Puzzled Escape Games: Professor of the Occult | Review

Puzzled Escape Games: Professor of the Occult Review | A professor from the local collage who is the prime suspect in the murder of three of his colleagues has gone missing. It is rumoured that they were involved in occult research that has led to their disappearance. Head to the professor’s house and see if you can uncover anything about his whereabouts but be careful, I have an uneasy feeling about this one.

Date Played: 5th September 2021
Number of Players: 4
Difficulty: Medium
Time Taken: 50 minutes

There’s nothing better than winding down on a Sunday evening to investigate some disturbing supernatural practices with your friends, and lucky for our team (Mairi, Al, Ash and I) this is exactly what we were tasked to do by Puzzled Escape Games.

With the promise of jump scares sat securely in our minds, we enter the professor’s study and I notice I’m gripping my mouse ever so slightly too tight.

It’s just a normal study, right?

What transpires is a realistic representation of the in-person escape room based in Easthampton, Massachusetts which you are free to explore using a simple click and drag method with the ability to take a closer look at certain items. You can interact with most objects, which allows you to perform tasks as though you were in the real room (and we all agreed, this would be an incredible in person experience).

The browser-based game does not update based on other players movements, which could have been frustrating but the way the game flows means that players can still go their separate ways to solve puzzles, then reunite to provide the final solutions.

The Puzzles

The puzzles range from straight forward to rather complex, and I must admit I struggled with one geography-based conundrum in particular. People always regret being landed on my Articulate team when we get stuck attempting the ‘world’ category for five rounds though, so I might be an outlier on this one.

There’s a good mix of puzzles to suit various specialities, with riddles, crosswords, map reading, logic puzzles and plenty of hidden objects to test those observation skills. For some of the more difficult tasks we came together as a team, once again learning that communication is the key to escaping!

A link to the clues was provided at the start of the game but be warned, the solutions are in the same paragraph as any hints so you may accidently see the answer.

The puzzles have been cleverly designed to compliment the narration, and we experience a slow story reveal through puzzles, letters, video messages and audio to discover the mystery behind what the professor has been up to. There are some surprises which I’ve purposefully avoided sharing, but they ensured we all had a good (nervous) laugh.

A Confession

I love the horror genre, but you couldn’t pay me enough to say Candyman in the mirror five times. When it came to the finale, I absolutely bottled it. The loudening sound made it feel so immersive, so if you’re into it I’d recommend gathering some candles, dimming the lights, and popping on your headphones to find out what happens!

The Verdict

The Professor of the Occult is a game leaning towards the more difficult side, so if you are a group of seasoned puzzle solvers this would be a great challenge.

Fans of the supernatural will love the theming, and mystery solvers will be delighted to discover the hidden secrets that lie within the room.

Don’t get too comfortable in the familiarity of the study though, things might take a sinister turn…

The game can be booked directly on their website here.

Ratings