Escape Simulator Magic DLC – Wands at the Ready! (PC)

I reviewed Escape Simulator’s base game just a little while ago and was thoroughly pleased. It was fun on single player, fun online, and had just enough difficulty to keep things interesting without making me feel like a complete moron. I was excited to see what the DLC might have in store for me and, spoiler alert, I was not disappointed. 

Everything I liked about the base game, Escape Simulator Magic DLC does just as well, but with new and fresh twists. With a focus on magic and a not-so-subtle influence from the Harry Potter series, the puzzles here challenge you to think a bit differently and, as Mad-Eye Moody might say, remain ever vigilant. The clues to move on might be anywhere.

If you haven’t read my original review on Escape Simulator, I encourage you to check it out. I won’t repeat too much of what I already went over, but instead try to focus on the new stuff.  It’s not incredibly different, but I think the attention to detail and the effort put into these new puzzles really makes it pop. So get ready for color matching, cipher decoding, and of course,  – shudder-  the dreaded math puzzles.

Escape Simulator is available on Steam for $14.99. Magic DLC is an additional $4.99.

Story – Just a Pinch of Magic

Much like the base game, Magic DLC doesn’t have a terribly deep story. In fact, if you don’t look for it, you won’t find one at all. If there’s an overall story, I didn’t catch it, but each room does have snippets of something. References to your teacher show up in the first room as he encourages you utilize time magic to solve the puzzles therein. You can learn the history of the magic culture, as far as the room you’re in requires it (the Chronomancy room probably has the most.) But, like with the base game, don’t go in expecting a riveting story. You’re here for puzzles not prose.

Despite this, the game doesn’t really suffer. The atmosphere, the puzzles, even some random mechanics that don’t actually solve puzzles tell a story in themselves. Each room feels like it belongs in a bigger narrative, it feels like it fits in a grander world. Obviously, the easy comparison is Harry Potter, and with floating candles and even porcelain plates with kittens on them, Magic DLC  feels like it’s been pulled from something bigger.

It’s hard NOT to see the Harry Potter Influence

Gameplay – More Fun Than Arithmancy

Like the base game, Escape Simulator Magic DLC is very clever with its puzzles. Each room in the DLC is focused around a different kind of magic, ranging from potion making to divination. Each of those themes plays into the room’s puzzles, with my favorite being Chronomancy. The puzzles in that room are varied, but most of them revolve around using one of two wands; one reverses time and one speeds it up.

Obviously I can’t go into too much detail without spoiling the solutions to the puzzles, but rest assured Magic DLC’s  puzzles are clever. More than that, though, they’re fun.  From a self-repairing pot you’re meant to shatter over and over to anti-gravity candies that fall up to the ceiling, there are tons of clever little touches that make the game feel… well… magical! Beyond that, all the basics of the base game are here. Find a note to get you pointed in the right direction, poke at all the puzzles until you find one that doesn’t require another puzzle’s reward to solve, and if you get stuck, don’t forget to hit the big red help button.

Clues can be literally anywhere in this DLC. Even the stars!

Graphics & Audio – Spellbinding Sights and Magical Melodies

Like the rest of the game, Escape Simulator Magic DLC has serviceable, if not charming, graphics and audio. The art style is comfortable and cute, but everything is ultimately in service of the puzzles. The puzzle pieces are detailed and unique enough to not confuse them or get the lost in the room. And of course, with this being magical, you can clearly see the Harry Potter influence in the details. One room, as mentioned before, has kittens on porcelain plates. Another has wonderfully detailed “house banners” that decorate the room. And more than this, the way they move, morph, and poof in and out of existence just oozes magic!

Music-wise, I will say this DLC focuses more on atmosphere than puzzles. If there was a musical puzzle, I forgot it. Instead, the audio served to help immerse me in the world they were presenting. Enchanting. Even spiritual! The songs from room to room serve to set the table for the meal that is these incredible puzzles. Overall, graphics and audio are serviceable, enhancing even, but nothing that’s going to burn up your graphics card or haunt your playlists.