#Escape #Mystwood #Mansion #Hivemind #Review
Escape from Mystwood Mansion is a point-and-click escape game available on Steam for Windows.
Format
Style of Play:
Who is it For?
- Puzzle lovers
- Any experience level
Required Equipment: computer with internet connection
Recommended Team Size: 1
Play Time: 2-4 hours, extra time if you want to do the bonus quest
Price: $16.99
Booking: play at your leisure
Description
Escape from Mystwood Mansion is a first-person point-and-click adventure that you can purchase on Steam. You deliver a package to the mysterious Mystwood Mansion and get trapped while doing so. Now you have to solve a variety of levels with tons of puzzles to get out again.
You move with your arrow keys and click with your mouse. There is an easy-to-learn moveset (duck, jump, interact, etc.) There is no inventory; you can only use the single object you have with you.
Note that this game is only available on the Windows platform.
Make sure you select Escape from Mystwood Manor, because Steam also offers another game, called Mystwood Manor, which is a different game ENTIRELY.
Ryan Brady’s Reaction
Mystwood Mansion is quite small for a mansion! The game can be 100% completed in a very short time, especially by experienced players who will be familiar with the classic puzzles on offer.
Big points for technical competence. The graphical design is great; the environments are attractive and cohesive.
I really wanted something to drive or entice me to push forward, but there is very little narrative, pressure, or atmosphere.
There’s not enough here to justify being on the higher end of PC escape games. At a lower price point or on sale though, less experienced and new players will have a good time.
Cindi S’ Reaction
Escape from Mystwood Manor was an average point-and-click game with straightforward puzzles that were not overly difficult. I liked the style and variety of puzzles, which included making connections, solving ciphers and triggering effects. But compared to other point-and-click games, the mechanics were frustrating. There was no inventory, which meant I couldn’t walk around with more than one item; instead, I had to go back and forth to move things around… and remember where I left them. Also, progress was only saved through embedded save points, meaning you had to play until you finished an entire section or start the section over. At one point, the save point didn’t work and I had to replay an entire level. Important to note, if you don’t follow the instructions at the beginning of the game, you will miss a rather significant narrative element.
Scott Olson’s Reaction
Escape from Mystwood Mansion is a solid, yet largely unremarkable, low difficulty point-and-click escape room-style game. Gameplay and graphics are smooth, starting with the onboarding sequence that eases the player into the game mechanics. Enthusiasts will be familiar with most of the puzzle types from other physical and digital games, with a few unique design twists. Some of the puzzles were overclued and would benefit from either a hard mode that removed these extra nudges or a design that requires the player to make additional connections. Other issues were the inability to save except between rooms or access previous rooms which can impact the game outcome. Having additional unique elements would create a more wow experience and value for the price.
In this first-person game on Steam, you get trapped in the mysterious Mystwood Mansion. Can you find your way out?
At its best, everything has a nice aesthetic, not too busy but not boring either with a pleasant variety of sceneries. The difficulty level is perfectly balanced, so I never desperately wondered what to do next. Also, there are challenging but rewarding achievements to collect.
At its worst, one crucial move wasn’t explained in the intro and therefore led me to believe a certain puzzle was broken. Make sure to look at the moveset in the settings beforehand. Additionally, there isn’t a huge story here. I personally don’t care as much for narrative-driven games, so I don’t mind. But if you want to have some resolution of what’s going on, make sure to play the ENTIRE (!) game.
I was invested the whole time and had a lot of fun finding my way out of the mansion and solving the mystery behind it. Highly recommended.
Disclosure: Escape from Mystwood Mansion provided the Hivemind reviewers with a complimentary play.
