Virtual Escaping is a brand new independent virtual escape game company. Hosting games in Dutch & English currently, they have created a unique online system to host their virtual escape games with friends, families & colleagues during this lockdown time. 

Expedition Northpole is their first creation with Underground Murder just released in February 2021 as their second game. Both games offer a great challenge with an easy setup, plenty of puzzles and their unique system within the package of the game.

“Together with 4 professors and a rescue team, Sander Klaus is researching a superbacteria that he believes has been trapped in permafrost for thousands to millions of years. After months of little to no results, a young professor joins the team. His persistence provides a new perspective on the research and after a few weeks the team finally seems to have a breakthrough. Just then Sander Klaus loses contact with his youngest professor.

Storyline & Themeing: 5/10
The storyline had a great introduction, setting the scene before starting your mission. From here, it connects to the game where the level of graphics is to a good standard for this type of game. Whilst the graphics are not the highest level, it offers plenty of surprises and works with theme of the game.

Puzzles & Flow: 5/10
There were a nice range of puzzles, and some really clever moments surprised us all. There are multiple puzzles that can be solved at once individually, and some that are easier communicated within the team using the different game resources available. The hint feature is useful when stuck and assists without completely giving it away. We did however find that some of the puzzles weren’t clear once completed, and it would have been nice to be able to look back upon completion of the challenge to piece some of the answers together.

Uniqueness: 8/10
Virtual Escaping have created a unique online system which allows players to video call, message and play the game all together in real-time. When one of the players cracks a code, or finds a new item it pulls through into everyone else’s game. This is a great system, and is certainly how on-demand virtual games should be done.