EireBanshee

This is a well made game, and the "enthusiast" level of difficulty was challenging.

Be aware that you will have to do a lot of web-searching, google-mapping, facebook messaging, etc.  We had a lot of browser windows open at any one time.  This type of game play is not my favorite, but the story-line and of course the social messaging made up for it.

This game didn't quite hit the mark for us.  Small things could go a long way to making this more pleasantly playable.  It was frustrating to repeatedly have to close out of endless pop-up screens just to get back to the inventory screen.  Everything you clicked on created another pop-up screen on top of other pop-up screens, like a deck of cards to sort through. 

The puzzles were fine, no particularly satisfying ones, or "aha" moments.  Their Yeti game continues to be our favorite.

Not our cup of tea.  Very educational, if you have an interest in Sherry and how it is made.   We had endless tabs open, hopping between web-pages and google maps.  It is necessary to explore the web, send email, and use social media as part of the game, which just is not something we really enjoy, and the subject matter didn't hold our attention.

We enjoyed this magical environment, and overall everything worked well.  There was one search fail for a counting puzzle that cost us a lot of time, but que sera sera.  

My only complaint would be that they WAY TO INTERACT WITH OBJECTS was explained at the start and was consistent throughout the game....UNTIL a puzzle near the end.  We had two items in our inventory that we needed to use and we tried repeatedly to use them many times but failed using the function explained in the tutorial.  Finally, one member of our team accidentally discovered the function needed to use them, but it was incongruent and we only found it by chance.  

Overall, though, a fun and satisfying game.

Some of the puzzles in this game were nicely challenging, multi-layered puzzles that we found really satisfying.  There was a nice variety of puzzle types.

Unfortunately, there were some flaws, and one of them was quite substantial.  One puzzle requires that you call a U.S. phone number.   So firstly this is not a nice option for international players.  Secondly, the phone number was NO LONGER IN SERVICE!  We both tried ringing it, but it was no longer connected.  So we were not able to get the info needed to solve the puzzle and we had to wait through the time-released hint system to get the full answer in order to move on.  Super disappointing!

In the hieroglyph puzzle, we understood what we were supposed to be doing and we solve it, but our answer was not accepted (you type the answers into a code box).  We had solved 3 out of the 4 numbers correctly, but we just cannot see how the second number can possibly be what they say it is.  After re-checking our work for the second number several times, we had to eventually capitulate and type in the answer from the hint system in order to move on.  We would really love to have an explanation for that one, because I think it might be an error.

Overall we enjoyed most of the puzzles, but the two flaws were pretty big ones that I hope will be corrected for future players.

We overall enjoyed this game.  As a previous reviewer mentioned, the hint system wasn't great.  When we did need to get a hint, we had the choice to either get a hint for something that we already solved ages ago, or for something else which we didn't know anything about.  The hint said "tablet" but we didn't have a tablet.  Turns out that was the help we needed, but it was confusing and we spent some time trying to decide if we should click on it or not. 

Some items stayed in the inventory all through the game even though we had finished with them, which made it difficult to know what we should be focusing on.  

It was fun to explore the Pirate ship, the puzzles were all on theme and some of them were quite cute and fun. 

It was pleasant enough while it lasted, but you don't get much game for your money.  We were stunned when the game was apparently finished, around 20 minutes with no grand finale.  

Oh gosh, we found these puzzles really complex and very tricky!  The final puzzle requires that you remember something from some earlier reading (and there is a LOT of reading).  

It was good enough, although a bit frustrating in places.  I really do not like having to use my own accounts to send/receive facebook messages and emails as part of the game - and that was necessary.  There was a lot of reading and a lot of document files.  There were time penalties for hints and also for incorrect answers, which is very annoying.

Firstly, these games are only playable up to 7 days after purchase, so if you didn't get a chance to play it, your money is gone.  (this happened with my first purchase, but I cam back to try again because I was intrigued that these were REAL 360 escape room) Secondly, there is no hint system whatsoever, so you are on your own.  Thirdly, when there is a glitch in the game (no longer able to navigate) and you refresh the browser, you are sent back to the beginning of the game and everything is locked again.  ARGH!!!!

Really enjoyed this online experience!  Lots of puzzles to keep us busy, and it was non-linear so we could spit up and work on different things.  Graphics were top class, and everything flowed smoothly and made sense.   I would recommend!

This was a story-rich game, with very high-quality 360 images.  It was beautiful to look at, and there was a unique element of being able to see each space from 2 different time periods.

Video conferencing was included in the game.

We really enjoyed one particular puzzle (involving albums/records).  The rest of the puzzles seemed to be very simple puzzle-types, but they were made a bit difficult to achieve due to the challenge of figuring out HOW to do interact correctly, or struggling to find things.  There was a good period of time sacrificed to mindless pixel-clicking all over the screen in a desperate effort to find or interact with things.  And there does seem to have been a glitch (or an accidental solve) at one point in the game, which propelled us forward without ever having solved a particular puzzle. (but the creator says they are working on an improvement here)

There was one element which I liked, and I had never seen it done before: If I clicked to get a hint, the game needed ALL PLAYERS to click that they AGREE before it would dispense the hint.  I thought that was a nice touch.

I was intrigued enough by the scenes and the story to get through the bits of the game which felt frustrating, and I was left with an overall feeling of achievement.  

One more note: I played this game for free.  Had I not been offered the chance to play for free, I would never have played this game - due to the cost.  It is being sold (currently) at a price that I find too high for a digital game.

A good game that presented well digitally.  

