Review - The Cult Experience
Followers of the site, will know that we are big fans of horror themed escape rooms, and have completed and escaped from many all over the country. We were therefore really excited to test play a new online escape room called The Cult Experience, and as soon as the guide book and instructions arrived, we set aside the required two and a half hours to play.
Resisting the urge to peek ahead, our first mission was a simple one – decode the web address, so we could start the mission. Once online and registered, we clicked play on the first video and the story started to unfold.
Based around a suspicious cult – our mission was to find out what had happened to two girls, and as we delved deeper, the mystery intensified as the horror element really started to kick in. After each video, the game would pause at an entry screen prompting us to solve the puzzle to progress to the next stage. The production quality and acting in the videos, was particularly impressive including some very gory sections later in the game.
The style of the puzzles ranged throughout the game and required a bit of brainwork, observation and a bit of cunning at times. We were able to solve a lot of them almost immediately, whereas a couple of them we had to rely on the help facility. This comes in the form of a cryptic clue in the book, through to a full detailed way to solve the puzzle – available on the website. On one particular puzzle we exhausted all options and were genuinely ready to give up on the game. It was only by chance that we put the book down on the floor in exasperation and noticed that the answer would change if we read the puzzle as portrait across the 2 pages and not landscape. It really wasn’t obvious and cost us a lot of time.
Speaking of time, the online clock was ticking throughout, and as we got closer and closer to the truth and the final questions, we were optimistic that we could escape and solve the mystery in time. But then, the game threw in a stupid penalty system that ended up killing our time before the last question. With 6 minutes to go, we answered a question wrong and immediately had ten minutes deducted. That’s it – we were out of time - game over! But would we find out the end to the story? Ie would the girls remain captured, or would our character die?
We don't know – we just got a simple screen that said “You have failed to reach enlightenment in the allotted time”. No conclusion to the story, and no further video to explain what was going on. We actually felt quite cheated that we had spent so long invested in the game just to be presented with a simple and dull kill screen such as this. Especially as the videos to this point, had all been really elaborate. It was a very disappointing end to something we had been genuinely enjoying to that point.
Since playing, we have spoken to the creators who recognise our disappointment, and have stated that they intend to film some new video content for the different ending scenarios ASAP. If we had actually completed the final question, we would have been rewarded with a fitting video ending to the game.
Apart from that final kill scene, we have to commend the makers of the Cult Experience on devising such a unique and engaging experience. We played as a team of two, which worked perfectly – too many more would make it difficult to watch the videos on screen (unless they were cast onto a bigger screen like a TV)
For a first attempt at online gaming, we think the team have made a really impressive product and we cant wait to see what they come up with next!
Resisting the urge to peek ahead, our first mission was a simple one – decode the web address, so we could start the mission. Once online and registered, we clicked play on the first video and the story started to unfold.
Based around a suspicious cult – our mission was to find out what had happened to two girls, and as we delved deeper, the mystery intensified as the horror element really started to kick in. After each video, the game would pause at an entry screen prompting us to solve the puzzle to progress to the next stage. The production quality and acting in the videos, was particularly impressive including some very gory sections later in the game.
The style of the puzzles ranged throughout the game and required a bit of brainwork, observation and a bit of cunning at times. We were able to solve a lot of them almost immediately, whereas a couple of them we had to rely on the help facility. This comes in the form of a cryptic clue in the book, through to a full detailed way to solve the puzzle – available on the website. On one particular puzzle we exhausted all options and were genuinely ready to give up on the game. It was only by chance that we put the book down on the floor in exasperation and noticed that the answer would change if we read the puzzle as portrait across the 2 pages and not landscape. It really wasn’t obvious and cost us a lot of time.
Speaking of time, the online clock was ticking throughout, and as we got closer and closer to the truth and the final questions, we were optimistic that we could escape and solve the mystery in time. But then, the game threw in a stupid penalty system that ended up killing our time before the last question. With 6 minutes to go, we answered a question wrong and immediately had ten minutes deducted. That’s it – we were out of time - game over! But would we find out the end to the story? Ie would the girls remain captured, or would our character die?
We don't know – we just got a simple screen that said “You have failed to reach enlightenment in the allotted time”. No conclusion to the story, and no further video to explain what was going on. We actually felt quite cheated that we had spent so long invested in the game just to be presented with a simple and dull kill screen such as this. Especially as the videos to this point, had all been really elaborate. It was a very disappointing end to something we had been genuinely enjoying to that point.
Since playing, we have spoken to the creators who recognise our disappointment, and have stated that they intend to film some new video content for the different ending scenarios ASAP. If we had actually completed the final question, we would have been rewarded with a fitting video ending to the game.
Apart from that final kill scene, we have to commend the makers of the Cult Experience on devising such a unique and engaging experience. We played as a team of two, which worked perfectly – too many more would make it difficult to watch the videos on screen (unless they were cast onto a bigger screen like a TV)
For a first attempt at online gaming, we think the team have made a really impressive product and we cant wait to see what they come up with next!
The well presented book before the game!
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The most annoying kill screen ever! And a very well thumbed copy of the book!
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Links:
The Cult Experience website
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