Escape Tales: The Awakening
Genres: Puzzle, Horror, Mystery, Story Rich, Adventure
Play modes: singleplayer
Release Date: 24-10-2024
Developer: Bluekey Games
Our verdict
7.5/10
- Difficulty: Medium
- Players: 1
- Playtime: 2–3 h
Escape Tales: The Awakening is a narrative puzzle game about Sam, a widower who turns to a book of rituals to wake his comatose daughter. You start in his basement and move through eight locations, each open to explore in any order, with more than 20 puzzles and choices that steer you toward one of several endings. It suits solo players who enjoy reading a dark, emotional story as much as cracking codes.
The evidence is thin: only seven Steam reviews, all positive. Players tag it most as story rich, visual novel, narration and supernatural, so expect the story to lead. The one written review describes it as text-heavy, close to an old text adventure with a slightly better interface, and fairly short; the median playtime of positive reviewers is about three hours.
If you want a moody, choice-driven puzzle story for an evening, it looks like a safe pick, especially on sale. If you want hands-on 3D rooms or a long campaign, the text-first presentation and short length will likely disappoint.
Pros
- Desperate ritual story about waking a comatose daughter
- Eight open locations with several ways to leave each one
- Puzzle results and choices shape which ending you reach
Cons
- Text-heavy presentation feels like an old text adventure
- Short, at around three hours
- Only seven reviews, so reception is hard to judge
About
You are Sam. Your wife died a few years ago. Now all you have left is your daughter, who, for unknown reasons, fell into a coma. You come across "The Book of Rituals," with a mysterious ritual of awakening described inside. Out of desperation, you undertake to perform the ritual. Right now, you stand in your basement, ready to do it. Do you have what it takes to wake up your daughter?KEY FEATURES:
📖 ENGAGING STORY 📖
Sam’s quest to save his daughter will twist your emotions, question your moral compass, and keep you engaged until the very end.🧩 UNFORGETTABLE PUZZLE EXPERIENCE 🧩
20+ unique puzzles. Unravel the mysteries hidden within each puzzle as you decipher cryptic clues and unlock the secrets they hold. With a variety of mind-bending challenges, no two puzzles are alike, ensuring a fresh and exhilarating experience that will push the limits of your problem-solving skills.🔎 OPEN EXPLORATION 🔎
8 distinctive locations. In each and every location is open, you are free to explore however you like. There are several ways to leave a location.👁️🗨️ MULTIPLE ENDINGS 👁️🗨️
Every choice has a different impact on the story: Puzzles you solve, paths you take, decisions you make, all of these will shape your story differently and will have an impact on the ending.
