Welcome To ShinyLife!

You can find all my reviews on Instagram, Google Maps, and TripAdvisor. All my reviews are based on my personal experience and never paid for! If I received a product or service for free in exchange for a review, I will always mention this in the first lines of the review, and will never let this influence my opinion. I write these reviews for fun and as a hobby!

shinylifeforme

As a friend of mine was moving back to their count

As a friend of mine was moving back to their country of origin, we decided to book us in to try out the official @221b outdoor game starting at Baker Street. With a rather small price tag of £15 per person, and starting at a very suitable address, we were quite hyped to get started.
The whole thing works through the Actionbound app, which I’ve used through the Picnic Hunters event from Gingerline before, so I was familiar with how to work it. This one was a little trickier to use though as it had a lot of videos and sound clips between the riddles and puzzles, but didn’t always synchronise well between our two devices.

The branded content was absolutely fantastic, with video and sound clips from some of our favourite characters from the series. It did make it quite immersive and very exciting for fans of the show. The riddles and things we needed to find were a different matter all together.
This game is available in several locations across the UK, so I’m assuming it’ll be quite different for each one. But the Central London one had some riddles that were way too obvious, and others that seemed way too obtuse and were not answerable without googling or taking a wild guess here and there. I was hoping for more challenging logic puzzles suitable for Sherlock branded content. But then again, we’re both relatively experienced with escape rooms and outdoor puzzle hunts, so maybe it’s simply aimed at beginners more than us.

Another thing that bugged me was that there were several instances of being sent to a different location a few hundred meters away with absolutely nothing significant waiting at the end of the trail. It did feel a little like being sent across London for no good reason as there wasn’t anything at the destination that would help us solve the current puzzle or find a vital clue, just another message that we needed to move on somewhere else. Surely London offers enough interesting locations to make each trail worth the walk to find something important at the end of it.

Overall I still really enjoyed it, but more due to the branded content rather than the actual puzzles. Definitely worth it for a Sherlock fan for the character recordings alone!

Another boxed escape game, Fire in Adlerstein! Thi

Another boxed escape game, Fire in Adlerstein! This one was very different to most of the boxed games I’ve played so far, but reminded me of good old murder mystery puzzle books. You know, the ones that give you a bunch of suspects and motives and you have to exclude them one by one to get to the one true killer.

Adlerstein comes along with a big folder full of evidence, and a letter by one of the suspects, pleading to help prove that he is innocent. It was so much fun to go through every single piece of information to build up theories and find concrete proof.

I very much enjoyed how this game is built mostly on paper with very few online resources to fill out the picture, there’s a lot to discover and many threads to follow to include or exclude a plethora of people in the victims life. It worked so well and the conclusion was built brilliantly.

Definitely a very fun game with lots of twists and turns to discover.

@detective_stories_games #gamereviews #escapereviews #escapegame #escaperoominabox #thingstodoathome #escapology #murdermystery #boardgames #escapereviews

As most of you know, I love me a good musical! So

As most of you know, I love me a good musical! So when I heard that a new re-imagining of Cinderella was coming to London, I just had to jump on it and get preview tickets to scope it out.

And let me just start off with a strong recommendation: Do yourself the favour and go see this show asap before you hear too many spoilers about the plot!

I’m going to keep this review quite vague due to this, so here we go. Set in the small town of Belleville, we meet the aggressively gorgeous inhabitants of this picturesque town who strive for perfection in the name of boosting tourism. Except for one villager who is of course going completely against the grain, Cinderella. This reimagining sees Cinderella become the rebel in town who wants nothing to do with her perfectionist contemporaries to start with, until of course the royal ball is announced to find a suitable wife for the prince. But in this new musical, everything is not as it seems and misunderstandings abound!

It’s absolutely beautifully done with a lot of storylines that lift the heart and warm the spirits. I’ll definitely be back to see it again once it reopens and gets a proper premiere! Beautiful show with a beautiful cast and a beautiful soundtrack.

