Inspectors' Review:
You know vacations are meant to be relaxing...and here you are solving a missing animal case in Tanzania??
This paper is quite soft - you should try it out!
Hey - SOUP is back again! Get my ID badge!
You know, as a feline, I feel kind of excluded from this encyclopedia.
This lady wants something from you boss, go get it for her! I'll supervise.
Boss' Review:
Monsters in the Wild is the fourth game created husband and wife Anuj and Orsi, who are the masterminds behind the tabletop puzzle company, Enigma Fellowship. Enigma Fellowhip is a subscription based puzzle service that provides a 2-3 hours narrative puzzle game every alternate month. The theme range from finding lost civilizations to dividing deep into ocean waters and each provides a meaningful theme and message. I have reviewed Submerged Sentinel in the past and also Scattered Cards on Facebook and have greatly enjoyed them so far. I was quite excited to give this a try.
The premise has Mr. Gurges, the head of Enigma Fellowship sending you a letter while you’re on vacation in the beautiful Serengeti of Tanzania. There are claims that a strange creature has been stealing and killing animals on the reserves and he’s asking you (on behalf of S.O.U.P) to investigate these allegations and locate the savage creature that is terrifying the reservations. As you begin your investigation, though, all is not what it seems and you must get to the bottom of it.
In terms of narrative, I found the story rich and well done. I liked the transitions and twists that came along. I did find the beginning a little long in the teeth but once you move on the narrative picks up and develops a sense of urgency and gives players more investment in the story to keep puzzling through. I felt plot development was also staged well. There was never an overwhelming amount of details throw out nor were they too little, which would cause confusion. I’ve also always enjoyed the sense of rational that comes with Enigma Fellowship and this game does an excellent job adhering to it. You understand the motivations of the characters around you and they aren’t simply acting to drive the puzzles. The use of audio recording with different voices also helps enhance the story immersion. Overall, I enjoyed the story, especially the second half.
As for puzzles, what I have noticed with Enigma Fellowship is that their puzzles often have a focus on pattern identification and observation. There is not “find the hidden code,” but rather that a character needs something from you so how can you acquire it? I find this a refreshing way of puzzling and it poses a challenge by asking you to keep track of information you gain while reviewing material. I found the "aha" moments came from making connections between the questions and something you saw and the feeling of success was thrilling and I definitely found a lot of them while playing, which kept me focused and engaged. It ensured that each element of the game had more than one use and also challenged players to see it’s multiple uses. There was satisfactions when the light bulb flicked on and I made the connections.
Another puzzle element I found interesting was an incorporation of a local board game into the narrative. I enjoyed the connection to the world of the game and felt it did a good job to change up the puzzle direction by having you play the game. I will note it wasn’t a very easy game to learn but the hint site had plenty of videos to help understand the set up of the game. Still, a bit challenge for me. To sum up, I found the puzzles in Monsters in the Wild to be challenging by the nature of the logic but also greatly rewarding. I struggled with learning a game within a game but I felt that the hint system provided the perfect means to learn it.
In terms of service, Enigma Fellowship goes above an beyond. They make sure the games are in water tight bags to protect them from the long trip across the ocean and are package with an environment focus in mind, using recycled paper and also a library sticker to encourage you to pass on the game to share. I will also note, they had a real love of their players. When a family member attempted to buy a game from the company I already had, they actually emailed them to better help them pick a game I don’t have and provided gift wrapping and cards. I was extremely touched about this and it shows how dedicated they are to enriching the puzzle experience.
In the end, Monster in the Wild is a rich narrative puzzle game filled with hidden secrets and strange occurrence’s that culminate to a beautiful message about wild life and human interaction. The puzzles are challenging but the thrill of making that connection between something you see in your documents and the question being asking cannot be beat. This game is about 3 hours to complete for a single player and costs 22$ which is extremely affordable. I think this is well worth a play and if you enjoy this one you will definitely enjoy the others.
Check out their website here.