Room Escape Artist

The Warp Core Part 2 is included in our recommendation guide for 2-Player Online Escape Games. For more of the best online escape games in this style, check out the recommendation guide.

The Warp Core Part 2 is a point-and-click game in Telescape, created by Clue HQ in the UK.

Format

Style of Play:

• Adaptation of an in-person game (can be played IRL)
• Play on demand
• Web-based inventory system
• Point-and-click
• Video-based experience

Required Equipment: computer with internet connection

Recommended Team Size: 2-4

Play Time: 60 minutes

Price: £15

Booking: purchase and play at your leisure

Description

You get a Telescape page with a video introduction and 360-degree photos to move around in, click and drag things, and solve the puzzles. It looks like their real-life rooms, but the puzzles are mostly a bit altered.

In Warp Core, we are time travelers and need to bring back 4 artifacts. This review covers part 2 out of 4. Each part brings you to a different historical period and part 2 part brought us to medieval times. You can play part 2 without having played part 1.

Hivemind Review Scale

Theresa W’s Reaction

Warp Core Part 2 did an incredible job of integrating a physical space to Telescape for quite the wonderful experience! The amount of small details to make the game user-friendly were appreciated greatly, with icons for interactive items, callbacks to the first game, and scenery changes as puzzles were solved. There were a handful of interactive mini games that elevated the gameplay, adding an entirely new level to the typical Telescape implementation. I really enjoyed my time spent traversing the Dungeons of Camelock!

Brett Kuehner’s Reaction

• + Clear story, told with humor and wordplay
• + Excellent two-stage onboarding that teaches the interface interactions
• + Telescape interface allowed teammates to explore independently
• +/- Some puzzles pushed the limits of Telescape, which resulted in a lot of fun moments, but also a few that had clunky controls
• + Excellent audio and video moments
• + Solid puzzle design
• + One sequence near the end was a bit like a live-action version of the classic Dragon’s Lair video game, in a good way
• + Good value, with a low cost for a team

Joel Smileypeacefun Reaction

As renowned time travelers, we had to go back to medieval times and retrieve an important artifact.

At its best, the game had some immersive sound and video effects. While the game was not super strong on puzzles, it had some funny and creative ideas worked in. For example, there was a unique final challenge.

At its worst, I wouldn’t recommend this to a group larger than 2 people, since there is not a lot to do simultaneously. Give me just one more great puzzle that is not primarily about finding things and knowing where they belong. The 360-degree photos and videos felt a bit pixelated, not having a high resolution. The photos regularly showed objects and locks that were completely irrelevant to the online game.

This game was part 2 out of 4. While each part plays in a different historical period, it is not mandatory for the storyline to have played part 1 in order to play part 2.

Matthew Stein’s Reaction

I’ve now played dozens of games which utilize Telescape, either serving as a supplemental inventory system for avatar-led games or for point-and-click reproductions of full escape rooms that can be played anytime, without a game host. In the latter category, Warp Core is head and shoulders above its current competition in its use of Telescape as a surprisingly robust game engine. Where other Telescape escape room reproductions have felt sterile and lacking in personality, Warp Core created a range of colorful interactions with smooth, intuitive transitions, leading to an exciting and highly magical experience.

My team enjoyed playing Parts 1 and 2 back-to-back. Whereas Part 1 had slightly more substantial puzzle content which involved fun cross-room communication, Part 2 stood out for its fairly smooth implementation of some awesome interactions I’d only expect to see in live games. These parts reminded me of the stitched-together video in M.A.R.V.O Archives, and while not quite as seamless as what’s possible with M.A.R.V.O Archives’ custom platform, I’m impressed these interactions were even possible at all in Telescape. We finished each part in 30-40 minutes – great value for just £15/team, though I’d recommend that enthusiasts play with teams of 2-3 players.