It is very lock heavy, which may not be to everyone's taste but we still enjoyed it.

Nice puzzles, some got a but tricky but everything made sense and was satisfying to solve.

There was one puzzle, however, which required what we would consider "outside knowledge" and we had to do some googling to get the information that we needed.  Would have preferred to have found the necessary references in a book in the room, perhaps.  

It's worth noting that each player must solve every puzzle individually.  This was a problem for us when I got stuck on a slider puzzle for a long period of time.  My partner was waiting for me to catch up but there was no option to skip the slider puzzle to move one with my partner.

We enjoyed it, however, and we will come back to play more from these creators.

This was a good game, however, we did get frustrated with the method of communication/entering codes.  You have to type what you want to do into a text box, but you have to say it exactly the right way at exactly the right time.  We spent a lot of time knowing exactly what we needed to do, but unable to word it in the way that the game wanted us too.  Or, on one occasion, BEFORE the game wanted us to.  So this took away a bit of the joy from the puzzles.  Lovely story, though.

I was pleasantly surprised with this game.  Fantastic graphics and ambient sounds really immerse you in the atmosphere.  A nice variety of puzzles, some of which were tricky but due to my own fault making mistakes or missing things.  

Downsides: (1) There is a time penalty for hints, including those first "I already knew that" ones.  (2) When playing remotely with others you have to use share screen, and I would much prefer for us to all be able to look around and work independently. 

I look forward to seeing another game from this company.

We really enjoyed this one, although it did run quite long at around 90 minutes.   It could be done in two parts, there is so much to it.  We enjoyed their previous game and this one has been done even better.  You do have to explore a very large space with lots of areas, so there is a lot of navigating top be done, but the puzzles and story were both satisfying. 

I really liked the ambient sounds and sound effects. 

Would recommend.

This game appeared to start off well.  The computer graphics were pleasing to the eye, and the puzzles in the first area were enjoyable.  The problems began when we left the first area and began to explore the large area of the ship.

There were so many alternate angles of each scene, and each angle view could only be found be clicking on a different random pixel on the screen.  Although you might be able to see something from many angle, you may only be able to interact with it from a particular angle.  OR, the thing you need to see will only be seen if you click on a magic invisible pixel through sheer luck.  We had great difficulty finding the angles that we needed to be able to find/interact with things.  

Navigation was also frustrating.  Finding the correct click points to move where you wanted to go.

 We were also unable to find some elements that we needed.  We only knew that we needed them because when we got stuck, the hints system referenced them.   But we couldn't find them anywhere, and the hints did not give us the information help us to find them.  

Overall, the "playability" could use some work.  

Cute, simple.  Very guessable word answers to each puzzle.  We found ourselves often only half completing a puzzle before guessing what the answer must be.  But hey, we still had fun!  A light and easy Christmas snack.

This one (in "standard" mode) was quite a bit trickier than "The Mother".  But tricky in a way that perhaps could use more signposting in places. Definitely an improvement from their first game in that there was more to it.  

 Some clever puzzles but also some questionable ones.  A word puzzle with many possible solutions required us to use the hints, and a combination whose ordering has no explanation, even in the hints/solution. 

The background music was very loud, so we had to mute our browsers which is a shame, a bit of forest ambient sound would have added a more immersive vibe. 

Disappointing how the game ends with a blank black screen?  Have a feeling that was a glitch?

A nice little Christmas game.  I like that when one person solved a puzzle, it was solved for all.  Cute graphics and easy to use interface.  The puzzles were quite easy (except for some pretty tricky anagrams!) but the game was still satisfying as there was plenty to do.

I loved that this game highlights the different ways Christmas is celebrated around the world and would best be played in a casual way, taking time to read the information for each country. 

This game is non-linear and as 4 players we were able to get through it rather quickly, but it should take a good bit longer for smaller teams.

Although we expected the game to be easy (being Christmas and all) we didn't expect it to be quite so short (20 min for 2 players).  Not as smooth a production as their Yeti game, but cute and probably best for families with young children.

This was a nice game, we enjoyed it.  It is quite easy, although we did find it difficult to locate click-points at times.  

Oh what fun!  A lovely  and cheerful presentation with some humor.  The puzzles are easy - so ideal for a family.  But just because the puzzles are easy doesn't mean you'll be finished in a flash, it's a fulfilling game with story and very cute visuals/videos.  I love the combo between actors and graphic art.  

We did experience some type of glitch in the game, however, the creators responded very quickly and were able to get us back on track in no time, so we were still very happy with our experience.

There is not much too it.  It took us 16 minutes to complete, and that's only because the evidence is time-released.  You receive new bits of information at timed intervals.  If we received it all at once we would have been finished in moments, we were waiting around for the next batch of info to come in.  When it arrives, you match the info to the suspects, and then you wait for the next batch to arrive.  OK, It's for charity, it's for charity, it's for charity... 

Whether or not you enjoy this game will very much depend on what you are looking for.  Unfortunately, this game was not a match for us, although I cannot criticize it.  It is an impressive production for what it is.  

So, what is it?  It's mainly watching a narrative with graphic art images.  The characters tell you the story, while you watch.   Every now and then you are asked to have a quick little interaction with the game, but for the most part you are a spectator.  For us, this wasn't enjoyable.  When we play we want to solve puzzles and to interact with each other, so we found the long narrations tedious and we just wanted to get involved.

It is visually very pretty, and I think it it would be an interesting game for older kids/early teens.  Although it wasn't what we were looking for in a game, it's still very interesting and unique - and well made.