To be honest, when I saw the name of this game, my first reaction was "Is it the 24th part of the escape room series again?" As an old player who has been playing since the Saipan era, I have basically followed this series. I'm not going to brag, I just took the time to play for a few hours today and wanted to talk about my feelings.
Let's talk about the advantages first. This game has indeed made progress in the design of puzzle solving. For example, the setting that you can only board the airship after fishing fish, I thought "what the hell" at first, but after actually playing it, I found that it is well integrated into the plot logic and is not forced. The graphics are also much more refined than previous generations, especially the scene in the Stone of Tears, where the light and shadow effects are a bit stunning. It's also free with no in-app purchases, which deserves praise. Nowadays, many mobile games are advertised as free, but are filled with ads or recharges. I haven't been disgusted by this at least until the third chapter.
However, the shortcomings are also quite obvious. First of all, the difficulty of the puzzles is low. For an experienced player like me, I can finish one chapter in basically half an hour, which lacks challenge. Compared with classic escape room series such as "Unlocked Room" or "Rust Lake", the puzzles here are more repetitive, especially finding items, many of which are routines such as "screw the screwdriver into the machine". Although the plot wants to create a sense of suspense, the dialogue and clues are a bit stiff. For example, the scene where the man in black steals the heart has no tension at all, and instead resembles a kindergarten stage play. 😅
In addition, the operating feel needs to be optimized. There is an occasional delay when clicking on an item, the logic of double-clicking to zoom in is not smooth, and the camera suddenly jumps when your finger slides the map. As a puzzle game, fluency is a very important experience point, which is not as good as the similar "Escape from the Block" series. But considering it's a free game, it's understandable.
Finally, let's talk about a little digression. There are too many escape room mobile games now, and many of them are reskinned works. The fact that this series has 24 games proves that it has its own fixed audience. But to be honest, if the next game still stands still in terms of plot and puzzle design, it may be difficult to retain newcomers. Personally, I recommend you to play "Da Vinci's Chamber of Secrets" or "Lost Island" for a completely different experience. 😔
In short, if you are new to escape room games or want to kill time, you can try this one. But if you are an experienced player, you may have to lower your expectations. Good night, and may you all find the heart of the Stone of Tears. 🕵️♂️