Fun but much easier than Part One
An Online Multiplayer Escape Room Experience
Pilot an experimental robot through 60 minutes of mind boggling challenges designed by the award winning team behind Eltham Escape Rooms and Bewilder Box
Drag, drop, solve and sleuth your way through each interactive puzzle, with every action synced across your team.
Bewilder Box and Eltham Escape are two venues that both Gord and I think of fondly. In fact, Judgement D.A.V.E. currently holds a place on both of our lists for out Top 10 Favourite games and The Temple of the Lost Spirit was the last physical escape game we managed to make it out to prior to the UK’s lockdown in March.
Knowing how fantastic the physical games are from both companies, we rushed out to play The BR.U.C.E. Project Part One on the day of its release, and despite a few minor hiccups (mostly communication on our part), we were not disappointed. It was, therefore, a given that we would play Part Two once it was released, but as we had played Part One with our usual extended team, it was a matter of finding time to gather the gang together again.
Finally, a date was set, and it was time to embark once more on our mission to Sector X. Once the team was assembled and signed in, we launched the intro video, and found The B.R.U.C.E. Project Part Two picks up where Part One left off, with our adventure recommencing in Sector Six.
CONCEPT/EXECUTION
Let’s face it, chances are if you’re looking at this review, you’ve probably already played B.R.U.C.E. Part One. And if you haven’t, well, that’s your prerogative, but I would suggest popping over to check out our review of B.R.U.C.E Part One instead, and then playing the games in sequence. If I am indeed correct, and you’ve already played Part One, then Part Two will hold very little in the way of surprises with the way it works.
The B.R.U.C.E. Project Part Two operates in exactly the same fashion as its older sibling. The simple point and click interface allows up to six devices to be logged in, with everyone able to interact with the game. The only catch is that everyone sees exactly the same screen, and you interact in real-time, so it can become a bit chaotic if your communication is subpar and a teammate clicks something to move on before another member is ready (screenshots/photos are your friends. Seriously). Also like its older sibling, Part Two of The B.R.U.C.E. Project was mostly linear, which is definitely helpful due to the limitations of the platform on which the game is built.
Our experience with Part One was plagued by a few minor, but annoying glitches (not completely unexpected as we did play on launch day, at the same time as a number of other teams), but it appears as though the issues we experienced have been sorted out, and we were able to puzzle away and actually enjoy the bizarre robot humour. I have to say, I was also thrilled by the change in the “celebrations,” as that particular feature in Part One made me slightly homicidal, but this time, celebrating added to the fun instead of my anxiety.
PUZZLES
Puzzles are perhaps the one area where a noticeable difference between Part One and Part Two of The B.R.U.C.E. Project emerged. To give you an idea of what I’m talking about, Part 1 and Part 2 of The B.R.U.C.E. Project are both structured exactly the same with five levels (Sectors) to work your way through. We completed Part One in roughly 85 minutes, but Part Two took only 26 minutes in total from start to finish. Granted, we have completed over 70 play at home experiences in the time between playing Part One and Part Two, so the speed may be partially due to both our experience and an understanding of the mechanics of the game that we didn’t have when playing Part One, but somehow, I don’t think so.
As much as I hate to say it, because we all know difficulty is incredibly subjective, the puzzles in Part Two were much simpler than their counterparts in Part One. Yes, we came across a variety of tasks incorporating logic, observation, cyphers and codes – the usual escape game go to puzzles – and elements of the game had a nice physical component allowing one to manipulate images and interact with the game, but with the exception of the final puzzle that had a bit more depth to it, the tasks leading up to the finale felt more like a warm-up act, and the game finished just as we felt we were getting started.
CLUE SYSTEM
As with Part One, we managed to complete the game without taking any clues and weren’t able to go back to check them out for review purposes as we normally do, but rest assured there is a system in place if you’re struggling. Those that have played any of Bewilder Box’s physical games will be familiar with D.A.V.E., and immediately recognise his likeness within The B.R.U.C.E. Project. D.A.V.E. was always on hand throughout the live games we’ve played to offer help, and a bit of humour and his image in the top left-hand corner of the game will take you through the hints for The B.R.U.C.E. Project if you need any.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Part Two of The B.R.U.C.E. Project was a fun game and provided a sense of closure to the narrative that began with Part One. But I can’t help but think that the entire Project would have been a much more satisfying experience had the content of the games been reversed, with the easier puzzles of Part Two providing a nice warm-up to the format, and preparing us for the mission that we found Part One to be.
TOOLS REQUIRED
- Computer with Internet Connection
Final Rating:
| Puzzles | |
| Concept/Execution | |
| Clue System | |
| Value for Money | |
| Enjoyment |
Team: 4 players – working remotely from two locations
Time Taken: 26:21 with no clues
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