it, and their astoundingly funny outtakes video asap!

8/10 (Great)

Full Disclosure: Scarlet Envelope provided a complementary review copy.

Sleuth Kings – Monster Madness: Case 204 – Monster Madness (Review)

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Location: Your Home!

Players:  We recommend 1-4

Price: $29.95 per box

The Monster Mash

Theme:

From the Sleuth Kings website:

Sullivan King had only heard whispers about a new criminal group – until their reign of terror made things personal for him.

The group – filled with self-proclaimed zombies, vampires, and other monsters – has its hand in everything from selling drugs to abducting people. Although they have police baffled, Sullivan is sure of one thing: he’s going to do whatever it takes to stop them.

First Impressions:

It’s finally here! The conclusion to Sleuth King’s first main-line multi-case story line comes to a close with case 204, and we were excited to see how it would end! The stakes were high coming into this case, so I was excited to see how things would play out.

High Points:

I’ve really enjoyed how the story of Monster Madness has developed over the course of the last few months. It reminded me of the Isaac Cases from years past, except instead of one every quarterly, we’d get the next part of the story every single month. This allowed for fantastic cliff hangers, slowly raising stakes, and more immersion into the narrative, and I think it has paid off well. Sleuth Kings as a subscription really fits into this mold nicely, and I’m looking forward to the next run of cases to see how the designers continue to evolve the formula. We really enjoyed the ride, and the climax and ending were spectacular; exactly what we were hoping to see from this final case of the series. The props provided were excellent, and during the epilogue, we were provided with some awesome extras that truly went the extra mile in putting a bow on things.

Puzzle wise, I think that the best has definitely been saved for last, and while we’ve enjoyed the previous three cases, case 204 knocks it out of the park. The flow is excellent, and right up to the end we were chugging along nicely, solving without artificial choke points or red herrings to stop things up. The whole experience was really intricately designed, and I loved how everything tied together well, providing a beautiful variety of conundrums to ride along with the story. The theming of the experience was woven excellently into the mystery, and I never felt as if we were jumping between story and puzzle and back to story. Rather, the experience was designed with smooth transitions and nicely blended narrative and puzzles to ensure that the game felt more like an immersive experience. I loved the inclusion of a website that confirmed answers, as it not only gave us said confirmation, but was key in furthering the story in a blended way. Everything we needed to solve the box was provided, and I greatly appreciated the inclusion of one particular item that puzzle boxes tend to reference frequently, but usually have never provided. It’s always great to have everything on hand rather than have to jump on Google, especially for things like this.

Low Points:

One particular puzzle involved a task we’re none too fond of overall, and unfortunately, this type of puzzle relies on specificity. This one in particular needed somewhat more cluing in order to really ensure the answer is intuitive, and in it’s current form was rather too vague to make complete sense in the end. Though we did enjoy the puzzles in this box the best for the series, the overall difficulty was somewhat lower. Not really a low point, generally, but we had expected the challenge to rise for the finale.

Verdict:

The ultimate case of Monster Madness provided intuitive, well thought out puzzling, as well as an excellent capstone to the story that we’ve been following for the past few months. I absolutely love how Sleuth Kings has changed things up with this four month saga, and can definitely say that I recommend checking this set of cases out as soon as you can! You can purchase this and other previous cases from the Sleuth King’s archives here, and if you’d like to subscribe to upcoming adventures, you can use the promo code ESCAPEADVENTURE to get $5 off your subscription here! You can also read the rest of our Sleuth Kings reviews here!

8.5/10 (Great)

Full Disclosure: Sleuth Kings provided a complementary box.

The Deadbolt Mystery Society – Museum Nocturnus (Review)

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Location: Your Home!

