Escape: The Brother's Saloon
- May 5, 2020
- Woodcrest Games, LLC
Get on Steam"Escape: The Brother's Saloon" is a first-person puzzle adventure game set in the wild west. Players are trapped in a saloon and must solve puzzles and uncover secrets to escape. The game features a richly detailed environment, atmospheric soundtrack, and a gripping storyline filled with twists and turns.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Addictive gameplay with a good variety of innovative and creative puzzles that challenge players without being overly frustrating.
- High-quality graphics and smooth controls enhance the immersive escape room experience.
- Well-structured inventory management that keeps similar items grouped, making it easier to solve puzzles.
- Lack of a hint system can lead to frustration, as some puzzles are cryptic and require trial and error to solve.
- Certain puzzles, like the sliding block puzzle, are considered tedious and detract from the overall experience.
- Some puzzles lack clear logic or necessary information, making it difficult to determine how to progress without external help.
- graphics11 mentions
- 55 % positive mentions
- 18 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
Overall, the graphics are generally praised for their quality and impressive fidelity, contributing to a good atmosphere and smooth movement. While some reviews note that the graphics are decent for the price, others highlight minor shortcomings, suggesting a mix of solid presentation and areas that could be improved.
“Enjoyable little (literally) puzzler with impressive graphical fidelity, if a bit half-baked in places.”
“Nice graphics, good atmosphere.”
“The presentation is pretty good, both graphics and audio, and the Unity launcher takes care of resolutions and windowed mode.”
“The graphics are decent for the price tag.”
“Easy controls, okay graphics.”
“Its solid from graphics, sound and most importantly puzzle diversity.”
- music7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally appreciated for enhancing the scenic experience, though some players find the "puzzle solved" theme to be underwhelming. While the repetitive musical elements contribute to the atmosphere during gameplay, the overall sound design received a mixed rating of 6/10, indicating room for improvement. Additionally, players noted the absence of brightness settings, which could further enhance the auditory experience.
“I love the scenery and the music.”
“The puzzles are innovative and brilliant, with the remark that one might need some non-basic knowledge of chess, music, and logic gates in order to solve them.”
“Settings are available both from the main menu and while playing, including master and music volume sliders.”
“The 'puzzle solved' music is lackluster.”
“I was wandering around, listening to the repetitive musical bits.”
“Music/sound effects: 6/10.”
- story6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The story received mixed reviews, with some players praising its engaging twists and satisfying endings, while others criticized it for lacking coherence and depth, feeling disconnected from gameplay elements. Overall, the narrative was seen as insufficiently developed, leading to a disjointed experience that left some players wanting more.
“The story and the endings were great!”
“If you like challenges, just try it. I'm even sad it finished so fast. I'm curious to know if it's a real story; you will see, it's a good twist at the end.”
“I think I need more of a story from my games, and I didn't get that from this game.”
“This game does not flow; it is more like finding a bunch of items and doing a bunch of things that do not make sense or have nothing to do with any story or reason.”
“There's a puzzle where the hint involves a story about a samurai, but it applies to a music box with a ballet dancer on top; there's no connection between the two.”
- gameplay5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The gameplay in "Escape: The Brothers Saloon" offers engaging mechanics typical of escape room and puzzle games, but it suffers from a cluttered inventory system that can hinder the experience, as players may struggle with managing numerous items at once. While the game is a solid addition to the genre, it lacks the polish seen in higher-quality titles, with a gameplay rating of 7/10.
“The escape room/mechanical puzzle game library continues to grow with another excellent entry with the obscure name of Escape: The Brothers Saloon.”
“The inventory can only show a few of your possibly many items at a time, and it would be nice if there were a faster way to access the inventory rather than having to move one of your hands away from the gameplay position (mouse or keyboard) to hit 'i'.”
“Don't expect 'The Room' quality gameplay, though.”
“The inventory can only show a few of your possibly many items at a time, and it would be nice if there were a faster way to access the inventory rather than having to move one of your hands away from the gameplay position (mouse or keyboard) to hit 'I'.”
“The inventory feels cluttered by too many items for most of the gameplay (e.g., fifteen separate billiard balls).”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -25 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is generally praised for its appealing graphics and sound design, contributing to an engaging experience. Players appreciate the immersive environment, although some feel it could be improved, as reflected in a mixed rating of 6/10. Overall, the game successfully creates a fun and atmospheric puzzle-solving experience.
“A fun, atmospheric puzzle game.”
“Atmosphere (art and sound) were well done and clues are provided if one is willing to check every corner and surface.”
“The atmosphere felt flat and uninspired, lacking the depth needed to immerse players.”
“While the art and sound were decent, the overall atmosphere failed to create a compelling experience.”
“The atmosphere was underwhelming, making it hard to stay engaged with the game.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional impact of the game is mixed, with some players feeling frustrated and fatigued by the controls, which detracted from their overall engagement, particularly towards the ending.
- replayability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
While the game offers opportunities for speedrunning, this focus may detract from its overall replayability, making it less engaging for players seeking varied experiences.
“That makes it good for speedrunning, but it lowers the overall replayability.”
“Once you've completed the game, there's little incentive to go back and play it again.”
“The lack of meaningful choices and branching paths significantly diminishes replayability.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game, particularly the slider puzzle, to be tedious and more of a test of patience than an engaging challenge, leading to frustration.
“My biggest complaint was definitely the slider puzzle, as that felt really tedious to do and it was less of a puzzle than a 'patience challenge'.”
