Escape from Mystwood Mansion – An Exceptional Puzzle Experience

“How did I escape? With difficulty. How did I plan this moment? With pleasure.” – Alexandre Dumas

Overview

Escape from Mystwood Mansion is a brilliant point-and-click, escape-room-style puzzle game. Players take on the role of a delivery person who gets locked inside a vast mansion when they try to drop off a mysterious package!

Gameplay

Escape from Mystwood Mansion consists of a large variety of puzzles that utilise things such as Morse code, colour theory, braille, jigsaws, hidden keys and much more! It is an incredibly satisfying game with all the individual puzzles being gratifying in their own right as well as working together to create a comprehensive experience overall. There are six levels for the player to progress through, each consisting of a room such as the wine cellar or library with a series of interconnected puzzles that must be solved in order to progress to the next room. The problems definitely make the player think, but the game maintains a casual and relaxing feel overall with no timers or high-pressure mechanics. There is also a hint system available if things get too tricky.

Narrative and Styling

The game has a fairly basic narrative that follows the player as they attempt to deliver a curious parcel to the large mansion. Upon attempting to drop off the parcel, the door shuts behind them leaving them trapped and they later discover that they are in fact ‘subject 83’. The only route of escape involves traversing a number of rooms, solving puzzles and being watched by an unnerving number of security cameras. Completing a selection of hidden activities/achievements will unlock a final room which in turn reveals the game’s true ending. This culmination of events is very fun and somewhat unexpected proving a very satisfying finale to the overall experience.

Escape from Mystwood Mansion has a soft, simple 3D art style using vibrant colours and subtle lighting. It suits the game well and helps give the experience a casual feel despite the slightly disturbing premise! The soundtrack is nice and varied with a selection of tracks across the different levels. The music utilises a range of instruments including piano, strings and woodwind to create a relaxing ambience.

Summary

Escape from Mystwood Mansion is a fantastic example of a puzzle game and leans into its escape room premise with confidence and individuality. It will take around four hours to reach the game’s true ending and doing so is a truly satisfying experience. The puzzles are varied, well-constructed and highly gratifying. The art style, while simple, suits the game well and helps belie its sinister undertone, just like the assortment of music which is both relaxing and immersive without being imposing in any way. The minimal narrative is straight-forward but intriguing and the ending offers a fun twist. Overall, this game does exactly what it sets out to do, offering a high-quality and unique puzzle experience that I would happily recommend to both fans of and newcomers to the genre.

Looking for more satisfying puzzle games? You may also enjoy these reviews:
Doors: Paradox – Escape Colourful Dioramas in this Relaxing Puzzle Game – a pet shop after dark – A Unique Psychological Horror and Puzzle Game – Lost in Play – A Surprisingly Tricky Puzzle Adventure!

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