3D Escape Game: Chinese Room Review: A Puzzling Puzzler

After living in Shanghai for the past nine years, I'm pretty familiar with the escape room concept. If you're not, these experiences put groups of people together in one room, usually with a time limit. The goal is to escape by solving puzzles and working together. It's the perfect activity for team-building and groups of friends looking to test their mental acumen. When I learned a game existed where I could do team-building exercises and skip the team, I was over the moon. A game that eliminated the constant squabbling among group members, the boredom of standing around, and the all-too-common tug-of-war for group leadership? I thought it was the best idea since the internet. But does 3D Escape Game: Chinese Room deliver?

Developed by Shenzen Zhonglian Hudong Technology, 3D Escape Game: Chinese Room delivers EXACTLY what's promised: a three-dimensional escape room in the traditional Chinese style in which you must find your way to freedom. You can't say they didn't warn you. There isn't much plot here. You play as a pilgrim trekking up a mountain path, exploring great halls, ancient temples, and exotic treasures. This is just a fancy way of saying there are about five rooms to unlock in 3D Escape Game: Chinese Room. I managed

to make way through two, and I was impressed by the beautiful layouts, statues, artifacts, and cinematics. 3D Escape Game: Chinese Room does an

excellent job setting the mysterious, exploratory tone.

Starting at the foot of the mountain. The game offers a simple tutorial demonstrating the basics of interacting with each object. You can grab, turn, and select items to progress through the room. Nothing is useless, and each item ultimately serves a purpose. From that point, I was on my own exploring the temple. I couldn't help the feeling of being in one of those complex puzzle rooms in Resident Evil, trying to figure out my next step, except with no zombies. The controls were simple enough, and I was pretty impressed with the variety in the puzzles. Some objects were hidden, some interacted with each other, and some were in plain sight. Each time I solved a puzzle, a cool cinematic happened, adding to the appeal.

I didn't find the puzzles too challenging. If anything, the most frustrating part was trying to click, drag, and tinker with the various mechanics of the puzzles themselves. In the first room, there was a section where it was literally a matter of me incorrectly fidgeting with the mobile screen rather than any real challenge from the puzzle. For those stuck, as part of the monetization strategy, 3D Escape Game: Chinese Room offers hints available for purchase from the in-game store. Not that I would ever cheat (unless I really needed to), but there are also a variety of walkthroughs and YouTube clips available for those fed-up souls who aren't willing to drop the coin on a purchase.

For a free-to-download game, I was pleased with the mobile experience. I asked for puzzles, and I got them. Depending on your level of skill, this game might be completed in a few hours, or it could take weeks. It's not long, but if you don't have the will or patience to stick with a room, 3D Escape Game: Chinese Room could seem like an eternity. Still, the game offers many puzzles, the graphics are cool, and the music is captivating. Accept it for what it is and have a good time.

SCORE: 4 STARS OUT OF 5

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