Review: Unlock! Short Adventures

RATING: 1 Key RESULT: Win REMAINING: 9:06

Schrödinger’s Cat is exactly why I’m a dog person.

Story

Screenshot

Your neighbor, Mr. Schrödinger, is a renowned scientist. He was invited to attend an international scientific symposium and needs someone to watch over his cat. You kindly offer your help; after all, cat-sitting can’t be that hard! Just provide some head scratches, occasional petting, and a few fun games, and all should go smoothly, right?

Let’s stop right there; nothing in Schrödinger’s Cat goes smoothly – and that’s not being stated in a narrative “and everything goes terribly wrong” sort of way. Admittedly, ‘terribly wrong’ is exactly where this Unlock! Short Adventures home game goes, and quickly, but nothing about that is part of the story.

In this card-based game, Schrödinger’s Cat is an actual character whose misbehavior while his owner is out wrecks havoc, causing all sorts of quantum leaps that distort multiple realities. In real-life scientific theory, the term ‘Schrödinger’s Cat’ is a famous thought experiment that demonstrates the idea in quantum physics that tiny particles can be in two states at once until they’re observed. It asks you to imagine a cat in a box with a mechanism that might kill it. Until you look inside, the cat is both alive and dead at the same time.

It’s a clever play on words that brings with it at the very least a few out-loud snickers, but is that enough to save Schrödinger’s Cat – both the character and the game? The answer may surprise you.

No. The answer is no.

Scenic

The Unlock! series is a card-based home game that does not involve a playing board or typically any physical objects. This usually doesn’t work against it.

Immediately upon opening the plastic wrap on this deck, it became apparent that these lower-priced ‘Short Adventures’ offerings were a step down in production quality for the Unlock! brand. The cards a bit thinner and lacked the more polished rounded edges look we’re used to from the brand. Is this something a player new to the Unlock! universe would notice? No; but returning players likely will.

One of the things synonymous with the Unlock! brand is their delightful animation style that makes each card a visual treat. This is about the only aspect where Schrödinger’s Cat didn’t lead to annoyance. The cartoony presentation of each of the endless cat variants at least added the smallest bit of fun to an otherwise dreadful experience.

An accompanying (free) app not only serves as the time clock and hint system, but it also plays a direct role in multiple puzzles. Adding to the experience, as always, pressing start on the timer beings a custom background music track that syncs to the game itself.

Puzzles

You know that old saying – “cats are assholes?” Well, the puzzles throughout this cat-themed game bring that sentiment to life in the most tangible of ways.

Generally speaking, Unlock! Escape games have been the diamond in the rough of a sea of not so great At Home experiences. The style is typically clever, original, and a breath of fresh air, full of logical puzzle steps charged by countless ‘if it were real’ actions. And, if we’re doing an ‘old sayings’ theme for this puzzle section, here’s one more: “nobody’s perfect.”

One of the things to love about Unlock! is their willingness to do wacky things that push the boundaries of imagination. Most of the times they work well to create very memorable At Home experiences. Schrödinger’s Cat is simply not one of those times. Interestingly, it’s what makes so many Unlock! games work that kills this one – trying to take ‘outside the box’ to the next level. In this particular deck, doing so results in a proverbial parade of logic leaps, one after another, leaving nothing but frustration in its litter box.

Overall

Truth be told, the gameplay mechanic in Schrödinger’s Cat was so convoluted and confusing that we ended up playing it twice back to back just to try to make sense of it. Even then, it was a bit of a futile effort with both attempts ending in frustration.

In the scientific theory, it’s suggested that the cat can be both alive and dead. Unfortunately, after encountering countless cats in less than thirty minutes, we were left able to only relate to one of them:

But here’s the thing although Schrödinger’s Cat was a miss, we as a site have long been big fans of the Unlock! Escape brand of games – and that, overall, has not changed. It’s unreasonable to expect every game will be perfect every time, and with more than fifty different ones on their sample set of date at this point, Unlock! still maintains a fantastic track record making them easy to support. Without question there is far more good than bad to be found in most of Unlock!’s decks. And as usual, Montu says it’s all the cat’s fault.