Unescapable: Mary

Although it follows Unescapable‘s pattern of “name of person” game titles, the Mary of this game is not a person but a spaceship. The premise here is that Unescapable are running out of the crystals that power their time travel portals, and need you to head to the future to get some more – but the spaceship in which you arrive appears mysteriously deserted.

All of the venue’s games look good, and Mary maintains the standard. The actual implementation uses plenty of number padlocks, but manages to not have them undermine the space-age atmosphere.

There was one puzzle that I absolutely hated, to the point of more or less refusing to do it. I reliably dislike counting puzzles, which usually devolve into a tedious loop of try an answer, if it doesn’t work then go back and search harder; this one was more annoying than most due to being split across two areas, and having counting targets that were unnecessarily confusing.

With that exception, Mary was non-stop fun, in a way than rapidly cured any lingering grumpiness from the aforementioned puzzle. It managed to deftly weave between dramatic and very silly with a couple of smart, memorable set pieces that I’ll have to avoid describing in more detail. I also really liked the various physical and cooperative puzzles.

We played as a pair, which worked well – a large group might feel cramped in this room, since there are some smallish spaces and a mostly linear structure. At a couple of points I felt our host was a little on the quick side to step in with guidance, though that might be because we hadn’t said we were experienced players. However, the hint system (or rather, one of the hint systems) was so delightful it’d be hard to hold anything against it.

I’d recommend all four of Unescapable’s games without hesitation (well, with a warning that Edith may not be for the nervous), and picking a favourite feels mainly a matter of personal taste. Mary is not quite as physically active as Alan, but still involves plenty of mobility; and shines for its fantastic moments of unexpected silliness.