Room Escape Artist

Mad Experiments 2: Escape Room is a puzzle video game available on Steam developed and published by PlayTogether Studio.

Format

Style of Play:

• Puzzle video game

Who is it For?

• Puzzle lovers
• Scenery snobs
• Any experience level

Required Equipment: Computer with internet connection or Nintendo Switch

Recommended Team Size: 1-2

Play Time: You can play this game with a timer or not. In the timed version you just straight up lose the level and need to start over if time runs out. In the relaxed version, you have unlimited time. Our play times varied from 2.5 hours to a leisurely 5 hours.

Price: $12.99 on Steam

Booking: purchase and play at your leisure

Description

This is a point-and-click escape game available on Nintendo Switch and Steam.

Use the Switch controller to explore the room, pick up and examine items and use them in the appropriate places. Some interactions are puzzles and others are simply placing items where they need to be. The game is played in four levels with the first one functioning as a sort of tutorial. Two interactions required speed to complete or else the puzzle would reset.

You can play it alone or in a multiplayer version. (The game can accommodate up to five people, which seems like too many.) Each person plays on their own computer, and all players interact in the same virtual game space.

Fro’s Reaction

Mad Experiments 2: Escape Room was a beautifully designed game with lots of attention to the smallest of details. The warmth of the lighting, the use of color, and the quirky props scattered throughout the game world made the set vibrant and visually appealing from beginning to end. The gamespace was an enjoyable one to explore, which was important because careful searching and curiosity were paramount to successful gameplay. A few puzzles stood out to me as especially enjoyable, particularly toward the finale. These were balanced by a couple of tedious interactions and some that called for stronger cluing. Also, while I liked the final puzzle a lot, I found myself wanting more of a payoff from the storyline.

While I opted to play Mad Experiments 2: Escape Room on my own due to schedule constraints, I recommend playing it as a team so you can tap into different perspectives and skill sets. Overall, I’m glad I played and I’m happy that companies like Play Together Studio continue to make this type of play-on-demand option available.

Joel Smileypeacefun Reaction

A professor has trapped you and your friends in his institute where he performs villainous experiments. Can you stop this madness before it’s too late?

At its best, the graphics used are pretty decent. There’s also a somewhat charming steampunk character talking to us before each level. Some of the reveals were fun and only possible in a virtual setting.

At its worst, what’s worse than searching in a real-life escape room? Searching in an online escape game, of course. At least one challenge needed outside knowledge, and 2 others remained unclear even with peeking at the solution, which not only speaks to the quality of the puzzles but also to how poor the hint system was. Additionally, the German version I played suffered from overlapping – and therefore almost unreadable – text sequences. Picking up and dropping items caused them to weirdly hover mid-air and sometimes clip into other objects. We even encountered a glitch in the multiplayer version, where as we were inputting a solution simultaneously, the item in question disappeared entirely.

I see some potential in this game, but it needs refinement in most categories.

Tammy McLeod’s Reaction

This game is a fun digital version of an escape room. I love the multiplayer feature of it that allows me to play with friends from anywhere in the world. It also makes good use of the fact that it is virtual, to create puzzles that would be impossible to achieve in a real-life room. The interface is simple and easy to learn, although as a trade off, performing some tasks can be a little fiddly. The puzzles were all fair, though a few actually required some timing and coordination. In general, it captures the spirit of an in-person room fairly well. I liked the steampunk vibe, and this sequel is a worthy improvement on the original.

Editor’s Note: The original was reviewed by the REA Hivemind in 2021 and reviewed by Steve Ewing in 2020 during Steam Early Access.