Puzzle Game Review – Escape Academy (plus NotPron update)
hi guys and welcome once again to
curated logic where we try and up your
brain game
now quickly before we get into today’s
review video
a lot of you have been asking over the
past almost two years if i will be doing
the second installment of my not prone
walkthrough
to which i have always said
when i finish the game
well as of last week finished the game i
have
so after a quick break to see my family
and score some more games off my little
bro
i will start work on that second and
final installment
if you have watched any of the first
video you will know how much work goes
into putting it together although not as
much work as actually finishing not
brown
so i am hoping to have it done by the
end of august
until then if you have any questions or
need any help you can of course email or
comment for hints
alright with that out of the way
let us move on to the real reason we are
all here
whenever i know a new puzzle game is
coming out i try and
expectations in check
i try not to read any reviews or know
too much about the plot so i can look at
the game as objectively as i can when i
play
even so every now and then along comes a
game that just from a few pictures and
short synopsis
i can be on tender hooks for the game to
arrive
that was definitely the case when only a
short while ago i heard about
escape academy from coin crew games
i am a sucker for escape rooms in life
and in games so the prospect of being a
student at a school for escapists was
very appealing
so i put my name down on a waitlist and
as soon as i got the notification that
it was out i was ready to play escape
academy
so let’s find out what i thought
[Music]
as mentioned in the intro in escape
academy you are a new student at a
school for budding escapists
eager to prove your worth when it comes
to your mental prowess in solving
puzzles
the school is made up of a number of
staff members and the headmaster each of
whom have set up different escape
challenges for you somewhere on campus
completing these and other similar
challenges that raise questions about
what is actually happening behind the
scenes at the academy is the game and is
your task so the best place to start
when assessing the quality of escape
academy
is these very challenges
overall the puzzles in each of these
challenges are good
there are plenty that are fun and plenty
that feel fresh takes on old puzzle
types
however despite having fun i would not
say that i was massively challenged by
any of the puzzles themselves
overwhelmingly the puzzles are pretty
self-explanatory and even if they take a
little bit of thinking it almost never
feels more than light mental strain
they felt more emphasis in the harder
levels on the amount of puzzles
and making the pressure come in terms of
finishing in the allotted time
rather than providing a really supreme
mental challenge
nevertheless this time pressure at least
in a couple of levels was definitely
felt and was very reminiscent of the
pressure i have felt in many a physical
escape room and for which i live
outside of the puzzles generally being a
bit on the easy side
there were also a couple of times where
escape academy did fall into that
age-old frustrating escape room and
puzzle game trap of puzzles that even
after they are solved do not feel
intuitive or satisfying
however these puzzles although there
were few and far between so they did not
impact on the enjoyment of the game too
much
in the end although i felt that overall
the puzzles were of fine quality i also
thought something could have been done
to cater more for those who have done a
lot of escape rooms and puzzle games
those whom i am assuming were excited
about this game coming out as much as i
was and allow for a greater challenge
for those who want it
[Music]
with me deeming the puzzles of escape
academy pretty good it is now time to
turn onto the other aspects of the game
worth assessing
firstly the aesthetics of the game lend
themselves quite well to this style and
it is what i expected before even
playing
on one hand the graphics and style put
you into the world of escape rooms and
puzzle games quickly reminding me of 20
years ago when i first started playing
games like broken sword sleeping dragon
and siberia
of course undoubtedly the graphics here
are better but the feeling evoked is
very similar which was very satisfying
to me
on the other hand again like with the
puzzles there were a few moments that
these illustrations felt just a little
off
mostly to do with how the humans in the
game looked
but these moments happened so
infrequently they didn’t detract much
from the game
the music and sound effects on the other
hand i don’t really remember
specifically any of them which i
generally count as a good thing in this
type of game given that it means to me
at least that they served the function
of the game well without being a
distraction or a pain a bonus when your
mind wants to focus on the puzzles in
front of you
what i will say was the biggest downfall
of the game to my mind was the story
although not completely predictable in
every facet it was for the most part
pretty easy to see where the game was
going and it wasn’t that great of a plot
for me the most exciting part of the
game was the rival challenge which pits
you against one of the other students in
a race to complete a series of puzzles
i would have loved it if more emphasis
was placed on this type of competition
with student against student rather than
so much focus on the staff members and
their inner workings which felt a little
stale and superficial
i would have enjoyed it a bit more if
the story had been a bit more like harry
potter as i felt that the staff should
have been mostly secondary characters
with the real plot coming from the many
students at the academy rather than in
the whole first year you play through
only coming across one other people
but with that being said like with many
of you i am guessing i was not primarily
playing escape academy for the story
as a final note on escape academy
although i played it myself the game
also offers a co-op mode so you can play
with a friend just like you would a
normal escape room
this is definitely a nice touch as it
allows for time to be saved when you
need a key or a legend to solve a
particular puzzle but it is on a
different side of the room
and it gives you an excuse to get
together with friends and have a good
old time because that is what escape
academy does provide
so with everything i have mentioned in
mind i give escape academy a seven and a
half out of ten
it is definitely one of the better
escape room games i have played but
there are still moments the game falls
into some of the normal trappings that
many an escape room game and many a
physical escape room fall into
and i wanted more out of the academy
setting than was given
nevertheless i will still definitely be
awaiting the opportunity to make my way
through year 2 of escape academy when i
hope another installment of this fine
game comes out
as always if you have played escape
academy please let me know what you
thought in the comments
and if you have a game you are keen for
a review or walkthrough for
also just let me know
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i hope wherever you are in the world you
are keeping safe and happy
until next time keep upping your brain
game and have fun
see ya
[Music]
you