Players:  We recommend 1-4

Price: $24.99 per box, plus $4.99 shipping

I don’t remember Night at the Museum being this creepy…

Theme:

From The Deadbolt Mystery Society website:

Museum Nocturnus is a paranormal museum dedicated to cursed objects, items taken from haunted locations, serial killer artifacts, and anything else weird that wouldn’t stand a chance of being curated for any other museum. Valley Falls’ resident group of ghost hunters, S.T.A.L.K., purchased the museum in hopes of turning a profit and boosting their profile within the paranormal community. Father Richter Casey agrees to spend the night inside the museum and perform a series of blessings on the place before it reopens. Things go awry, however, when the priest is found dead the following morning. Given the frightful nature of the place, the list of potential culprits includes both human and supernatural suspects. Your job is to investigate The Hall of Murderers, The Hall of Cursed Toys, and The Hall of Haunted Items in order to determine what really happened to Father Casey.

First Impressions:

Museum Nocturnus is a location that has been mentioned once before in Deadbolt’s previous adventure, The Body Farm. When I saw that a mystery would be taking place in this eerie establishment, I was very excited to see what would await us inside! I’ve really loved this run of creepy, paranormal style mysteries that have come out lately from Deadbolt, and this seemed like it would be a great capstone for spooky season!

High Points:

Museum Nocturnus focuses even more on story, which is a new, and welcome update I’ve noticed in newer Deadbolt boxes. The narrative is fantastic, and hides its secrets well, revealing revelations at just the right time to surprise and lead detectives down new avenues of investigation. I really loved the characterization of each suspect, as well as the myriad killers and haunted items housed within the museum’s walls. Each new killer and item had its own lore and teased us just enough to want more! I’m really hoping that, like Asylum and Sanitarium before, we will one day return to the Museum Nocturnus to delve deeper into the freaky exhibits we discovered. The presentation of the puzzles and clues is fantastic as ever, and each new wing of the museum that we opened provided us with thematic new props. The story is filled with foreshadowing, and unraveling each investigative thread was immensely satisfying, right up to the exciting conclusion!

Puzzles are great, and very intuitive, with each level of the game tying together with the story believably, allowing for the narrative to play out as we solved. Interactions were more linear overall, but there weren’t any specific choke points that stopped progress, and each batch of conundrums that released in each wing provided enough to do that our team of two remained completely engaged with the game for the full experience. This experience reminds me a lot of early days PC adventure games, dropping you into a location and letting you explore all the cool bits and bobs, while still giving you challenges to solve in order to progress, and find more fantastic items! One of my favorite puzzles presented us with an innocuous couple of items that colorfully revealed a secret message once we had deduced what was important. I always love messages that are hidden in plain sight, and this solve was immediately satisfying once we had it figured.

Low Points:

For enthusiasts, this box will probably come in as an easier experience. Though there is a lot to do, the puzzles feel shorter, and less layered than usual. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially for beginners looking for a more straightforward game, I drop this here for veteran sleuths mostly as an FYI. While the puzzles included within this box are all very intuitive, some are a bit too direct. Some directions are very immediately spelled out; telling us exactly what to do, rather than presenting a conundrum to figure out.

Verdict:

Museum Nocturnus presented us with an interesting setting, strange paranormal goings on, and a fantastic mystery to solve. I’d definitely recommend this box, especially to new players looking for a good jumping in point. The story and great game flow is more than enough to entertain enthusiasts, however, and I think anyone will have a great time uncovering the secrets of this spooky museum. Join the Deadbolt Mystery Society here! Right now, you can get 30% off your first box with the Promo Code ESCAPE30! You can also see the rest of our Deadbolt Mystery Society reviews here!

8/10 (Great)

Full Disclosure: The Deadbolt Mystery Society provided a complementary box.

The Conundrum Box – The Artemis Rescue (Review)

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Location: Your Home!

Players:  We recommend 1-4

Price: $30 per box

Houston, we have a puzzle.

Theme:

From The Conundrum Box website:

BLAST OFF TO FUN!

The year is 2250 and you are stranded on a distant moon. You have limited time to reactivate an ancient alien ship and set a course to space before an impending meteor strike pulverizes the planet. Strap in and prepare to lift off on an intergalactic adventure! Puzzles revolve around spaceships, aliens, and exploration. A real choose-your-own-path type game with hard and easy mode. Suitable for all ages, the difficulty is set for new to intermediate players.

