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Company: Mobile Escape
Game: Escape Mail - S01E12: Bloodlines (Hard version)
Country: Canada 🇨🇦
Language: English
Type of Game: Puzzles By Mail 📬
Genre: Adventure, Mystery
Time: Unlimited (Suggested 2 hours)
Difficulty (based on 1 player): 7.5/10
Size of Team: Unlimited
Date Played: November 4, 2021
Price: $17.95 CAD or subscribe to save
🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈
It is the moment you and Cuz JJ have been waiting for – you are on Joro Island (FINALLY) and so close to the treasure you can feel it in the air. Unfortunately, there is still that problem of getting into the secret chamber…better hurry before the others arrive!
🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞
The game arrived in a black letter sized envelope. Inside you'll find an intro letter from your cousin, a large double-sided star-chart on black newspaper paper, a pyramid key (needs to be assembled), two letters from your ancestor, a symbol sheet to aid decoding, a celestial bodies list, and a sticky note. If you opt for regular difficulty level for this game, there will also be a flow card to guide you through the game. I appreciated the inclusion of a QR code with a file of previous key artifacts from other episodes that are important for this episode in case you do not keep them. There is also a QR code that link to a website with hints and music.
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🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈
The introduction letter sets the stage for the tasks your cousin needs you to undertake while he’s the “boots of the ground,” so to speak. There is an accompanying chatbot (accessed via a QR code) where you communicate with your cousin during the adventure. He’ll provide short video clips as you progress while also giving you the lay of the land to give you a better idea of the current task in front of you. Once you have solved the puzzle you submit the answer to your cousin using a digital interface and he’ll update you on what happened once he inputted the solution in the chambers.
I like the format of these games because you have a true face behind the AI working alongside you. JJ and his involvement are the key to your success in these games as he guides players through each puzzle, especially because all the components are accessible for the beginning. This game packs a lot of content into all its components and players can easily be overwhelmed with much content if not for JJ. In addition, you truly have a companion working with you and experiencing the success of solving each puzzle.
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🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂
In this game, you will have to look back to previous mailings for clues and information. I liked how there was a referral back to previous mailings to show this experience as a full story from beginning to end, with little bits coming back.
I would say the puzzles were a good mixture of challenge and ease for players. There is a lot of content in the mailings and clues are carefully hidden to help stagger the various “aha” moments players can get. There are quite a few physical elements to puzzles that help provide variety to the puzzling. I would say less experienced puzzlers may need a bit more guidance to complete the game, which is where the regular level is excellent as it gives you a card that has little images to nudge you to what items you need to move forward. The puzzles themselves aren’t too difficult once you understand them, but it can be tricky figuring out all the components you need to fully solve the puzzle and having a good spatial awareness for a few of them.
Parts of this experience are non-linear which can also add to the challenge as you have five puzzle tasks (each being two parts) so don’t be afraid to use the hints to help nudge yourself if you are used to more linear formats. I thoroughly enjoyed the structure of many of these puzzles and thought they added something unique to experience because they really got the player involved with the game components. There was purpose to having each piece in front of you on the table. I do think the hint system could benefit from a “items you will need” section even for more experienced players as there were a few times where there was so much to look at that I missed a small thing that would have smoothed out the puzzling for me. Episode 12 is the accumulation of all the other puzzling over this journey so expect quite a challenge, but also an infusion of fun and creativity different from the past envelopes. Escape Mail does an excellent job making each envelope, from 1 to 12, feel fresh each time.
🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂
Bloodlines was the perfect finale to Season 1 of Escape Mail, filled with memorable puzzle moments and a satisfying conclusion to the journey. The adventure with JJ was long and filled with twists but if you stuck around, I would say the feeling of accomplishment was high as the final video played at the end. I really enjoyed the physicality of this game and JJ helped keep the experience smooth, even during the difficult moments. I recommend Escape Mail for the puzzler looking for a treasure hunting experience that ramps up each episode while also being quite an affordable price. I can’t believe this journey has ended…or has it? I’m hoping for a Season 2!
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Check out our interview with the creators to understand more on the development side of these game:
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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 Mobile Escape for providing us with a sample of their game. Although a complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever.
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