Review: Tombstone Express

RATING: 5 Keys RESULT: Win REMAINING: 5:54

The wild west has seen its fair share of daring train robberies, but I reckon that ain’t happenin’ today with this here sheriff on board, pardners!

Wait, seriously? We’ve been robbed? $#%&!

Story

1890. You are a sheriff and your mission is simple: ensure the train reaches Tombstone in less than an hour, at all costs. A marshal is on board and carries a precious package: a gem that could seal a peace treaty with the Apaches. So, you station yourself on the open wagon that is behind the locomotive, ready to defend the train, no matter what.

The train transports a precious package and you have a hunch that this trip will hardly be restful.

It’s a seemingly lawless time in the wide west – not the best moment to choose to become a sheriff, but here we are. As the train barrels down the tracks toward Tombstone, times a-tickin’ before the inevitable band of outlaws gallop alongside the tracks in an effort to rob us blind. But this here iron horse is carrying something far more important than money; US Marshal John is guarding the priceless Geronimo’s Heart Gem as it’s transported back to its rightful owners, the Apache tribe. Handing this jewel over could mark the start of a long over-due peace treaty with these Native American peoples. Losing it, though, would be unforgivable.

Tombstone Express is one of Unlock!’s most narrative-driven adventures by far. At various moments throughout the game, “show stops,” for lack of a better term, pop up unexpectedly in the app, immediately pausing the action to further the immersiveness of this classic western-flavored storyworld. It all starts with a bang – literally – in a moment sure to catch even the most experienced of lawmen off guard. And when the smoke clears, it’s instantly clear that Tombstone Express will be anything but a relaxing ride across the countryside.

Scenic

As we’ve touched on previously, being a home game, we define “Scenic,” from a graphic design perspective, as well as the quality, weight and feel of print materials inside the box.

We mentioned that Space Cowboys goes the route of fully card-based escape home games. Each edition is produced to the highest levels of quality – with thick, glossy textures that have the feel of a upscale deck of playing cards. Unlock!’s decks, however, are larger than a traditional card – measuring in at nearly 4.5″ tall by 2.5″ wide.

Tombstone Express adds a unique layers not found in any other Unlock! set: bandits, and a set of bullets. Hopefully we won’t need to use them…

Something we’ve always enjoyed about Space Cowboys is their use of multiple different artists for each Unlock! box set. What results is a distinctly different animation style, evoking unique moods that help bring each storyworld to life. No two decks within a set will ever feel the same, or even slightly similar, for that matter.

Each game’s respective page within the Unlock! app fully compliments the theme of its storyworld, with unique buttons, sound effects enhance the experience.

Puzzles

Tombstone Express barrels along with the momentum of a brick and mortar escape game – each bump along the tracks an unexpected surprise. Through a combination of app-based and physical puzzles, explosions, breakdowns and gun fights – yes – actual real life gun fights – stand between lawmen and the Apache jewel.

These unexpected surprises stop the sheriff’s investigation temporarily each time, making it a satisfying challenge to get momentum back on track (get it? Do you get it? Because it’s a train?) When not ducking from fireballs or dodging flying bullets, there are multiple train cars to search, evidence to collect and potential suspects to interrogate. Some are cooperative, while others need to be reminded just who the strong arm of the law really is in this town.

Experienced lawmen may find themselves expected to know a hand of poker – which does admittedly fit the storyworld quite well – but also be able to identify Roman numerals. Don’t worry though – no one expects the sheriff to actually know how to play the harmonica or fix a train, not that this train needs fixin’. What could possibly go wrong?

Each Unlock! game is run through a free app, available in the Apple iTunes and Google Play stores. Through it, you’ll not only manage time limits and receive hints, but also enter various codes and even solve some of the puzzles in a tech-driven, digital setting. As an added bonus, the Unlock! app also includes themed background music that helps bring the storyworld of each game to life, sometimes even triggering sound effects to further enhance specific puzzles.

The app allows games to be played either with or without penalties for incorrect answers. We prefer playing without penalties, as we feel it more truly mimics a physical escape game experience where you may try a code in a lock when you’re uncertain. Although the penalty free mode is activated (in the app’s Settings) by turning off the timer, rest assured you will still receive your escape time at the end. In fact, turning off the timer is the only way to receive an accurate escape time, as penalties add multiple minutes to your overall duration.

It’s a long way to the end of the line – requiring lawmen to make use of a railway map to chart the proper tracks. When this whole robbery is all said and done, we hope the sheriff sets his sights on arresting the culprit behind that one particular puzzle, because we reckon’ it’s the only frustratingly illogical moment about Tombstone Express. But first, the sheriff will have his hands full making an arrest before this here jewel thief makes a break for it at the next stop. Accusing a suspect leads to a satisfying storyworld climax that puts a cinematic twist on the overall adventure.

Overall

Tombstone Express is the medium difficulty game released as apart of Unlock! Secret Adventures – Space Cowboy’s third commercial outing. This series may be purchased either individually or as a complete set, packing not one but three different full length home games inside the box. Interestingly, at the time we ordered ours, we’ve found it’s almost always proven cheaper to purchase each single game one by one on Amazon. We advise you to price your options to find the most cost effective way to add Unlock! games to your own collection. It would appear as though Unlock! has since moved away from the individual games with newer releases, instead making them only available as single-boxed three packs.

As with each Unlock! offering, a playable Tutorial is included. It should be noted that the Tutorial is the same in every Unlock! series, so once you’ve played it, there’s not much benefit in revisiting it.

Space Cowboys also has a series of free, downloadable games – called Unlock! Demo Adventures – available through their website, which you can find by clicking here. They range in length, although several are full 60 minute games. To play them, it’s best if you have access to a printer and several sheets of cardstock, as well as a scissors to cut out each individual card. Just for fun, we did try playing one game “fully digital,” with the help of Photoshop to lay out each of the cards on our virtual desktop – and while it did work, and we still were able to enjoy the Unlock! experience, we found this to be far more time consuming than just taking a few minutes and a few sheets of paper to print them out as intended.

Despite a few explosions, getting shot at, and one rather illogical puzzle, it was an otherwise smooth ride about the Tombstone Express. Unlock! finds a way to truly immerse players into the dangerous role of wild west lawmen, filling the hour that follows with all the action and surprises befitting a movie. Tombstone Express is one of those few at home games that could translate into a genuine brick and mortar escape room quite easily – sending the victors to ride off into the sunset as accomplished heroes.