The way that we tell stories to each other is constantly changing. Storytelling was never really a passive experience, but the rise of gaming, in both analogue and digital formats has meant that we’ve found new ways to tell stories.

The Escape Tales series are Escape Room style puzzle games, intended for one to four players. Wrapped around the various brain teasers is a narrative. Children of Wyrmwood is the story of Glibert, an outcast drifter who lives in a small, isolated town. Beyond the town walls, horrific monsters lurk, yet Gilbert feels compelled to discover the truth behind the town.

You take control of Gilbert and by solving the puzzles and making various choices, you get to drive the story forward. The various choices you make and the way you solve the puzzles stacks onto subsequent challenges. They are clues peppered throughout the narrative and though this is mostly
a collection of brain teaser style problems with a story attached, the attention to detail means there’s plenty to come back to as you will miss something on the first pass. This is a puzzle that works on various levels.

Though this is a marketed as a game for multiple players, it’s really the sort of thing that you dedicated a table to and come back to when you need the distraction. The story is appropriately creepy and though some of the elements feel a little crowbarred in, it’s mostly a well put together series of mental exercises that will trigger the imagination and keep you interested for hours.