RATING: 5 Keys          RESULT: Win          REMAINING: *not timed

“The Curator’s gonna need a lot of ‘Monet’ to get out of this one.” – puns courtesy of our friends at The Escape Game.

Vincent Hahn just barely escaped, but Intel has noticed some suspicious activity in Hong Kong. According to reports, Hahn is dealing with artifacts related to the Silk Road. You mission is to go there, find Hahn, and capture him before he can get away.

Chasing Hahn takes a very clever approach, of not only putting one of the country’s strongest escape game brands right into the comfort of your own home, but connecting the narrative as a logical extension to one of its popular brick and mortar experiences.  The Escape Game’s first true “home game” effort exists within the storyworld of The Heist – which in itself was one of their first physical offerings way back when.

Agents are enlisted by AIR – The Agency for International Reconnaissance – to track down nefarious art thief The Curator, otherwise known by the alias Vincent Hahn – where ever he may be in the world. Given just how much he moves around to add precious items to his “collection,” that take won’t be nearly as easy as it sounds. But this isn’t just recovering a stolen item; Chasing Hahn is full of honest to goodness detective work – requiring actual evidence be gathered in order to execute an admissible arrest warrant that might actually stick this time.

From start to finish, Chasing Hahn is the single most story-driven escape home game we’ve ever played.

“Scenic,” in this case takes on a whole different meaning. Obviously without any physical sets, we tend to focus a conversation on scenic around a graphic design and print materials perspective. To that degree, The Escape Game Unlocked carries a familiar consistency with the level of excellence one can expect to find in their physical locations.

Everything within the clasped shut black mission dossier both looks and feels authentic. Newspaper clippings are not only printed front and back, but they’re done so on paper of similar weight and texture to actual newspapers. The edges are even torn in a way that feels as though it could have been done by hand. Post cards are heavy, with high gloss fronts that make them feel as genuine as one picked up somewhere in your travels around the globe. A map of Europe is even full of paid advertisements – each with its own distinct graphical style so as to imply they were each created by a different business. Eagle-eyed sleuths might even recognize some of those ads as easter eggs for a few of The Escape Game’s more popular physical experiences found around the country.

The Escape Game Unlocked is far more ambitious than a typical home game box full of papers and envelopes. Chasing Hahn plays out in equal parts printed evidence and active online research, across multiple different websites. Through this, perhaps most impressive of all is the theme park-quality production value of Chasing Hahn’s several online video briefings. Each one is framed as a sort of pre-show that sets up the next act – furthering the story in a way so compelling that it will likely make investigators eager to discover what lies ahead.

From start to finish, The Escape Game Unlocked is full of the most “real” feeling puzzle flow that we’ve ever seen in a home game. Beginning with a high-energy intro video, agents are immediately plunged deep into the storyworld with a clear mission and real consequences.

Part of the authenticity of Chasing Hahn comes thanks to its puzzles. This is not an investigation full of cliché tasks or puzzles for puzzles sake; to the contrary, solving this case will require genuine detective work in a real world setting. Agents will use a mix of included contents, additional assets logged away in an online evidence folder, furthered by the aid of the open internet and perhaps even an item or two from their own home. Doing so makes Chasing Hahn feel real in a way that not even many brick and mortar escape games can achieve.

Although one or two tasks within the folds of this grand-scale investigation frustrated us ever so slightly, overall, Chasing Hahn is a shining example of home games done right. And we are glad to report that the puzzle which caused a slight headache in the paper-based version has been changed in the digital rendition of the game to a much more enjoyable challenge. Successfully cracking the case of The Curator will require research, sleuthing and even a bit of computer hacking if agents have any hope of gathering the evidence they need to finally implicate Hahn.

We’ve played a lot of home games – and without question, the one thing we look for most in them is the ability to evoke the flavor of what it feels like to work through a true, physical, brick and mortar room. Some do that well – but there’s simply no doubt that none have been as successful in immersing players into a virtual “at home” experience as The Escape Game Unlocked.

Every aspect of Chasing Hahn stands true to the quality standards set by The Escape Game’s many permanent locations around the United States. It probably should come as no surprise that a brand who has cemented themselves as one of the best in the industry would also produce a superior-quality home game experience.

For those who have played other branded home games in the past, it’s important to note that Chasing Hahn can be passed on to friends for subsequent plays. Any item that may be at risk of getting marked or damaged is freely available to be reprinted from within the game’s website. The Escape Game has also begun offering a “digital” version of Chasing Hahn for a considerably discounted price – $15 off! This online-only version of the game comes with the same clues, content and overall experience – simply in picture form within the TEG Unlocked mission website.

*Montu, Escape Authority’s VP, Dog Business™ and lead home game correspondent endorses the opinions found within this review.

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Venue:  The Escape Game Unlocked

Location: At Home Game

Number of Games: 1 (with more to come)

GAME SPECIFIC INFORMATION:

Duration: This game is not meant to be timed.

Capacity: There is not a specific capacity limit, although The Escape Game recommends up to 4 people.

Group Type: Private / You will not be paired with strangers (but if you are, call 911 immediately to report a home invasion.)

Cost: Physical Game – $25.00 (Amazon.com currently sold out) / Digital Game – $10 (TheEscapeGame.com)

We thank The Escape Game for inviting us to play this game. Although a complimentary copy was generously provided, that in no way impacts the opinion included within this review.