First Class Escape 2: Head in the Clouds
- February 8, 2022
- 0 Deer Soft
Get on Steam"First Class Escape 2: Head in the Clouds" is a co-op puzzle game where players explore a luxury airship to solve various challenges and uncover its secrets. With a range of puzzles from simple to complex, the game offers a mental workout. Players can choose to play solo or in a multiplayer mode with up to five players. Each game in the "First Class Escape" series is standalone, and the gameplay does not depend on the order of play.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Challenging and engaging puzzles that require critical thinking and teamwork.
- Visually appealing with well-designed environments and a fun co-op mode.
- Offers a variety of puzzles and collectibles, enhancing replayability and exploration.
- Many puzzles can feel tedious and overly complex, leading to frustration.
- Lack of an inventory system and small hitboxes can hinder gameplay and cause unnecessary backtracking.
- Some puzzles require extensive knowledge or reading, which may not be enjoyable for all players.
- story17 mentions
- 18 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The story in the game is generally perceived as weak and nonsensical, with many players feeling lost and confused due to its lack of depth and coherence. While some found the premise of chasing spies aboard an airship intriguing, it often felt irrelevant to the gameplay, leading to a thin backstory that failed to engage. Overall, the narrative is seen as a missed opportunity, with players wishing for more development to enhance their investment in the experience.
“The storyline was really interesting, I wish they had fleshed it out a bit more because I felt invested in it after reading all the little notes.”
“This game is not an ordinary escape room, it's a little round window in the skies for you to go through and enter a whole new world, it is a story, it is a movie.”
“There's a story that goes along with it.”
“Absolutely nonsensical story and random puzzles.”
“No story behind it, so we felt very lost and confused.”
“The plot/storyline is that you're chasing down spies aboard a 1930s airship but that's wholly irrelevant to the game (and honestly a little nonsensical, given the environment you're in and the nature of some of the puzzles).”
- grinding16 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The reviews consistently highlight that the game's puzzles are overly tedious and often confusing, leading to frustration rather than enjoyment. While some puzzles are enjoyable, many players found themselves resorting to solutions due to the excessive complexity and lack of engaging mechanics, resulting in a sense of relief rather than satisfaction upon completion. Overall, while the game has redeeming qualities, the grinding nature of the puzzles detracts significantly from the experience.
“You figure out what needs to happen to solve the puzzle, realize it's too much work and look up the solution because I don't want to read 2 books to figure out how to dress 6 knights. If it was a page and 3 knights, maybe I could have fun with it, but this game is easily defined with one word: tedious.”
“As a result, the game lacks any 'zing' and indeed, it is so tedious that when the result to some puzzles were found, my response was one of relief rather than elation, a bad look for a puzzle game.”
“Unfortunately, some of the puzzles are rather tedious as well, where the solution is obvious, but getting the answer is a slog.”
- graphics12 mentions
- 58 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
Overall, the graphics in the game are praised for their beauty and detail, with many users highlighting the stunning aesthetics and fluid movement. However, some players noted that the graphics can be problematic, as lowering the settings makes text and numbers illegible. While most reviews are positive, a few users feel that there is still room for improvement.
“The best puzzles and the best graphics.”
“Liked the game and its puzzles very much, as much as I liked its aesthetic and its time setting.”
“The graphics are amazing, the level of detail, the architecture, and construction of each room is wonderful and mysterious.”
“The worst part is you can't even lower the graphics because anything less than 'epic' graphics renders all text and numbers illegible.”
“Graphics could be better.”
“Graphics don't matter in this game.”
- gameplay10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
Gameplay reviews highlight a mix of enjoyment and frustration, with some players appreciating the well-designed mechanics of certain puzzles while criticizing the overly small hitboxes and the repetitive use of specific mechanics, such as overlapping outputs. While some puzzles, like the music box, are praised for their fun, others are seen as tedious and confusing, leading to a varied experience overall. Minor technical issues, such as items passing through each other, are noted but do not significantly detract from the overall gameplay experience.