#theatreisback #cinderella #musicaltheatre #londontheatre #westend

I was quite excited to try out the Unfinished Case

I was quite excited to try out the Unfinished Case Of Holmes, as I do enjoy Sherlock Holmes themed games quite a bit. This one is based on the premise that Holmes was not quite able to solve a case before he died, but all the evidence he collected was discovered in an old building where it was now my job to sift through everything and discover the truth.

A very good premise, and the props were quite nicely made, but I’m not fully convinced by the story. The game works with the help of an app, but I didn’t find the app added much to the gameplay. It also didn’t come with any background music, which is a bit unfortunate. Even a link to a spotify playlist, like some other games provide, would have been well appreciated. Instead, you have to keep the app open throughout most of the game but it just doesn’t do very much.

Aside from that, I did enjoy some of the puzzles presented, but generally found the game to feel a little too engineered without the natural flow of an actual case to be untangled, rather than one created to be solved.

That said, it is not a bad game, just not quite up to my play standards. I’m sure it would be a lot of fun for less experienced players who are looking for something a little out of the ordinary with a few twists and turns and some interesting game dynamics.

@idventure_games #gamereviews #escapereviews #escapegame #escaperoominabox #thingstodoathome #escapology #murdermystery #boardgames #escapereviews

I had an absolutely stunning time at @coventry2021

I had an absolutely stunning time at @coventry2021 #observationsonbeing today.
An immersive audioscape created in the beautiful London Road Cemetery in Coventry, this exhibition focuses on life on our planet, from plant to human, from death to life. The experience is so soothing and grounding, I can't recommend it enough.
The journey leads through darkness and light, indoors and out, accompanying poetry with beautiful soundscapes and animated, interactive projections. It made me stop and rest, breathe and connect. A gorgeous experience that ended with a sampling of Longplayer, a 1000yr long musical composition that started playing on the 31st December 1999 and will continue to play until the end of 2999 without repetition.
It's still on until the 15th of August, so if you can get yourself to Coventry, grab a ticket and experience this incredible journey!
#coventry #coventry2021 #longplayer #relax #breathe

Last weekend I got to try out @mysteryagencygame T

Last weekend I got to try out @mysteryagencygame The Balthazar Stone, a mysterious escape-type game in a box. I’ve been itching to try one of the Mystery Agency games for a while, so was quite excited to get started with this one.

The Balthazar Stone starts out with an age old mystery, a Cambridge university professor died under mysterious circumstances while researching the fabled Balthazar stone after being sent Balthazar’s treasure chest, and it is up to us to solve the mystery of the stone. Researches have tried for years, but couldn’t open the chest, so we are needed to take a stab and unlock the contents.

The game is played with the help of a website that houses hints as well as the first clue to get us started. First off, there’s a little bit of research to be done with the included newspaper, which relatively quickly led to the discovery of the first code needed to open the box. Once unlocked, we’re presented with another lock that keeps a compartment inside the chest securely off limits, as well as further materials including a map, feathers, wine corks, and more. All these materials help reveal the story and lead us to try to find out who Balthazar really was.

The materials in the first compartment are really fun to work with, despite some of the puzzles being quite complex. It didn’t take too long to open the second lock, just to be presented with another compartment and more items with puzzles!

I really enjoyed how the different materials played together to unfold the story and help discover the true story behind the mystery. With a little bit of help from the hints section, this last compartment was finally opened and the case solved.

All in all, it took me one hour and 21 minutes to solve the box, and it was very entertaining with lots of little surprises along the way. However, I’m not sure the steep price point for this game is quite justified. The materials aren’t the highest quality (some of them broke quite easily despite careful usage) and the game just isn’t that complex. For a £40 price I would have expected a bit more. Still, it was a very fun game and I’ll be trying out their other games at some point as well!

Last Thursday I was treated to a show I wasn’t e

Last Thursday I was treated to a show I wasn’t expecting to see anytime soon. @abbamaniaofficial is back and it’s an absolutely stunning experience!

