Escape Mail Episode 10: Revelations

Inspectors' Review:

• Newspapers are AWESOME.

• Envelope is tasty.

• If only I weren't Illiterate. MUM come read this for me! XD

• There's a toad on this advertisement...I want it!

• Why isn't my photo here!?!

• Mum..MUM...Look! A crossword puzzle!

• There's a mouse on this newspaper!

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Boss' Review:

Escape Mail is a puzzle subscription service by Mobile Escape, a Canadian-run mobile escape company who began dabbling into the mailed puzzle experience at the beginning of 2020. Each month players receive an envelope filled with newspaper clippings, cards, letters, maps, and more that work with online content to guide players along. Currently they have launched 10 episodes and the aim is to have each season as 12 episodes.

One unique element to Escape Mail is that this experience has a single narrative that crosses each episode. Your long lost cousin, JJ, has reached out to you to help locate your family treasure…but it turns out to be a lot more complicated then just digging a hole on the right island. Episode 10 comes after a big curve ball and you are left trying to reflect on what led up to this change. I don’t want to spoil too much but someone sends you a newspaper and encourages you to show your puzzle skill while also seeking to prove to you they are trustworthy going forward.

I found this particular episode to be REALLY light of narrative. It felt like a pause in the story…I feel the following episode will be the climax of the experience. You essentially are just figuring out what was hidden in the newspaper to verify if the person contacting you is telling the truth. It reminds you what happened in last episode which was good because it has been a few months since I last played episode 9 – also of note, Mobile Escape was delayed in releasing a few episodes because of product shipping. In addition, even though there was no plot I actually enjoyed the experience better than some of the previous episodes because of how well the puzzles and components were used.

In terms of puzzles, a lot of this game was searching which I found quite refreshing from the table top puzzle experience as they usually up the puzzle challenge. It felt more in line with escape room. The biggest puzzle being the “impossible” crossword which require clue hunting, ciphers, pattern identification, manipulation, and good old fashioned crossword solving. These puzzles were really well organized and I felt challenged but not overwhelmed. There was some cool digital elements to some of the puzzles that broke up the paper focus that I really appreciated.

In terms of customer service, I haven’t spoken with the company in awhile except when I downgraded my difficulty a few months ago but I have no complaints. They are quick to respond and really helpful. The hint system has greatly improved since the first episode and does an excellent job in giving you instruction without giving you the answer outright. They also provide images of different elements of the game if you need a guide or want to double check your work.

Overall, episode 10 of Escape Mail is an excellent layered puzzle experience that was both challenging yet relaxing. These later episodes has gotten increasingly better than the early ones and I am excited to see how this adventure concludes. For just under two hours and for $14.99 CAD I felt this game was quite worth it. Be advised though, you will need to play from the beginning to really get the story!

Check out Mobile Escape here for more information!.