Post by Todd on Oct 1, 2018 9:31:28 GMT -5
I compare this experience favorably to most "Escape Room in a Box" type of game in all ways except price. I'm not sure what added value the Adventure Zone tie-in has amongst their fandom, but ignoring that this set, including the waste of a Chef's Bundle, would be worth about $30 to me.
The Lesson Folders were a bit of overly-costly packaging where simple 6x9 envelopes would have sufficed, perhaps with some concession on the size of the contents. The lack of any sort of weathering on the pieces gave me a Mystery Experiences Company-vibe. For those not keeping up with my reviews, that's not a good thing. And as far as the "artifact" goes, while I get the joke and know it's supposed to be cheap, it doesn't justify the cost.
The one thing in this box that is worthy of the MPC legacy is the box in which the artifact was packaged. Not a nailed-shut crate, but it proves that, if there's one thing MPC knows how to do, it's wooden boxes. OK, the artifact is a wand. And not a nice-looking wand. A "Baby's First Wand" type of wand. I'm not even really sure if it's plastic or just really light wood.
As for the puzzles, I admit that I've not been terribly interested in progressing past Lesson 3 (of 5). Either by design or by flaw, there are a couple symbols in the rune languages that are similar enough to other other runes that I have been stymied in progressing by a simple transcription error on my part. I exaggerate for effect, but imagine not knowing whether a character was an upper case "I", a lower case "l", or the numeral "1" to understand my frustration. If this was by design to make the puzzles more difficult, it's a cheap tactic. Which, I suppose, fits my overall impression of the experience.
If this is the direction MPC plans to take with future experiences and Post Mortem, this is not a path down which I will follow them. MPC won my custom with hero prop experiences and community-solved puzzles. The high prices were justified by the high-caliber craftsmanship of the finished product. I sincerely hope that they return to their roots and produce something I'll want to put on my mantel along with my other statues of curious design and dubious lineage.
The Lesson Folders were a bit of overly-costly packaging where simple 6x9 envelopes would have sufficed, perhaps with some concession on the size of the contents. The lack of any sort of weathering on the pieces gave me a Mystery Experiences Company-vibe. For those not keeping up with my reviews, that's not a good thing. And as far as the "artifact" goes, while I get the joke and know it's supposed to be cheap, it doesn't justify the cost.
The one thing in this box that is worthy of the MPC legacy is the box in which the artifact was packaged. Not a nailed-shut crate, but it proves that, if there's one thing MPC knows how to do, it's wooden boxes. OK, the artifact is a wand. And not a nice-looking wand. A "Baby's First Wand" type of wand. I'm not even really sure if it's plastic or just really light wood.
As for the puzzles, I admit that I've not been terribly interested in progressing past Lesson 3 (of 5). Either by design or by flaw, there are a couple symbols in the rune languages that are similar enough to other other runes that I have been stymied in progressing by a simple transcription error on my part. I exaggerate for effect, but imagine not knowing whether a character was an upper case "I", a lower case "l", or the numeral "1" to understand my frustration. If this was by design to make the puzzles more difficult, it's a cheap tactic. Which, I suppose, fits my overall impression of the experience.
If this is the direction MPC plans to take with future experiences and Post Mortem, this is not a path down which I will follow them. MPC won my custom with hero prop experiences and community-solved puzzles. The high prices were justified by the high-caliber craftsmanship of the finished product. I sincerely hope that they return to their roots and produce something I'll want to put on my mantel along with my other statues of curious design and dubious lineage.