In honour of Hack Forward releasing their next kickstarter in less than a week (March 24), I decided to upload my updated review of their first game, which I played in December 2020. Without further ado...
Inspectors' Review:
Itty Bitty Inspector's early review!
This box is comfy and relevant to the game - by sitting it I get to disturb the boss AND enjoy cardboard!
We have learned the Boss is not a real hacker - she is a pretender!
Small pieces are perfect for batting around...and losing
Boss got really focused on the game and forgot to feed us dinner, which made us sad.
Positive note was nice paper to roll on - thick card stock is awesome!
Boss' Review:
Hack Forward is the first game created by the Spanish company, Key Enigma, who launched this as a Kickstarter in Spring of 2020. While there were some delays with the game arriving, I was fortunate be one of the first to receive the game in North America. As of today the game has officially reached all its American backers but shipping delays meant they didn't arrive until 2021.
One thing that I really appreciated about this company and what made me support their work was the creation of a demo chapter - essentially it's the first chapter of the game but it gives you a good sense of the game and the kind of set up the game will have. The actual game has a lot more physical elements to it but the use of demos is extremely helpful.
Now back to the review - after completing the demo you learn about a group of elite hackers investigating a series of hacks that are threatening the world. This game is more on the puzzle side but there is a present narrative that develops through the use of AI chat which is the primary board for the game. Each time you solve a puzzle or get a clue, the AI chat log with all the hackers will keep you on track and guide you with objectives. Even when you switch to other sites, the AI will follow if required to keep things on track. These hackers will fill you in on information they learn and they also are your hint system. This game consists of eight chapters in total and each has a specific objective and concludes in a way where you aren’t left on a cliff hanger, which allows you to break up the game in smaller sessions – I will note this game took me about 9 hours (keeping in mind dinner, breaks, etc). In terms of narrative, I enjoyed the progression and plot development. The characters were well developed and I didn't feel like the narrative was just added to the game for the puzzles, rather the puzzles and story worked seamlessly together.
The puzzle range from mathematical, logic, googling, mapping, and more. It’s a wide variety and definitely gives you an opportunity to test out various puzzle skills. Some puzzles require outside googling so be prepared this game is not wholly self contained but it will be obvious when you're asked to do these outside tasks. I also will add they had a decent balance of physical and online tasks. There's even a mini video games which I really found enjoyable. If you’re struggling on certain ones as I did (cats are no help on math puzzles for me), I already mentioned this but Key Enigma provide an excellent AI hint system in the form of your hacker colleagues providing you assistance. I liked how well the hint system was built into the game. You can also provide your answers to the AI and they will verify if it is correct.
Customer service seemed fine to me. The only time I spoke with Albert was regarding sizing choices for my t-shirt and he was polite and accommodating. My package shipped to the Canada so mine was mailed from Spain because (I assume) there were not many Canadians buying the game. It took about 4 weeks. Update: I have, since playing this game, spoken to Key Enigma a few more times and they were extremely helpful in getting me a replacement piece to a game piece I lost. They are quick to respond on IG more than email.
To provide a summation, I felt accomplished in the game. The pacing was well done through its chapters; I enjoyed the set up of the narrative in the chat forms; and the puzzles were a balance of challenging and fun. There were a few I struggled with but that aligns more with my weaknesses as a puzzler than the game. Their hint system more than made up for my issues. I also found a use of choices in the final chapter really interesting and fun. Overall, I had a great adventure and definitely will continue to try of Key Enigma’s games!
Check out Key Enigma's website here.
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