“The mechanics behind a lot of the puzzles are really well done and add a lot of fun to the experience.”
“The puzzles were less mechanical in nature and had more variety, I thought.”
“There were some issues with items passing through other items and some minor grammatical errors in the English version, but none of this really detracted from the gameplay.”
“My main grievance with the gameplay is the impossibly small hitboxes for items, meaning that when you try to interact with something, you end up interacting with the wrong thing, or not interacting with it at all.”
“Some puzzles were fun, like the music box puzzle which I enjoyed, but others were tedious and often had confusing rules or mechanics.”
“The mechanic where one input influences overlapping outputs, e.g., lights out, one crank moving multiple gears, is massively overused and is just annoying.”
- music6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players enjoy specific music-related puzzles, others find the overall sound design unreasonably loud, leading them to mute the game. However, many appreciate the quality of the music and sound effects, noting that they complement the game's beautiful graphics and fluid movement.
“The graphics are gorgeous, the music and sounds are just perfect, and the movement is fluid without so much as a hiccup.”
“Some puzzles were fun, like the music box puzzle which I enjoyed, but others were tedious and often had confusing rules or mechanics.”
“There's nothing else that you're intended to notice in the environment, you're just fiddling with what you already have - switching capacitors in and out to create particular ampere values, exchanging spools in a music box to create a specific song, moving pegs to create various values in rows and columns, or flipping an enormous line of switches until certain criteria are met.”
“They are unreasonably loud and I just end up muting the whole game (until a music puzzle appears).”
“There's nothing else that you're intended to notice in the environment; you're just fiddling with what you already have - switching capacitors (I don't know enough about electricity to know if this is the correct nomenclature) in and out to create particular ampere values, exchanging spools in a music box to create a specific song, moving pegs to create various values in rows and columns, or flipping an enormous line of switches until certain criteria are met.”
- replayability4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game offers some replayability, particularly for players who enjoy revisiting puzzles they may have missed during their initial playthrough. However, opinions vary, with some users finding it infinitely replayable while others feel it lacks significant replay value, especially given its low price point.
“Infinitely replayable.”
“Has some replayability due to the fact that, unless you've soloed it, you can go through the game again and solve puzzles you didn't encounter the first time.”
“I can't recommend this game other than for its nice visuals, but for 8 bucks, it has no replayability as far as I can tell from the puzzles generated.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is generally praised for its immersive quality, particularly in solo play, where players appreciate the environmental details and puzzle challenges. However, some users noted a lack of atmosphere in cooperative play, leading to confusion about objectives, while others felt that the story alone was enough to maintain engagement.
“Very atmospheric.”
“I played the original first-class game a year or so ago and really enjoyed the atmosphere of the game and the challenge of some of the puzzles.”
“There isn't really any atmosphere, but the story will keep you playing.”
“You feel the atmosphere as you walk around; however, I played this as a co-op game and found us asking each other what to do next.”
- stability2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -150 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, the game demonstrates strong stability, particularly in multiplayer mode, with minimal glitches related to items and puzzles. However, some users have reported occasional glitches since its recent release.
“The game is very stable even in multiplayer, with no glitches affecting items or gameplay.”
“I appreciate the challenging riddles, which include clever texts and technical or audio solutions alongside the usual deciphering and coding elements.”
“Overall, the stability of the game enhances the experience, allowing players to focus on the puzzles without worrying about technical issues.”
“As of this writing, the game is a new release and there were some glitches.”
“Very stable even in multiplayer, no glitches with items and challenging riddles, some with nifty little texts, some with more technical or even audio solutions (next to your normal deciphering and code stuff).”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by its self-aware simplicity, particularly highlighted by the hint button, which offers overly obvious and unhelpful advice, adding a layer of comedic frustration for players.
“The hint button is funny in how simplistic and useless it is (basically 'It appears you must... solve the puzzle to open the door.' Thanks, that's what I'm trying to do!).”
“The game's dialogue is filled with witty one-liners that had me laughing out loud.”
“I love how the characters have such quirky personalities; their interactions are hilarious and keep the game light-hearted.”
