Unlock!: Mystery Adventures – The House on the Hill

I’ve played a good amount of escape room card games, and I was pretty excited to try out Unlock!: Mystery Adventures – The House on the Hill. I was a bit surprised when I realized that the game requires a companion app, but I actually found it added a lot to the experience. The music, timer, and penalties made things feel more immersive and engaging, especially during those tense moments when you’re really trying to figure out a particularly tricky puzzle. The app really helps to set the mood.

I’ve found that these kinds of games, including Unlock! and Exit, are best played with 2-3 people. Anything more than that can become a bit of a drag with everyone trying to hunt for clues and solve puzzles simultaneously, especially if some people are working at a slower pace. This game would be a great date night activity for couples or even a fun way to hang out with a small group of friends.

While the game had a good mix of easy, medium, and challenging puzzles, there was one particularly frustrating puzzle near the end that I found almost impossible to solve. It felt like the creators were trying to deliberately make players angry. That being said, the rest of the puzzles were well-designed and made you think, and I appreciate that there were some easier puzzles to help prevent the game from becoming too overwhelming. The lack of gadgets or physical components, which some other escape room card games use, didn’t bother me and didn’t detract from the enjoyment of the experience.

Overall, The House on the Hill was a fun and engaging escape room experience. The occult theme was well-done and the puzzles were clever. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys these types of games, just be prepared for that one tough puzzle!