A magical adventure
An ancient story is known that the god of wealth, Eltari, once hid a valuable treasure deep in the jungle. Eltari hid the treasure to protect human kind from the greed, hatred and self indulgence that will be consumed upon possession of this magical artefact. The story goes that those who possess this treasure will be given limitless wealth for eternity. Many explorers have attempted to seize this treasure but no-one has ever been able to solve Eltari’s mythological puzzles that pave the way to the infinite magic that he created.
Do you and your team believe you have what is necessary to take on a god?
Our third and final room at Pressure Point was to be Moonlit Wild. Following on from Broken we took a short break to rehydrate in the waiting area – which turned into another enjoyable, albeit, lengthy chat with Mike, our host and the other half of the Pressure Point team. But finally it was time to embark on our last adventure of the night.
And what an adventure it was, as we went traipsing through the jungle.
PUZZLES
As we’ve come to expect from Pressure Point, puzzles throughout The Moonlit Wild were well thought out, on theme, and varied, employing the blend of padlocks in logical places and clever tech that we found throughout the other games at the venue. The range of puzzles will require teams to utilise their observation skills, but will also put their senses and brains to the test. Here again, Pressure Point have made some of the puzzles more tactile, which I personally love. My favourite types of puzzles are those that don’t feel “puzzley” and instead require players to interact with their surroundings to solve a problem, almost like an Indiana Jones movie, and there were a few moments throughout the game where this was the case, and I was particularly fond of.
On the one hand, this game is not particularly search heavy. Everything you need to solve the puzzles and seize the treasure is relatively easy to find, though you will need to have a good look around. On the other hand, there is a sidequest that will involve a fair amount of searching. This doesn’t need to be completed to complete the room but it does add an extra bit of fun. In fact, we finished everything and could have completed the room with roughly fifteen minutes to spare, but being the competitive people we are, set aside five of those fifteen minutes for an extra hunt.
IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN
I was excited for The Moonlit Wild; not only had I enjoyed our escapes from both Murder on the Dancefloor and Broken, but for quite some time, Panic Room’s Old Father Time sat at the top of my Top Ten favourite games, purely for the magical and cosy feel, and I have been looking for games with a similar feeling since – and The Moonlit Wild did not disappoint. It evoked a similar feeling of cosy magic, with the giant trees, peaceful ambiance and clever use of lighting.
From the moment we walked through the door, it was obvious to me that Pressure Point had upped their game, design wise. Murder on the Dancefloor and Broken can both boast that they are well thought out, and decoration is excellent, but the set design for The Moonlit Wild was on another level. Even the moments of low light didn’t faze me (normally I’m not a massive fan), as it had a purpose behind it, was thematic, and it wasn’t simply to make something harder by making it darker.
Aside from the excellent set design, I was impressed throughout with the flow of the room from one space to another, which truly took us on an adventure. Pressure Point seem to have nailed developing games which manage to have not just good game play, but take you from the beginning, through to a peak, and finally a good, solid ending.
GM/CLUE SYSTEM
Mike was back as our GM for Moonlit Wild, and we kept him on his toes. As with the other games at Pressure Point, clues and the timer are displayed on an unobtrusive screen in the room, and are limited to three, of which we needed two. It’s worth noting that despite some clear signposting, we needed one of these clues as we were able to get a feasible code for one padlock using a different method (we interpreted a design choice as a clue, and it confused us. I gather we were the first team to do this though, so I don’t think it’s much of an issue); the other clue was needed purely for our own stupidity. But Mike was on the ball, and clues were delivered promptly, and with just enough exposition to make it clear where we were going wrong.
ANYTHING ELSE
Due to the setting and the sidequest, I can see this room being a hit with families. We got on just fine as a two, but once again, the non-linear structure allowed us to divide and conquer, so there is definitely plenty for larger teams to get on with.
Success / Failure
Final Rating:
| Operation | |
| Puzzles | |
| Room Design | |
| GM/Clues | |
| Excitement |
Team: Two Players (escaped in 52:25, we got distracted with the side quest)
Address: 1st Floor Offices, 2C New Rents, Ashford TN23 1JH
Leave a Reply