Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist

Exploration Story Rich Video Games
Mairi
April 1, 2021
0
7 minutes read

It’s the hottest summer on record, and all across Europe, valuable objects are disappearing. Museum curators unlock cabinets and find precious artefacts stolen. Wealthy mansion owners wake up to see their priceless paintings have vanished from the walls. One thing’s clear: a master thief is touring the continent and the police are left scratching their heads.

Time Played: 30 minutes
Console: PC
Recommended For: Everyone (It’s Free!)

I’ll be shortening Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist from herein to “Dr. Langeskov” for… Obvious reasons. It’s a fantastic escape room style adventure game involving a tiger, a mysterious haunted mansion, a lot of rain, and some incredible action sequences which- OH GOD! I QUIT TOO! *throws papers in the air and goes on strike*

Dr. Langeskov is a game that masters the art of breaking the fifth wall. It’s actually not about any of those things I just described, because the fact is it’s a game about running a game. You arrive at the title scene only for a nervous narrator to explain that the game isn’t quite ready. There’s someone in there still playing it and you can’t just go barging in, you have to wait your turn. But since you’re there, you may as well help out, right? Pretty much all the staff are on strike due to low pay and too frequent tiger accidents. With less hands on board, the narrator gently encourages you to progress: pull a lever there, press some buttons, put out a fire, trigger a lift (that the REAL player is in) to start moving, and so on.

So why am I talking about it here in The Escape Roomer?

Well, good question. It’s not really puzzle-y but it’s certainly mysterious, short and fun. Plus, I did a casual “Let’s Play” on Monday on Twitch, and it felt fresh in the mind for reviewing!

I love any sort of video game where the only puzzle is figuring out what the heck is going on (Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture is another great example of this). In Dr. Langeskov, you’re piecing together the ‘who, what, when, where and how’ with the use of your WASD keys and a right click.

Hidden throughout the game were even more curious items which prompt mysterious questions. Here are a few, hinted at by the host of achievements you can get on Steam:

Steal your first five francs – hidden on every level are some coins. Collect them all? It’s not as easy as it sounds!
Every Nook and Cranny – again, hidden throughout the game are a number of pretzels. Find them all.
Orange Thief – steal enough coins to collect the orange drink from the vending machine.

Overall

I’m keeping this review short and sweet because honestly you could probably go and download the game and start playing faster than it takes you to read my average review and since it’s free, why not? Sure, don’t go into it expecting an escape room if you heard about it here… But do go in ready for a mystery, many walls to be broken, and a hearty laugh.

Play Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and the Terribly Cursed Emerald for free on Steam.