First Impressions:

I was excited to see that the newest Conundrum Box had a scoring system! I enjoyed the implementation of scoring systems from previous boxes, and really like that, for the most part, the time pressure isn’t the main part of the scoring. This also integrated into the story, which added to the fun! Of course, it was optional, so even better for puzzlers who just want to take it easy.

High Points:

I really loved the theme and story of this box, and thought that it elevated the puzzling well, without overwhelming it or drawing things out with too much reading. I loved the companion you’re partnered up with, and really enjoyed how this box sort of expanded beyond more historically based themes. While I don’t dislike those, I always love when a subscription tries out themes beyond their norm. (And the fact that, this year, I’ve pretty much only read books belonging to the Urban Fantasy and Horror genres helps.) The story is bolstered by the colorful, fun designs, and there are a few fantastic props that are simultaneously mysterious and functional. As previously mentioned, the scoring and, at some points, timing system works very well, and those points that are expressly timed are well implemented into puzzles that aren’t overly difficult to get the hang of, so it doesn’t feel needlessly punitive. In fact, with the timing bits and scoring parts tied so well into the story, I felt motivated by the system more than any other system like this for a subscription box!

The Artemis Rescue is absolutely packed to the brim with puzzles, with loads of different items to play around with, many of which are intuitively implemented on multiple occasions. While the game is overall very linear, there don’t seem to be any particular choke points, and the hints are layered in such a way that you never feel like you’re getting too much or too little to help bolster you forward when you need it. In fact, the linearity helps the story shine a bit more, and I always love it when things work out that way. Some of the puzzles in this box get really creative, and honestly, I think the Artemis Rescue might contain some of the best puzzles I’ve seen from The Conundrum Box yet! There were quite a few points where I was dazzled by the ah ha moments, and I especially loved how there are a few points where puzzles come together for a meta-puzzle surprise! The finale was exciting narratively and puzzle wise, and it absolutely capped things off on a high note.

Low Points:

I find that for most Conundrum Boxes with “movement” or “mapping out” puzzles, I’m just going to have to come to terms with the fact that I do not like these puzzles on the whole. They feel too process-y, and aren’t generally fun for us to figure out. Luckily, this box comes with a normal and hard version of the puzzle, so it was somewhat more palatable to us. The hard version, (which I tried out for review purposes,) was definitely not our cup of tea, with a very, very complicated set of rules for movement that we instantly noped out on. The normal version is much simpler, and though I am not 100% sure how I came to the correct answer, I did. A lot of the “choose your own adventure-ness” of the box is based off plotting this course correctly, so if you don’t like this type of puzzle, it may tank your experience. There was a LOT of translating in this box, especially to start, but overall, it wasn’t too bad, and I did like the cluing for this puzzle. One particular puzzle was very simplistic, to the point I kept second guessing if there was more to it. (As an enthusiast, the answer is almost always, “no, you’re overthinking.” So I don’t hold this against the box, just mention it for veteran players who will 100% overthink.)

Verdict:

The Artemis Rescue is easily one of my favorite Conundrum Boxes to date, and I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a couple hours of puzzling! While new players will love the level of challenge, I think there is still more than enough meaty puzzling for enthusiasts to enjoy as well. Subscribe to The Conundrum Box here! You can get $5 off your first box with our Promo Code ERA5OFF!

8.5/10 (Great)

Full Disclosure: The Conundrum Box provided a complementary review copy.

Ubisoft Blue Byte – Prince of Persia: The Dagger of Time (Review)

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Location: This game is available from many locations, we played at Game On Escapes and More in Cary, NC

Players: 2-4

Price: Varies, based on location.

Time to Escape: Approximately 60 Minutes

Before we merely jumped through time, now we jump through franchises!

Theme:

From the Ubisoft Escape Games website:

Prince of Persia: The Dagger Of Time is a Virtual Reality Escape Game set in the world of Prince of Persia which enables you to experience time control. You will be able to experience something impossible in real life: to slow, stop or even rewind time!

The Dagger of Time takes place in the setting of the Prince of Persia Trilogy (Sands of Time, Warrior Within, The Two Thrones). Players are summoned to the Fortress of Time by Kaileena to stop an evil Magi. Kaileena restores and gives the Dagger of Time to the players so they can reach the Hourglass Chamber and use it to stop the Magi.

