A co-op escape room simulator that doesn’t take too long to put you into the thick of the ‘action’, Mad Experiments: Escape Room – Sanctuary is un-apologetically challenging, especially if you’re going for a solo run. The latest addition to the Mad Experiments Series from Developer PlayTogether Studio is one that will thrill puzzle enjoyers and escape room aficionados, especially if they play it in Co-Op.
Visuals – Impressive and enthralling
Puzzle games have historically been visually appealing, be it segmented puzzle games that keep you in small sections or rooms, or the more walking simulator ones more in the vein of Vanishing of Ethan Carter – Visuals have always been a key strength of Puzzle games and that’s something that Sanctuary does well.
Difficulty – Meant for Co-Op, Hardcore on your own!
Now I have to admit, I am not the best puzzle solver, in fact I am probably in the wrong side of the ‘how good are you at solving puzzles’ situation, but this game isn’t one that will hold your hand. It really relies on you to seek and find information together which makes it a perfect game night game for up to 4 players, but that also makes it a lot harder on your own.
The game does make a lot of leeway for people that want to move and display clues for the ease of displaying them, unlike most puzzle games that will have you drop or place clues that are static to a location, Sanctuary lets you hover and float the clue so that a) you can place it near the action you need to take or b) your friends can also read and understand the clue without each having to pick it up or narrate to others.
This is a great touch and something more puzzle games need to add to their repertoire.
Escape Room – Emulating the Pressure
The main pressure and fun of an escape room is the timed element, and you get to enjoy that too as by default there is a time limit factor.
Thankfully though, there is a ‘Relax Mode’ which allows you to take away the time limit, I say thankfully, because without it there’s no way I would be able to get past even the starting hurdle on my own!
There’s good news for rookies!
There is a very easy to use and understand step-by-step hint system that doesn’t seem to have any limits or punish you in any way (at least in the Relax Mode).
This makes the game easy to approach, even in solo but the true joy is definitely one to be shared with friends.
Mad Experiments: Escape Room – Sanctuary doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but brings enough to the table to make it worth an extra glance, just grab a friend or three along for the ride.
Mad Experiments: Escape Room – Sanctuary is available on steam.
3.5 out of 5.0 stars
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