Photo above is property of Room Escape Digital
Company: Room Escape Digital
Game: IMPACT
Country: Canada 🇨🇦
Language: English
Type of Game: Digital Escape Game 💻
Genre: Sci-Fi
Date Played: March 8, 2024
Difficulty (based on 2 players): 7/10
Size of Team: 2-4 Players (Per Access Code)/ 2 Computers (Min. per team)
Time: 60-90 mins.
Price: $34.99 CAD (inc. tax)/ group (2-4 ppl)
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The Nebula is a deep space research station, approaching an asteroid field. You are part of the 'on-the-ground' team providing remote support. When the crew is locked out of the control room, they are rendered helpless to pilot the ship away from the asteroid field and out of harm's way. You and your fellow support team must regain remote access, restart the systems, and pilot the ship to safety. The crew is able to communicate with you from the station, helping to guide you through what task needs to be done, but as they are locked out of the control room they cannot help you. It's up to you to save them from the asteroids!
Video above is property of Room Escape Digital
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It is a very cleanly built game. The visuals were not overly complex to the point of causing confusion; instead, they were straightforward and to the point so that we could focus our energies on understanding the problem facing us and solving the puzzles. Between stages of the game were short videos, which were fun and well produced. The color scheme was consistent and very much of a piece with the theme of the game. There was perhaps a bit more color than would normally be incorporated in a true space station, which I very much appreciated! It kept the experience lively and fun even as the puzzles were challenging. Neither overblown nor under-designed, the graphics were just right to enhance the experience without getting in the way.
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The overall mission is broken up into three mini-missions. Each mini-mission is broken up into smaller subtasks, so there were no periods of confusion over where to go or what needed to be done next. The subtasks and mini-missions proceeded in a logical order that made sense in the context of the mission - repair wiring before restoring power, activate near object scanner prior to planning the route, etc.
We did have access to multiple areas of the station at one time, so we were able to enjoy the sense of exploring it a bit as well learning that, as we made changes to one room, it would alter what the other person was seeing. This made for some fun a-ha moments. The subtasks for each mini mission were listed unobtrusively at the bottom of the screen, making it easy to understand how we were progressing through the overall mission and what was coming next. We had to explore and experiment to learn where to go and what to do in order to complete the next task.
It was well designed technically - no glitches or things that didn't work as they should, no hitches as we manipulated the various controls. We didn't struggle with learning how to operate the controls in the different areas of the space station, so we were able to focus our mental energies on the tasks at hand. Also, as we completed tasks, more aspect became operational, so we didn't spend a bunch of time trying to figure out components that weren't yet operational.
Photo above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers
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The tasks had similar challenge levels and durations - there was never a sense of one task being incredibly difficult and others being too simple. This kept the game moving forward at a steady pace without periods of frustration or boredom. The challenges were fully integrated into the story, there were no elements of 'open this lock to find this piece of hardware'. All the puzzles felt like tasks that would actually be necessary in a situation where we were remotely taking control of and piloting a space station.
The puzzles were interactive and required cooperation, in a variety of different ways. A keen eye & good communication were necessary as many of the differences between our screens (and changes that occurred when the other player did something) were subtle at first glance. Once we identified the differences, we then had to execute a sequence of actions either in alternating turns, or parallel. The overall challenges and differences were varied such that we couldn't just say 'oh, this is another one of those puzzles, we know what to do because we did it before'. This led to an excellent balance between figuring out what to do, and executing it.
Because it required participation from both of us, there was no sense of one or the other solving all the puzzles while the other person followed along. The teamwork aspect was quite well integrated.
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So many digital games gloss over the questions of 'why is this being done digitally?', and impose arbitrary time pressures. It was refreshing to play a well thought-out online game that is built entirely with those things in mind. As we are the remote team supporting our friends on the space station, it makes complete sense that we need to work on this through a digital interface and with limited information (but an understanding of what needs to be done). and get it done before they hit the asteroid field! We played with two players and finished it in an hour and a half. It was fulfilling and satisfying and never felt 'long'. I am not sure how that would change with four, but I wouldn't want to be missing any of the fun pieces of the game while others were solving them!
Photo above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers
(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 Room Escape Digital for providing us with samples of the game. Although a complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever.
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