Escape from Alcatraz
- What People Say
Deckscape’s Escape from Alcatraz presents a unique ‘choose your own adventure’ style-based game play using a card system. The cards are clear to read with very good picture quality. We realized early on that we had to pay attention to the wording very carefully on every card so we didn’t find ourselves in a perilous situation! In addition to the cards, there is a newsletter provided that connects to the gameplay. This was a great addition to the game. The cards are numbered, very clear to follow and flow well together. The newsletter was a great addition because it allowed for the other player to examine the newsletter, and it allowed for more in-depth puzzles as well. However, the newsletter does make re-playability difficult if you wanted to pass this game onto your friends after you are done as it is necessary to manipulate certain aspects of the game as you progress. As the game progresses, you are asked to keep score of certain events in the game. We would love to see Deckscape provide a tracker, or some system other than a playing card, for the players to track their score progress.
For a card-based game, there was a good level of immersion and a natural storyline progression in the game. The storyline made sense, was easy to follow, and kept our attention as we were playing the game. The puzzles connected very well to the storyline and the tasks aligned well with the story. We felt satisfied with the story arc and enjoyed this aspect of the game. The newsletter was not only a great game component, but it helped to augment the immersive experience. We felt as though Deckscape did a good job of taking the setting of Alcatraz and having the main character and going deep with these two aspects rather than providing many settings and characters. That said, the storyline felt more like a solo adventure rather than a collaborative team experience, but that aligns well with the narrative created.
There was a good variety of puzzles in the game: some logic puzzles, word puzzles, visual puzzles, and more! We found that we really needed to take the time to read each card carefully. Attention to detail is key in this game! The wording in every card made all the difference for success. We found at times there was a lot of reading to do for each card. Sometimes we would have to read a card a few times to understand what it was asking us to accomplish, or what the outcome of that card had to be because of a certain decision we made. The playing cards and the newsletter had to be used together for many puzzles and we found that it was satisfying to have these two game components work together seamlessly to provide a rich puzzle experience. The hint card system was good and provided just enough of a hint at times to have us move in the right direction.
Deckscape’s Escape from Alcatraz was a fun experience for the team. We could see the game as a great experience for two people to play in an hour to two hours together and could be a great first experience into the foray of card based escape gameplay. This could be a challenge for more than three people to play as you would all need to read the cards together at the same time. The storyline was captivating and the variety of puzzles blended in well with all the game components. Overall, we had a lot of fun with this game and look forward to seeing what story Deckscape brings us next!
Final Verdict: | 7.5/10 |
