Can You Escape: The Collection

This is a collection of 23 escape room titles that were first released on mobile phones. Each one is available to play right from the start, but the list does not appear to follow any particular order such as release date, and there is no additional information about the individual titles. You simply select one and you are taken to its own menu. Each title contains several stages (around 15) that must be completed in sequence, and all of them follow the same core mechanics. Every level takes place in a single room where you explore by clicking around with the mouse. Nothing is highlighted, so it is encouraged to click on anything that seems suspicious. In some cases you can also change your perspective within the room, which may reveal additional areas to investigate. When you discover something important, the game shows a close up view of that area. At this point, you either pick up an item or interact with a puzzle element. To use an item, you first select it in your inventory to activate it, and then click on the place where you want to use it. Since nothing is marked, you often have to experiment and click around to see what works. Most of the time, using an item reveals a clue related to one of the room’s puzzles. There are only a few puzzles in each stage because the locations are small, and they are generally not very difficult. The titles feature a variety of themes, including pirates, paranormal settings, the Wild West, and more, although the gameplay mechanics remain the same across all of them. If you get stuck, each stage includes a walkthrough in the form of a YouTube video. A few titles contain collectibles, but most of them are very straightforward and simple. Once you complete all stages in a title, it is marked with a star in the title selection menu.

really liked this game - only just started it but love the short escape rooms because some times you just want a 5 minute relaxing time - well done developers.

I’ve only played a pair of the 23(!) games compiled here, but I can tell this is totally worth $4. That’s like 18 cents per game, and with each game having a dozen plus levels you’re looking at less than two cents per escape room. This feels less like a cash grab and more like mobile game preservation, which I’m all for. The original games were probably free with ads which were probably annoying, but presented ad free these games are a real treat. Escape games represent the point and click adventure genre boiled down to their mechanical roots. With the narrative being simply to get out of a room, a series of puzzles must be completed to get the hell out. For people who love using ciphers to figure out a passcode or scrambling to find screwdrivers for a grate, there’s just too much content here to pass up. I do run into bugs where sometimes I have to restart the stage because certain items stop responding to mouse clicks, but I otherwise haven’t had any issue finishing a level yet. I still recommend this game at full price.

While there are lots of puzzles, and walkthoughs available for each (albeit via linked YouTube videos which may expire at any time), why I down voted the game is it's full of bugs. The most annoying ones are when pieces are supposed to move or rotate, but they don't...you have to quit the game and start the level all over again, and only then do the pieces work. I've lost count of how many times this has happened.

Most of the games that came with this collection play well, but there are some that do not. This collection of games was not that expensive so I figured I came out ok in the end.