Agent November has two virtual escape rooms in this year’s Adelaide Fringe. Virtual X-Caper (live from London!) is a sequel storyline to Crisis of Conscience that was launched last year (read our review). Both join the original Agent November escape room that appeared in last year’s Fringe. Each is a stand-alone game that adds to the ongoing adventures of the Agent.
Crisis of Conscience is a treasure hunt more than an escape room, although it uses the same ideas of solving multiple puzzles to achieve the goal in only an hour. In this case, there are multiple paths the players can take.
Crisis of Conscience had its world premiere tonight and, while it is still a work in progress, it’s probably the most challenging of the three so far. Part of the game’s future development will be renaming it to Mind Heist after the Fringe, and introducing Telescape technology to let players share their screens with each other.
The game is played online through Zoom, where all participants work as a single team to help the shady Dee Seet find a missing fragment of the stolen Pandora Declaration. The choices made by the players however, may lead Dee Seet to side with the evil Marty Orri.
Through the wonders of mind control and hidden cameras, the team instructs Dee Seet on what to do and where to look. He is their hands and body, letting the team pick things up, turn locks and uncover the secrets needed for success.
The game is fast, tense and fun, with Dee Seet also offering subtle guidance when needed. It works the same way as Virtual X-Caper and it works well. Find a quiet room where you and your fellow players will be undisturbed, have a pen and paper handy to write down clues, and be sure to have access to a browser in the background to look up websites for further brain teasers.
Agent November continues his trend of engaging puzzle games. The ongoing story line only adds to the fun for those who are following along. Each game is unique and cleverly executed. We can only hope he gets into more strife and needs our help again in the future.