Trip 1907: Classic
- What People Say
Trip 1907 Classic is, as you could probably guess, the classic version of Giorgos Kiafas’s series of escape puzzle books, including Trip 1907: Forbidden Mine (which we’ve also reviewed)! Following a different, but similarly intriguing plotline, Trip 1907 Classic takes the player through a sailor’s diary containing over 40 riddles and puzzles that unveil the mysterious events that transpired on a ship filled with monsters, strange dreams, and an ominous atmosphere that tests the narrator at every level of his journey.
The component quality is exactly what you’d expect from an at-home puzzle book like this. The soft cover was a touch that we at ERA enjoyed, and the detailed illustrations and artwork present on every page were our absolute favourite feature. The book also functions in tandem with a website you’re required to log your answers into, revealing chapters of backstory as you solve the puzzles on each page. Though it is fairly simple in design, the aesthetic works well and helps tie together the quality of the physical book with its online component as much as possible. We also appreciated the inclusion of multiple overlays, cypher-keys, and materials at the back of the book, which guarantee re-playability and act as a back-up in case any materials are lost along the way.
In terms of immersion, we found that with the level of impressive artwork and the detail of the backstory, some sort of musical ambience would’ve also been a nice feature on the website you rely so heavily on throughout the game. In terms of the story, we found that though we were excited to receive each new chapter and discover the backstory of our narrator, we were occasionally confused about what exactly was going on due to both the quality of writing and sometimes incoherent plotline, with one of our members stating, “It feels like we’re getting glimpses of a dream that doesn’t make perfect sense.” That being said, we found intriguing the way this could be interpreted by different players. Were the vignettes meant to make us feel like we were losing our minds alongside the sailor, especially when “sanity” plays such a heavy role in the story? Was this sense of disorientation meant to covertly impact us as the game progressed? In this way, Trip 1907 Classic leaves a degree of ambiguity that those who appreciate analysis may genuinely come to appreciate!
With over 40 puzzles, Trip 1907 Classic has an intriguing mix of both unique and classic puzzles, though most of them are centered around similar concepts. Sadly, our team deeply struggled with some of these due to their requirement of extremely specific outside knowledge. Once we figured them out, we admired the level of creativity used but also realized that the game would be best played in groups of at least 2-3 people, as a variety of perspectives will certainly help make some of the more abstract, difficult puzzles all the more enjoyable to solve. Unfortunately, another issue we encountered was that when we were stuck, the hint system wasn’t always as reliable as we’d like it to be. Trip 1907 Classic provides you with two hints on its website component, each costing you an amount of sanity to use that decreases your overall meter of 100. Some of these hints provide you with enough information to confidently solve the puzzles, but we also found that some required an extra layer of assistance, which later came with the game’s online forum. Though we found the spoiler-free discussions surrounding certain puzzles there to be helpful enough to finally solve them, some led us to dead-ends where we were unable to receive any more information about the puzzle and were thoroughly stuck till further notice. This had both pros and cons. On one hand, it means that you and your team will likely genuinely feel like you’re working through something that requires you to use only each other in order to progress. Though this sort of challenge may be appealing to some players, we found that it could seriously hinder your progress, especially for those whom forums are inaccessible to. On the bright side, we found that if all else fails, players with Facebook can message the Trip 1907 Facebook page for personalized help at any time, which was a pleasant surprise (and helped us successfully complete our journey)!
Well, was playing Trip 1907 Classic fun? Absolutely! Whether it be the challenge it presents, the beautiful artwork that greets you on every page, or your part in piecing together a suspenseful story, there is something every member on your team will likely find enjoyable. So, assemble your team and get ready to embark on an adventure you surely won’t forget anytime soon. Till then, and as always, happy escaping!
Final Verdict: | 6.4/10 |
