990 Escape Games – Challenge 2017

If you are into those trendy Escape Games then here’s another to add to your list. 990 Escape Games – Challenge 2017 is the latest in a wide variety of these types of games: solve the puzzles, collect tools, and try to break out in the least amount of time possible.

The game begins with a short back story of how you ended up in the room: you were on a family vacation and somehow got left behind. Now it’s up to you to find the hidden objects and figure out how to use them to escape. Unfortunately, that is all of the instructions and helps you receive and now the player is completely on their own to figure out what to do. To collect the items, simply tap on them and they will be stored on the bottom of the screen. Tap and drag them back onto the screen to use them. You have to do things like use the magnifying glass to find hidden codes and look for visual clues around the room that reveal the right sequence of letters, colors or shapes needed to unlock things. There is a timer running at the bottom which I assume is so you can keep track of the time it takes to escape and try to beat your time the next time you play.

My disclaimer to this review is that I am not a big fan of escape games. I find the lack of hints and instruction frustrating and I can think of a million other things I’d rather do with my time. The graphics are a little hokey, the written instructions at the beginning have spelling errors in it, and unless you pay for the full-version you have pop-up ads interrupting play every 5 minutes or so which is very annoying. I typically enjoy puzzle apps and find them challenging, but these are just plain frustrating for me. However, if you are a fan of escape games like this, then take a look. It is a free download, with the option to upgrade to ads-free for $0.99, so it would be easy to check it out and see if it is one you’d like.