Review: Exit the Game | The Magical Academy

RATING: 0 Keys RESULT: Loss REMAINING: X:XX

Help keep your magic school safe from goblins before you and everyone else go poof!

Story

Spells, elixirs, magical powers; you thought your studies as the academy couldn’t get any more exciting. But when a gang of polterbolds- small, pointy-toothed creatures from the netherworld- shows up, chaos breaks out. Can you stop the creatures before they literally tear your school apart?

Your lessons with your “elemental knowledge” professor, Mr. Sterling, are rudely interrupted by random goblin-like critters intent on wreaking havoc. Apparently, you are the only one who can take control of the situation to capture the little annoyances, as Mr. Sterling and all of your classmates run away.

The storyline actually moves focus onto a mystical portal that shows up halfway through, and the polterbolds become completely irrelevant. Instead, you have to figure out why this portal exists, and how to control it. It causes a jarring tonal shift, since you think you’re going to be centering your attention on the gremlins when you’re really after something else entirely.

The story basically switches over to “go to different rooms in the castle and perform arbitrary tasks.” The change in narrative makes what is already a weak plot become extremely difficult to follow without confusion.

Scenic

When it comes to home games, as there is not a physical set to be explored, we focus on the graphic design and quality of the materials inside the box. The different components are all highly detailed, and look to be printed on durable paper and cardstock.

The cards for the game all have the same weight and feel as an average deck of standard playing cards. The so-called “strange items,” (a common phrase amongst the various Exit the Game boxes) are thick enough that when they are punched out of their respective backgrounds, they do not fall apart or rip easily.

There is an optional accompanying app that can be downloaded, but it doesn’t really add to the experience. It’s mainly a timer, which starts at zero and counts up, rather than taking away time as the game progresses, with some background music.

The visuals for this game are easily the best thing about it. The included booklet and physical props are all attractive to look at, with some pieces having a steampunk design. The various polterbolds are almost cute in their appearance, with their round purple heads and wide eyes. The rooms of the school, really different chambers of a castle, are all brightly colored and clearly identifiable. Outside of the illustrations, however, there is very little redeemable matter.

Puzzles

These so-called puzzles make absolutely zero sense. We had to re-read the same challenge’s card three times because it was so poorly worded that the task directions were totally incomprehensible, and that was just the opening brainteaser! Some rely on instructions that are rather out-of-the-box…. in that they focus on using the actual packaging of the game, so if that is discarded before playing, we’re basically screwed.

There are times when the solving method for a given problem is so far-fetched that the only way the answer can be found is through massive logic leaps. Other instances require actual (albeit basic and simple) math to be performed. Both of these mean that the game-flow gets frequently interrupted with having to stop and read the clue cards.

Unlike traditional riddles that are completed once their components have been utilized, there are a few different of the “strange items” that are featured as parts of multiple tasks. This detracts from the linear flow, as you don’t know when you are finished using a given tool.

Several times, it seems as if the given riddles are incomplete, resulting in nonsensical answers and a lack of understanding how those solutions are achieved. Some rely on using different angles of vision, but the pieces used do not line up correctly, so the resolution is literally difficult to see.

Overall

This game is infuriatingly bad. It legitimately made us angry with how terrible it is. What I thought would be an enjoyable evening turned into us getting aggravated and screaming in frustration.

We were actually so irritated with the experience that not only did we not complete the game, we actually gave up after the third puzzle. (Ultimately I went back to try to complete it solo, and spent far too long- about three hours- trying to make sense of the puzzles.) This was actually, unfortunately, the first escape room-style game for some of us, and I fear it may have ruined the genre for the newbies. Honestly the only thing even remotely “magical” about this game was how much we wanted to make it disappear.