TDOT is an experience built around cooperation between players of all ages to achieve a shared goal. Collaboration is essential: you cannot succeed without your teammates. Being able to listen and communicate effectively is absolutely key to success.

In the game, two, three or four players team up to find a way out of a reimagined Fortress of Time. To succeed, they need to work together and solve puzzles. The puzzles will require players to interact with objects in their vicinity, climb, and use certain powers, such as the time control.

First Impressions:

I have really loved what Ubisoft did with their previous two VR escape games, especially the brilliant Beyond Medusa’s Gate, which explores further the Ancient Greece of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, one of my favorite video games of all time! Though not really a Prince of Persia fan, the newest VR escape from Ubisoft Blue Byte looked colorful and interesting, and we could not wait to try it out!

High Points:

The graphics of these games continue to improve greatly, and I really loved inhabiting the world that had been created for this game. It was truly beautiful, and every bit of it begged to be interacted with. My favorite part of previous games was the high level of customization for our avatars, and the brilliant fun the in game lobby can hold, and this has been further iterated on for The Dagger of Time. Traversal through the world continues to be fantastic, and climbing across chasms and up walls is still a whole lot of fun, especially since it is the only place I’ll ever be able to do a one armed pull up! Puzzles in the game are initially very cool, (more on why that initially is needed in a bit,) and once you’ve solved them they’re initially very satisfying to complete. Everything is based in teamwork, and depending on the number of players on the team, the game and the puzzles therein are adjusted to ensure everyone has something to do. (Whether that thing is fun or not… read below.) Honestly, The Dagger of Time started out really strong, a real VR escape room contender, and I expected this to become a new favorite, until we bumped up against a lot of foundational issues that started to sully my thoughts on this game.

Low Points:

Unfortunately, after the massive success that was Beyond Medusa’s Gate, Ubisoft’s escape games take a substantial step back with The Dagger of Time. Where Beyond Medusa’s Gate and, to a slightly lesser extent, Escape the Lost Pyramid, gave all players the same abilities, but different, varied challenges in which to work together, The Dagger of Time gives each player a single, different ability. Unfortunately, only one of these is cool, and I did not have this ability. These powers are randomly bestowed by being given particular weapons, and though I was bequeathed the titular Dagger of Time, I spent most of the game lamely standing about shifting time back and forth for my wife while she did awesome things. You see, she was given a sword, which basically did every single other thing I was unable to do. It was brilliant for her, and she seemed to have a great time, but she did feel bad that my job was to basically stand in one spot and make sure she could do cool stuff.

Behold! My wife’s awesome sword and my stupid Dagger of Time.

This basic mechanical problem is exacerbated by the fact that so many puzzles repeat themselves throughout the experience, ensuring that by the fourth or fifth time you’ve completed the exact same process, solves will stop being a moment of celebration, but relief. When players are given a new enigma to puzzle over, it seems as though the momentum of the game grinds to a halt all too frequently, due to the nature of how discovery works in this game. Unlike the Assassin’s Creed escape games, the game is often unintuitive, and several times we figured out the solutions by complete accident. The novelty of The Dagger of Time tends to wear off really quick, but can be cool for newcomers, but even here, the game fails, as the challenges tend to be more difficult than the previous two Ubisoft VR games, making it difficult to figure out who this game is for.

Verdict:

When it comes to The Dagger of Time, while there are a few evolutions I like, the game overall feels like a slog to get through. Presenting a game in which only one player gets to use the cool weapon, and thus, do the cool things, as well as copy pasting puzzles ad nauseam really tanks this game. Though I truly wanted to love it, it ended up being bland and forgettable overall. Even worse if you happen to miss out on being the one of a possible four players who gets the best powers. You can find a spot to play Prince of Persia: The Dagger of Time, and the much more entertaining Assassin’s Creed VR escape games here.

5.5/10 (Mediocre)

Full Disclosure: Game On Escapes and More provided media discounted tickets for our game.