Virtual Escaping - "Artifact Isle"
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Virtual Escaping - "Artifact Isle"

Updated: 6 days ago


Photo above is property of Virtual Escaping


Company: Virtual Escaping

Game: Artifact Isle

Country: Netherlands 🇳🇱

Language: English, Dutch

Type of Game: Point-N-Click 🖱️

Genre: Adventure

Date Played: April 23, 2022

Difficulty (based on 4 players): 4/10

Size of Team: Up to 6 Devices

Time: 90 Mins. (Normal version)

Price: $28.00/ team


🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈

Your grandfather gave his life searching for the treasure hidden in the Forbidden Island. He, like many others, never lived to tell the tale but you are determined to continue his research. Entrusted with his journal, you and your team have travelled to this lush island to unravel the truth and while you may have arrived by unconventional means (ahem…crash landed) you have a good feeling about this. Except... the island is sinking and you only have 90 minutes to find the treasure and get out before you join the rest of adventures lost to the sandy beaches. Can you uncover the secrets or will the mysteries of this island remain unknown?


Video above is property of Virtual Escaping


🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈

Each member of your team is required to sign up on Virtual Escaping's website before inputting the group code provided in an email after you purchase your game. Through their website you will be connected with your group via Jitsi (a video/ audio platform built into the game) once the introduction video plays through - no need for Skype or Zoom! After all the players are logged into the game, you have an option to play an easier version (un-timed) and a harder version (90 mins). This point-n-click adventure takes place across different scenes of the island that you will move between in order to solve locks and open chests. Once one member has solved a puzzle, other teammates are notified and have access to whatever was discovered so make sure to keep everyone in the loop via the built-in communication screens. I also recommend you have your group spread out across the different scenes to help cover more ground and share information. When you get stuck, there are hints available in the top right corner.


Photo above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers


🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂

The puzzles for this game generally consisted of four digit locks and four letter locks but they had a creative way to solve each. The puzzles gradually progressed from searching styles to riddles to pattern and logic stylus and I enjoyed this progression. It allows teams to get comfortable with the experience between upping the challenge. My favourite puzzle was the second to the last one which encouraged the team to split up and effectively communicate with each other. I recommend only approaching a puzzle once you’ve found the clues in the surrounding areas in order to truly enjoy the experience - you can brute force a few of these puzzles but if you can’t figure out why you’re stuck on a particular chest, it is likely you haven’t reach the area with the clues needed. Take your time and don’t be afraid to travel back to locations later on. Overall I found this to be a light puzzle adventure with some classic puzzles that made me feel good about solving. There was a puzzle for each member to proudly solve and for others to ask “Wait! How did you get that?”


Photos above are property of Virtual Escaping


🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂

"Artifact Isle" is an adventure escape room perfect for a group of friends wanting to embrace a classic escape room experience from the comfort of their home. The visual design is clean and effective and the structure of the game guides players while still being non-linear. I found the puzzles are smooth and effective in garnering the delightful “aha!” moments and these puzzles really encourage players to really look around the area to find the hidden secrets. I would say this skews the easier side of puzzling (our group took 41 minutes to solve this) so this is a great introduction to virtual escape rooms or is a great option for a night where you want to have fun with friends without hurting your brain. After playing this, I am definitely interested in trying another one of Virtual Escaping rooms!

 

(If you do decide to try this game, please remember to let them know that you heard it from"ESCAPETHEROOMers"!)


Disclosure: We thank Virtual Escaping for providing us with a sample of the game. Although complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever.


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