If you’ve ever wanted to see ABBA live, this is your chance to get the next best thing, a brilliant tribute band that makes it feel like the real thing (with a little bit of imagination) for an unforgettable evening of dancing and singing along! Due to national restrictions, there is social distancing required, so you’ll have a good spot of space around you to dance as much as you like. And the mandatory face masks help with muffling even the worst singing voices…

But seriously, I had so much fun! I really needed a night out like this, it was so amazing. The band and singers pulled out all the stops to make us feel as if we were at an actual concert, and the Covid safety measures made us feel at ease while we danced our little hearts out.

Overall just a really fun night out and a big recommendation if you’ve been yearning for a concert recently.
#londonlife #theatreisback #theatrelife #abba #abbamania

Theatre! Oh, how I have missed it! It’s been a

Theatre! Oh, how I have missed it!

It’s been a good five months without live theatre entertainment for me, so I was super excited to get back into an auditorium last week. I had originally booked Death Drop for my Christmas break last year, but lockdown got in the way and they only just got to open the show again. It’s been a long wait, so the anticipation built up quite a bit.

And what a show to return to it was. Death Drop is a murder mystery comedy with an all drag performer cast. Taking us back to the good old days of 1991, we find ourselves in the mansion of an eccentric widow who is hosting a dinner party with an eclectic selection of guests, catered by local talent. Quickly the dark secrets each of the guests is hiding lead to tension, and when the first body drops, the accusations go flying.

This show was incredibly kitsch, boldly overdrawn, and deliciously funny. An absolute delight to watch and a brilliant start to theatre returning into our lives. If you can, go get a ticket and have a gorgeous laugh with a stellar cast of performers!

#murdermystery #deathdrop #dragathachristie #londontheatre

Recently, @theescaperoomer invited me to the @secr

Recently, @theescaperoomer invited me to the @secretcitytrails puzzle walk around King’s Cross station. Titled Colours, Curiosity, and Courtyards, the trail promises hidden secrets of the area, and plenty of puzzles and riddles to solve. This discovery trail works through a regular mobile browser, no app to download, and every team member can log in and see the same content simultaneously. After having a quick read of the rules of play, we were ready to go!

We headed off on a grey Sunday afternoon, quickly following the clues and getting our first bits of local trivia tidbits. The trail leads through several hidden gems around King’s Cross and really hits that instant gratification with quick rewards and beautiful spots to visit.

Having been in the area quite a lot over the years, I’m quite surprised with how many of these hidden gems I was completely unaware of.

Due to the game having been created before the pandemic began, there were a few little differences, and some things we couldn’t find at all (though were still able to solve with prior knowledge of the area) but I have been told these things would be fixed asap to make the trail fully functional once again.

It was a very fun experience and so good to go out on a little scavenger hunt again after such a long time without any of these kind of games at all. I can definitely recommend Secret City Trails, especially if you’re in the area as a tourist, as it does lead you to quite a few hidden spots that even locals often don’t know everything about.
#londonlife #londonadventures #walkingtrail #secretcity

The Unlock game on my list! I’ve now played all

The Unlock game on my list! I’ve now played all available Unlock stories and am hoping new ones are going to be released very soon!

As all Unlock boxes, Mythic Adventures consists of three card based games to play with the help of an app, with varying difficulty levels.

First up, In The Clutches Of Hades, a game where you take on the role of a slave in ancient Greece, hoping to find your way to freedom. This game had a lot of clever tricks up its sleeve, with really fun game mechanics and entertaining puzzles. I also loved the art on the cards of Clutches of Hades, it was overall a very fun and aesthetic game with a great story to tell and many choices to make.

Second in the difficulty rating, Professor No-Side’s Animal-O-Matic, where we meet our old nemesis once again, but this time we play AS the Professor, not against him! No-Side has invented a machine that can transfer your consciousness to an animal, and we get up to silly antics to use it to its full potential. This game was so much fun, it involved a lot of hopping from animal to animal and figuring out which critter is best suited to which task.

