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Writer's pictureCici Cao

Hourglass Escapes - "Rise of the Mad Pharaoh"

Updated: Apr 28


Video/Photos provided by Hourglass Escapes

Company: Hourglass Escapes

Game: Rise of the Mad Pharaoh

Country: USA 🇺🇸

Language: English

Type of Game: Digital Escape Game 💻

Genre: Adventure

Date Played: 6/15/2021

Difficulty (based on 4 players): 5.5/10

Size of Team: 1-6 players (Ages 13+)

Time: 90 Minutes

Price: $14.99/Team


🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈

Dr. Carter has been trapped by an evil curse by the mad mummy during his journey in Egypt. It's up to you and your team of specialists to set him free and destroy the evil Pharaoh.


🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈

This is a point-n-click game using the Telescape platform. This game has a build-in video conferencing feature which make it really convenient for our team since we didn't need to organize our own video conference.


If you've played their remote or in person "Rise of the Mad Pharaoh" then the puzzles will be the same. If you haven't, this is a less costly option but equally as fun. The game can be played as a one person or up to 6 players. Ideally, if you had 6 players, each player could be assigned a role. If you like to play this the cooperative way then each player will have their own "puzzle space" according to their character (Cartographer, Egyptologist, Cultist, CIA Codebreaker, Antiquarian, and Poet). It's best to assign each player a role prior to start of the game. Since we played it with a team of 4, two of us had two roles. If you wanted to play the game the fair way then just stick in your "puzzle station". You'll know when your part is needed when it comes to solving a certain puzzle. This is a really clever way to allow every player to contribute to the game. Moreover, if you know what you're good at (for instance decoding). then you should choose the role that will you a "hero" during the game.


One other big difference we noticed in this game is that the inventory system is more reasonably attached in locations where we'll need the items instead of just randomly placed in the room. This made the play experience a lot smoother instead of having to toggle in and out of the inventory bag. If you needed hints, there's a typewriter that clearly says "clues" on the table.


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The puzzles were made easier in this digital game versus the remote version with live avatar. When you found items, it'll automatically be send to the location that you'll need those pieces for a certain puzzle. Although the puzzles felt easier, there's still a lot to do in this game. Even though we've played it before, we still have to rethink about how to solve a few of the puzzles.


The game play was really smooth from beginning to end and every player felt like they've completed something during the game. We loved solving things on our own but the game also provided moments where we would join forces as a team.


The puzzles, set design and props all stuck to the Egyptian theme. The added music also added to the immersion factor as we really felt like we've transferred ourselves into our designated roles.


🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂

Rise of the Mad Pharaoh brought the digital game category to another level for us. The funny puns in the intro and end video (narrated by Yuri Lowenthal, the voice of Peter Parker and Spiderman), the user friendly interface, the cooperative element in puzzle design really made this game stand out from the rest. For the price, I would recommend this game in a heart beat. Are you ready to embark on this adventure?

 

(If you do decide to try this game, give us a shoutout or tag us on social media so we know you heard it from "ESCAPETHEROOMers"!)


Disclosure: We thank Hourglass Escapes for comping our tickets for this game. Although a complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever.


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