To be honest, I rarely write long reviews for current mobile puzzle games. In the past few years, the screen has been full of krypton gold card drawing, automatic path finding, and one-click sweeps. There are not many teams that can calm down and just solve puzzles. But this "Escape Room: Challenge", without bragging, really brought me back to the feeling of playing "Horror Manor" on Symbian.
Let's talk about the atmosphere of this game first. Its iconic "single yellow secret room", coupled with the buzzing noise of fluorescent lights, will really make people feel nervous after playing for a long time. At first I thought, how scary can it be if it's just a shabby room? Turns out I was wrong. This minimalist and almost depressing visual style, combined with the sudden monster chase, makes the heart beat full. Especially with headphones, the background noise is handled very well. Sometimes I would subconsciously look back behind me even though I knew there were no enemies. 😅
The core gameplay of the game is divided into two parts. One side is a traditional escape room, where you find clues, solve traps, open doors and run away; the other side is to catch the "lost souls" who are hiding, a bit like a reverse hide-and-seek. This design is very good, making simple escape all the way more strategic. You have to avoid being tracked by monsters, but also actively search for hidden targets. Under this dual pressure, every step must be taken carefully.
But I have to be honest, this game is not very friendly to novices. There are no prompts to guide you in the early stage. You have to touch everything by yourself. The room is empty and full, and you often walk for a long time without finding key props. I was stuck in the third secret room for about forty minutes, and finally found out that it was because I didn't pay attention to an inconspicuous little hole in the corner. This kind of design is a bit against the trend in this day and age, to be honest. But thinking about it on the other hand, isn't this the puzzle-solving experience that veteran players were most familiar with back then? Isn't that how we came to the days when we had a 2.4-inch screen and just used the up, down, left, and right buttons to search for scenes inch by inch.
The development team is Hainan Star Jump. The name is quite niche and not often heard in the game industry. But to be able to create works with such pure taste is at least thoughtful. The charging mode is 0, free to play. It is even rarer to dare to do free stand-alone puzzle solving these days. After all, this kind of gameplay does not rely on in-app purchases, and retention depends entirely on word of mouth. All I can say is that if you like old-school and hard-core secret room puzzles, don't be dissuaded by its cheap style. Get in and play, and you will feel the intentions of the production team hidden in every sound of the door opening.
Finally, let me tell you about my own wonderful experience. I was playing until 1:30 in the morning last night. On the floor of the Endless Chamber of Secrets, I suddenly bumped into a figure in white, turned around and ran away. At that time, by some strange combination of circumstances, I did not choose to hide, but chased after him. At that moment, I suddenly remembered the feeling I had when I played a 3D horror game on Sony Ericsson K800 for the first time more than ten years ago - that feeling of fear and excitement, with my heart beating along with the screen. To be honest, the graphics of today's masterpieces are becoming more and more sophisticated, and the gameplay is becoming more and more complex. On the contrary, it is difficult for me to have the urge to "run after fear" anymore.
To sum up, if you can accept the retro to almost simple appearance, and don't ask for any graphic guides, but just want to burn your brain and challenge your courage, "Escape Room: Challenge" is definitely worth a try. It is strongly recommended to wear headphones, turn off the lights, and prepare quick-acting heart-saving pills. 😎
No more chatting, I haven't cleared the yellow secret room yet, and I'm going to play hide-and-seek with those ghosts again. See you later.