Lastly, we have Around The World In 80 Minutes. As the name suggests, we’re tasked with recreating Phileas Fogg’s express travel around the world. You can really tell that this box is one of the newer boxes, as the app is really used to its fullest potential. This game was definitely the hardest of the three, but also the most entertaining. Weaving a story and including several little side-plots, it was a delight to figure out.

I really enjoyed my Unlock journey on the whole and am eagerly waiting for new boxes to come out for more puzzling fun!

@space_cowboys_officiel @zatugames @asmodeeuk #gamereviews #unlockbox #unlockgame #escapegame #escapegameinabox #escapereviews #thingstodoathome #boardgames #storytelling #2021entertainment

Having played several of the Deckscape games, I wa

Having played several of the Deckscape games, I was quite excited to get stuck into Decktective, Bloody Red Roses. It’s another pocket size game for 1-6 players, this time in the theme of a murder mystery.

Before I get into the review, I have to mention that I did play this game on my own. I have done this with most Deckscape games and never found it to be detrimental in gameplay. Seeing that this game is recommended for 1-6, I thought it would also be fine to play it solo. But in hindsight I would recommend to play this with at least three people, but preferably more. Simply for the fact that less eyes for this particular game mechanic means that it is way too easy and simple to solve. There would be more restrictions on larger groups, which would give it a more interesting edge.

What I did love about this game is that several cards and the game box come together to create a dimensional crime scene for players to inspect. This is such an unusual touch and really helpful in unfolding the story.

There is an actual plot to unravel, which leads to a very clear suspect. I personally found it way too easy to uncover the truth and figure who did it, why and how. But as mentioned previously, a larger group would likely find it harder to muddle their way through, thus increasing the fun!

I kept waiting for a twist or large red herring, but unfortunately couldn’t find any. Still, it was a good half hour of fun and I’d definitely give the other games in the series a try at some point.

#escapegameinabox #escapereviews #thingstodoathome #boardgames #storytelling #2021entertainment #decktective #murdermystery #puzzlegames #whodunnit

My second to last box in the Unlock series, Heroic

My second to last box in the Unlock series, Heroic Adventures! I left one of the newer ones for last, but this box was very appealing as well. There are again three stories, and all of them are relevant to my interests!

First up, Insert Coin, based on good old Arcade games. You work your way through level after level to rescue Princess Marion *snort* while discovering bonus levels and hidden areas. This game was super fun to play and really immersive. It is the easiest in the box, so there were few moments of hesitation as most puzzles had quite obvious answers. This isn’t to say it wasn’t a ton of fun though!

Secondly, a Sherlock Holmes themed game! We were tasked with helping Sherley solve the murder of Mr. Hall. Following all the hidden clues and pieces of evidence, three suspects emerged. Once found, we had to retrace their steps and finally interrogate them to put the pieces together and find the truth. I absolutely loved this scenario. It was very different than most other Unlock scenarios I’ve played, with legitimately hidden clues to be discovered and unusual game mechanics through the cards as well as the app. What a joy to play.

Lastly, The Pursuit Of The White Rabbit. Where do I even begin. This was quite possibly my least favourite Unlock scenario so far. It did start off really well, but quickly dissolved into chaos and guessing games rather than logical puzzles. I guess in a way that makes sense for an Alice in Wonderland themed game, but it was very frustrating. There were some cute features and puzzles, but mostly it was exasperating. Especially the very last puzzle, which is pretty much unsolvable with the materials provided and needs a lot of outside help to actually work. It was an absolute pain in the butt.

I’m really not sure how to rate this box due to the large variety in the games, two I loved and one I hated. It’s probably still worth playing, just be prepared for the Alice game to be a bit of a mess that doesn’t have any rules...

