497 escape rooms
Note: we played the “extended edition” of the game; there was also a shorter version, but I don’t know how it differs — whether there are fewer scenes, fewer puzzles, or easier puzzles. Overall I feel about the same about this game as I did about Wolf Escape’s previous offering “Hallows Hill,” which is that the software, graphics, and voice acting are excellent while the puzzles are mostly not very good. I will say that “Miami Bay” offers a much longer play time than its predecessor, at about 2.5-3 hours vs. 60-90 minutes. The setup is a “Europeans try to satirize / pay homage to U.S. pop culture of the 1980s as seen through the lens of Miami Vice” kind of thing. That isn’t a complaint: I got what they were going for, it definitely isn’t trying to take itself seriously, and it was amusing. (That said, a couple of tips: that is *not* how criss-cross puzzle clues are numbered, the way our larger-denomination bills look has changed since the 1980s so using modern currency feels anachronistic in the same way that using images of Euros for a game set in the 1980s in Europe would be, and Americans generally don’t use a 24-hour clock or write our dates as dd/mm/yyyy.) Overall the story is serviceable, even downright funny at times; it’s just let down by the puzzles, which as I said are mostly not very good, but I do give the designers credit for ambition and variety. The hint system does what you need it to do, so don’t be shy about taking hints as there are several “guess what I’m thinking” puzzles. We didn’t encounter any bugs and it was a fun evening so I still give the game a thumbs up, but if “meh” was an option I’d give it a solid meh. With better puzzle design the Wolf Escape Games folks could have a real winner on their hands, as the production values are great and the software seems very solid.
May 20, 2024 | Experienced May 19, 2024