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

Capturing international criminals is a true… art form.

In this edition, you’ll continue your mission from “The Heist” as a secret agent in an effort to thwart the infamous art curator, Vincent Hahn.

With the help of your Intelligence Agent, you’ll uncover 
The Curator’s true identity, connect him to a crime, and work with the 
International Police to finally exact justice.

Volume 2: The Silk Road picks up right where agents left off in the previous story. This strongly narrative driven game follows the path set out in Volume 1: Chasing Hahn. Because the backstory from the first game builds the storyworld for the second, it is important that it be included here as well:

“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.”

A unique aspect to the storyworld of The Silk Road is that agents have a choice to make that may define the fate of Vincent Hahn and the entire investigation. This is a great touch that gives sleuths the chance to affect the storyworld within the game, although it would be improved if there was a well defined correct choice that could be determined through the course of the investigation, with consequences for making the wrong decision.

In Volume 2, agents take a few steps closer to nabbing their fugitive… but will that be enough?

“Scenic,” in this case takes on a whole different meaning. Obviously without any physical sets, we tend to focus a conversation on graphic design. 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.

The Heist | Vol. 2: The Silk Road is a fully digital game, and as such the scenic is entirely contained within the agent’s dashboard, the websites visited, and the video briefings sent by Intel along the way. While The Escape Game has never been constrained by needing to produce believable physical set pieces and props, the freedom of a strictly virtual game has allowed them to take the scenic quality even further.

In this Volume, the pursuit of Vincent Hahn will take agents to the far corners of the earth – all from the comfort of their own home. The combination of professionally produced video clips, artfully designed evidence, and very detailed puzzle graphics builds an entirely believable and immersing scenic storyworld.

Most impressively, The Escape Game knows when to dial it back. Way back. Back to comically bad graphics, sans any hint of modern design capabilities in some of the “outside” websites agents might be tasked with searching. This simple yet fun choice further enhances the scenic quality of The Silk Road, providing both humor and realistic investigative destinations.

Much like Vol. 1: Chasing Hahn, The Silk Road begins with a high-energy intro video, wherein agents are immediately plunged deep into the storyworld with a clear mission and real consequences.

At first glance, the objectives and manner in whih puzzles are solved may appear to be confusing. Brick and mortar escape games are similarly confusing to those who are unfamiliar with them, making this an understandable hiccup in a relatively new game medium. Once a familiarity with the gameplay is developed, the puzzles are high quality from start to finish.

The Silk Road continues to deliver authenticity through 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. With Intel continually uploading evidence to the online dashboard, the journey through the far East involves many location specific challenges that require examining genuine artifacts, websites, and real world connections. Doing so makes the continuation of our chase for Hahn feel real in a way that not even many brick and mortar escape games can achieve.

Being completely digital does present some unique challenges to the game play – the biggest of which is that it becomes difficult to keep track of all of the evidence while simultaneously using two or more items to solve puzzles. Access to Photoshop or another editing program will allow agents to lay out evidence side by side, making this experience emulate a physical at-home escape game much more closely. While this is certainly not required, it did help us streamline the investigation quite a bit.

There are two puzzles that are distinctly satisfying to solve, both for their own reasons. One has a very clearly defined “ah ha!” moment that makes agents realize they may have been greatly overthinking the task at hand. The other is a sound based challenge that is designed in such a way that it is both entirely fair and very fun to complete. With those two moments being the highlights of the investigation, everything else required to track Vincent Hahn along The Silk Road works very well as a whole in creating a fun, challenging, and unique experience.

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 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 The Silk holds 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.

Agents quickly get drawn into the world of Hahn as they progress down The Silk Road. By the end of the experience, players have been fully immersed in a detailed, believable storyworld. The Silk Road ends on a cliff hanger that perfectly ties this series of games into another of The Escape Game’s well known narrative worlds.

Both Vol. 1: Chasing Hahn and Vol. 2: The Silk Road are available for digital at home play, and can be purchased either separately or as a discounted bundle.

*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: 2 (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: Digital Game – $10 for one / $17 for two game bundle (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.