@space_cowboys_officiel @zatugames @asmodeeuk #gamereviews #unlockbox #unlockgame #escapegame #escapegameinabox #escapereviews #thingstodoathome #boardgames #storytelling #2021entertainment

Last week saw the release of new Musical film In P

Last week saw the release of new Musical film In Pieces on Stream Theatre. Filmed with a young UK cast, it presents a sleek face which tackling the age old question of the heart, with songs all around love and relationships, longing and passion. Set in KidZania, which is a play city for children where they can pretend to be adults and take on various jobs for entertainment, it feels a bit weird right off the bat. Clearly chosen to represent a USA-esque feel of the city, it just looks a bit ridiculous if you've ever actually been to KidZania (which hosted grown-ups only nights once a month before the pandemic hit, which I might have attended on occasion...) with its bright colours and engineered town square feel with very obvious KidZania branding throughout.

The other thing that bothered me about this recording was that it was very obviously lip synched and not sung live. As a huge connoisseur of live musical theatre, I find it too obvious that the actors aren't actually singing throughout the filmed performances, detracting from the emotional depth of the numbers.

In Pieces is a sung-through quilt of songs about love, loosely connected throughout the film. While each actor seems to play a character that grows and changes throughout the show, it’s not always apparent whether these are indeed the same character or just random performances that aren’t connected at all. This does not detract from the power of the songs, though. Song cycles tend not to bother with character development, being more of a showcase than a story.

Standout performances to me were definitely those by Kyle Birch, Ross Harmon, and Danielle Steers, who managed to connect their acting performances to the depth of emotionality of their songs despite the lip-synched nature of the recording. Another amazing point was definitely the unabashed queer-inclusion of this production, which is so refreshing to see!

However, a lot of the songs were quite samey and overall it felt more like a “best of” album rather than a cohesive show. Still, more than worth your time if you like powerful voices singing about love in all its forms!
#inpieces #kidzania #musical #musicalfilm #streamtheatre

Another game in the Exit series, I've had Dead Man

Another game in the Exit series, I've had Dead Man On The Orient Express on my shelf for quite a while now. I finally tackled it the other day. As with all Exit games, this one works with a series of answer cards, riddle cards, a disc and a few “mysterious items”, in this case those items are the different compartments the suspects are riding in, but they are not to be opened until the game tells you to.

In addition to having a lot of riddles and puzzles to solve, this game is also a murder mystery, so you have to gather clues to find culprit amidst a group of suspects. The setup of the game is quite obvious from the title, a dead man has been found on the Orient Express, and it is your job to review the alibis and clues to find out whodunit.

I really enjoyed the pacing and puzzles of this game, with nothing being too obtuse or simply time wasting. Instead, all puzzles progressed logically and with so many clever little hidden elements. There was only one puzzle that was a bit rubbish, as the way it was set up with a table and a diamond, it was almost impossible to get the correct number out of it and I had to use the clue cards to check the result, which I still couldn't get to from the setup after having checked which numbers SHOULD be the result. But apart from that one, which seemed to not really fit with the rest of the game anyway and could have been constructed a lot better, all the other puzzles and challenges were super fun to solve.

There are many clues that lead you through the group of suspects and point out the murderer, but you have to pay attention to the details to figure it out. In the end, I solved it in 52 minutes and picking the correct culprit. It was one of the best Exit games I've played so far, big recommend!

@kosmosgamesuk @kosmos_games @thamesandkosmos @zatugames @boardgamegeek
#exitthegame #gamereviews #escapereviews #escapegame #escaperoominabox #thingstodoathome #escapology #exitgames #boardgames #escapereviews

The Forbidden Castle is another game in the Exit t

The Forbidden Castle is another game in the Exit the game series, but this one has a higher difficulty rating of 4 out of 5. So I was eager to get stuck in and see what this game has to offer.

The premise is that you are off on a vacation and at your destination hotel you find a brochure for a beautiful castle. Eager to explore the local sights, you make your way there but find no ticket booth or any other people. As soon as you wander into the impressive throne room, the large wooden doors slam shut and you are trapped inside this castle filled with mysteries. You have to work hard to escape this trap before the host finds you.

