Room Escape Artist

Dracula’s New Friends is a live-hosted point-and-click game created by Mojec Hyper Industries.

Format

Style of Play:

• Online native experience (can NOT be played IRL)
• Point-and-click within Telescape
• Interactive NPCs

Required Equipment: computer with internet connection

Recommended Team Size: 2-4

Play Time: 65 minutes

Price: $25 per person

Booking: book online for a specific time slot

Description

Dracula’s New Friends combines point-and-click gameplay (run within the Telescape game engine) and live interaction with characters through Zoom. There are numerous puzzles and activities that allow you to advance from location to location in a version of the classic vampire story.

Cindi S’ Reaction

The “stakes” are low in this cute cooperative game about the infamous vampire. Dracula’s New Friends combines basic point-and-click gameplay and live interaction with your game host in an entertaining way that keeps the story moving forward and all players engaged from beginning to end. Unique participation from all players was a highlight, and I remembered these interactions long after the game ended. There is a good variety of puzzles that are fun to solve together or in smaller teams. The game is not scary at all, even with the Dracula theme, so younger players can join in the fun. Play if you are looking for a family-friendly game for Halloween or any time you want to make friends with Dracula!

Cara Mandel’s Reaction

Dracula’s New Friends is a charming, family-friendly experience particularly well suited for the Halloween season. Our gamemaster was delightfully enthusiastic and theatrical, which greatly enhanced our gameplay. Though not terribly challenging from a puzzle perspective, the variety and theming of our objectives was enjoyable. My one main frustration came from all players being able to control onscreen pieces simultaneously, causing a lot of accidental tug-of-war moments with game elements. Perhaps with a smaller team this would be less of an issue. My personal recommendation would be a group of 3-4 players who can divide and conquer various challenges. That aside, this was a lightly spooky and highly silly good time.

The Lone Puzzler’s Reaction

A delightfully campy vampire tale with great animation and enough content for a smaller group of players, this was a fun game. Not really challenging for a larger group, but at the same time just overall well done. I would consider it only lightly spooky, but with some elements that are at least PG 13. A series of fun actor transitions added to the overall flow and flavor of the game. This game is not going to be for everyone as there are times when an individual player can get lost in what is going on in other corners of the room (or sometimes the castle). However, all in all, there is enough seasonal vampire-chasing fun for the group to have a good time. Probably best for smaller groups with beginner to average experience and those who enjoy an immersive experience and story more than just “a bunch of puzzles.”

Joel Smileypeacefun Reaction

We investigated a strange case where we ended up in a vampire’s castle and had to stop the vampire before he got us.

At its best, the online game had beautifully designed artwork and the host was super nice too. In the beginning, 5 people felt like “too many cooks in the kitchen.” But later the game cleverly split up into multiple puzzle paths. Also, the point-and-click aspect of the game was pretty nostalgic.

At its worst, although I liked the theme, the story didn’t really feel immersive or captivating to me. It was great to see a well thought out difficulty curve while progressing through the puzzles, but unfortunately they still overall felt a little bit too easy.

Although this game could have easily worked without a host, having one added entertaining value. As I’ve said quite a few times in my past hivemind reviews: nice, but nothing groundbreaking.

Matthew Stein’s Reaction

Dracula’s New Friends is a great pick for a family-friendly Halloween game. Striking a thoughtful balance between point-and-click escape room using Telescape and live interactions with a colorful cast of characters, Dracula’s New Friends was lighthearted, polished, and full of fun, accessible gameplay. It was also well designed for a group, with many opportunities for parallel play and a range of light puzzles and other non-puzzle activities. Above all else, I adored the bounty of beautiful original artwork by the appropriately named 1000 Dead Draculas, which elevated each and every scene and interaction of the game.

Dracula’s New Friends stayed true to the characters and plot of the original 1897 Dracula novel. The game’s tone was friendly and unmenacing throughout, though without much development of Dracula’s evil side, a cheerfully macabre ending jarringly made us feel like bad friends. Dracula’s New Friends presented a cute, rather than spooky or scary, take on Halloween, and it’s perfect for those looking to get into the Halloween spirit while avoiding horror.

Disclosure: Mojec Hyper Industries provided the Hivemind reviewers with a complimentary play.