eScape-room.UK - "Space Freighter Heimdall"

Updated: Apr 28

Photos above are property of eScape-room.UK

Company: eScape-room.UK

Games: Space Freighter Heimdall

Country: United Kingdom 🇬🇧

Language: English

Type of Game: Digital Escape Game 💻

Genre: Sci-Fi

Date Played: September 9, 2021

Difficulty (based on 5 players): 7/10

Size of Team: Unlimited

Time: Unlimited (Approximately 60-120 min)

Price: £10.00

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You have entered Sector K-2074 and are approaching the Star Freighter Heimdall. There has been no contact from the ship’s crew or computer since an intense Solar Flare activity was recorded in the Sector several months ago. Your mission is to gain access to the ship to assess the level of damage and if possible, to rescue any of the crew that may have survived.

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This is a point and click game that can be played solo or together with friends over a video call. One of you will receive the link and login information that you will share with the rest of the team to access the Heimdall. Although my suggestion is to purchase your own code as many people using the same link might mess up some components in the game. The game is not synced for everyone so you must collect all items and solve all the puzzles on your own. This means that it’s important that you communicate everything with your team to make sure that no one falls behind. This is a big spaceship and there is a LOT of stuff to find, click on and make sense out out of.

You start off on the first floor (there's 4 in total!), navigating between the rooms by clicking arrows on the screen. You have with you a wheelie-bag to store interesting items in, including a tablet that will receive important messages. I’m not sure if a wheelie-bag would be my bag of choice for intergalactic travel, but I’m no astronaut so what do I know? 😂 Each floor of the ship has multiple rooms on them, but to explore them you must first find key cards with enough security access to operate the elevator and specific rooms. Once you have collected them and can move freely across the floors, you will realise that clues and hints are spread out all over the ship and that you will spend a fair bit of time traveling in that elevator. At some point you will need a camera device to scan QR codes and unless you happen to know some very specific pieces of trivia; prepare to use a search engine at least a few times.

After 2 hours I had to leave the game for something way less fun. The great thing is that you get unlimited game play, so I could just keep my tab open and continue playing on my own at a later time. My team solved the entire game in about 2 hours & 30 minutes, and I managed to do it in just under 3 (2 hours, 58 minutes and 27 seconds baby)! 🙈

Photos above are property of eScape-room.UK

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Even though deciphering substitution puzzles aren’t my usual cup of tea, in this game I enjoyed working together as a team to spell out the messages. It became well needed breaks in the (at times) chaotic searching and solving that was going on between all of us.

There is a fair amount of search and find, for example you need to collect puzzle pieces and laser thingy things. Make sure to tell your team when you find a collectible or there will be a lot of “Wait what, but I only found 4 puzzle pieces. Where's the 5th one?!”

As mentioned earlier, there are a few occasions where you need outside knowledge to solve the puzzles. Some are more obvious and easier than others; names are easier to search for than astronomical icons are for example. And even though I don’t mind looking outside the Heimdall; it would have been nice to get a little hint as to when that was necessary. The external sites will also give you clues on how to solve some puzzles so definitely don't forget to use them.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; there are a LOT of puzzles to solve on board Heimdall. At points, I felt overwhelmed and had to focus on keeping up with my team and letting them guide me through the solves. But the puzzles are a wide mix of everything and I believe there’s something for everyone. How about old school programming, adventurous poems or Star Wars puns? My favourite one was a clever twist on the very common periodic table spelling puzzle!

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Accessing the Space Freighter Heimdall is not a small task and you should make sure that you have enough energy and time to put into it. Do not be afraid to take one (or many) hints. They are cryptic enough to give you a challenge anyways.

I really like that you can pause the game at any time and continue at your own pace. I got the experience of both playing with a group as well as on my own and there were positives to both. There were some puzzles and clues that I’m unlikely to have figured out on my own, but I also found it easier at times to be able to investigate the ship at my own speed. And the pride that comes with solving a puzzle completely on your own is hard to beat!

One of my favourite parts about this game is the outro. After 3 hours in when all the puzzles are solved and tasks are done, I was reminded about the storyline and why I was onboard the ship. I think this is the first time that a point-n-click game has given me goosebumps. Good goosebumps...

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(If you do decide to try this game, give us a shoutout or tag us on social media so we know you heard it from "ESCAPETHEROOMers"!)

Disclosure: We thank eScape-room.UK for providing us with samples of the game. Although a complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever.