Dara Studios Hourglass Escapes | The Road to Innsmouth: Arkam Horror Files | Escape Game | Ages 14+ | 1-4 Players | 90-120 Minutes Playing Time

• Immersive Multimedia Puzzle Solution: Experience the adventure of Stella Clark in The Road to Innsmouth, where collectible artifacts come together with digital gameplay for a captivating puzzle solution on your web browser.
• Escape Room Experience: Dive deep into the Arkham Horror card game setting and the dark atmosphere of Innsmouth. Help Stella Clark on her journey to this ominous city in a classic computer game adventure with a modern, multimedia twist.
• Perfect for Arkham Horror Fans: Specially designed for lovers of the Arkham Horror card game. Play as the beloved Stella Clark and discover Innsmouth, one of the most iconic cities in the Arkham Horror universe, in even more detail.
• Deluxe Edition: Enjoy exclusive extras with the Deluxe Edition, including a folder of Innsmouth, a key and keychain from the Gilman House Hotel, a mysterious membership card, a metal coin, an intriguing postcard, a weathered ticket, an old bookmark, a colorful poster, and finally, an ancient totem. A must-have for collectors
• Suitable for 1 to 4 Players: Perfect for solo adventures or group play. Recommended for players from 14 years old, with a playing time of 90 to 120 minutes. This English-language edition offers an immersive experience for both experienced players and newcomers.

Product Description The Road to Innsmouth is billed as “an interactive online adventure” according to the box, but that’s a fancy way of saying it’s an online escape room with Myst-sequel era graphics. And much like escape rooms, it’s fairly linear and not all that repeatable, unless your memory isn’t too good. On starting the game, you’re given the choices of playing solo or multiplayer, then standard or deluxe. The Deluxe version is the copy I was given to review, standard is just a code to get to the game’s website, from what I can tell. The main character Stella Clark is given a bus ticket, which serves also as one of the physical items in the Deluxe edition. What really impressed me is how the game kept coming back to the handful of physical items in the box and making you reuse them. The puzzles start off simple enough, and if you examine everything carefully and remember where you saw something when it shows up again many of the puzzles will be fairly solvable. I did struggle whenever a puzzle was math-focused, but was able to soar quickly through any of the logic-based ones. Hints are possible via the inventory screen, and come in 3 varieties. The first time you ask for a hint on a given puzzle, the game will give you a broad nudge; the 2nd time is much more specific (i.e. remember where else you saw that symbol?) and the 3rd time will give you the answer. The game doesn’t penalize you for using hints but from what I can tell it affects your final rank when the game is over. There were a couple times when I knew the answer but couldn’t figure out why the game wasn’t letting me input it, and it ended up being just an interface issue. These were rare, but frustrating all the same. At the end of my nearly 3-hour trek through the bowels of Innsmouth I found myself a tad annoyed at the lack of ending and how there felt like little reason to go back and play again. That would be a lot of pointing and clicking just to try to get a better score. I like the premise of “Cthulhu escape room,” but I don’t know if this format is the answer. Perhaps if it had shipped with more than one story I’d be happier with it, but that still wouldn’t solve the replayability aspect, or what happens when the servers go down. If you like the idea of puzzles but want more action I might suggest Mansions of Madness; or if you want to play an investigator with physical clues at the same table as your friends I’d tell you to check out Bureau of Investigation. If you really want to play this Innsmouth escape room, I’d say wait for a sale. Safety Warning Niet van toepassing