As with all Exit games, this one works with a series of answer cards, riddle cards, a disc and a few “mysterious items”, but Forbidden Castle does not have numbers on the disc. Instead, each of the three discs has a different part of a key, you have to assemble the correct key to get the code that leads you to the answer card you need. I really enjoyed this mechanic as it adds an extra themed element to the game.

There were a lot of puzzles to tackle, but most of the lead-ups and hints were very well constructed and followed understandable logic. It did take quite some time to figure everything out, but I enjoyed every minute of it. All in all, it took me 66 minutes to escape, which is a really good time for a simple box game without much of a story.

The mysterious items were quite clever, though maybe a little too easy to use. I would have liked to see a few more tricks along the way. Still, this game is full of amazing puzzles that are really fun to tackle and I can't recommend it enough to those who enjoy escape room type games!

#exitthegame #gamereviews #escapereviews #escapegame #escaperoominabox #thingstodoathome #escapology #exitgames #boardgames #escapereviews

After having played The Awakening and Low Memory,

After having played The Awakening and Low Memory, I couldn't wait to get to Children of Wyrmwoods, the third instalment in the Escape Tales series. This series by @boardanddice is a story driven puzzle game, where your decisions determine the direction the story goes in, and ultimately influence the ending quite heavily. I absolutely loooooved the first two games, so was quite excited to get started on the third.

I roped a friend into playing this adventure, despite the box saying it would take 7.5hrs plus. So, we set everything up and got going. There are a few things that work a little differently from the first two boxes, but it didn't take much time to get used to the new way of playing. Basically, you get a number of action tokens, a map card that indicates chapters in the game books, and location cards which you can explore through the two previously mentioned items. Each chapter in the book gives you information, clues, and often puzzle cards, which are then used to solve a variety of riddles and puzzles to advance the story. Throughout the game, you also get decision cards, that give you two, or four, choices to pick from. These are usually pivotal moments that will definitely influence the outcome of your game.

In Children of Wyrmwoods, we played Gilbert, an orphan in a strange world where plant/animal hybrids called Wyrmvines are slowly taking over human living spaces and everyone who touches them is sent into madness. Gilbert has to find a way through all this to uncover dangerous plots and mysterious magic, to save humanity. Along the way we met many interesting characters and had to make so many difficult choices.

Additionally, there were some references back to previous games, which I thought was really well done. We loved our journey through Wyrmwoods so much, we played the whole game through in one afternoon/evneing with just one break from some food. All in all, we got a good 8 hours of gameplay out of it, which is amazing value for the price.

I cannot recommend Escape Tales enough and am eagerly awaiting the next installment in this fantastic series.

#gamereviews #escapereviews #escapegame #boardgames #storytelling #storydriven

Behind Closed Doors by @_27degrees only had a shor

Behind Closed Doors by @_27degrees only had a short 4 day run in Spitalfields, but will hopefully be back again soon. I attended the Saturday evening performance, it was such a novel concept and so suitable for the times we live in.

Covid safe and fully outdoors, there is no contact between attendees and actors at all. The show runs through audio clips (subtitles are available) on a website, short performances inside buildings, viewed from outside through the windows, as well as light installations and small scale art pieces. Through these techniques, Behind Closed Doors tells the stories of a small neighbourhood and the interesting people living within it.

The immersive part of the show happens through decisions each attendee has to make along the way. It is a very interesting concept and so well realised.

It all started off on the stairs of Christ Church Spitalfields (this was the only not-accessible part as there are stairs to climb as well as a bit of a funnel at the entrance where people had to gather and wait, but I'm sure the introduction could have been done outside the church grounds for those who couldn't get to/up the stairs) with a short introduction into how the show would work and what to do to log into the website and get the audio adventure started. From there, each attendee was on their own to make decisions and discover parts of this fascinating neighbourhood. The route only spanned two roads, with each location just a few steps apart, so it was very easy to reach the different show stops and observe the installations or live performances. The only thing I found a bit detrimental to enjoyment was the fact that some attendees stood right up to the windows, blocking everyone else's view, when standing back would have allowed more people to see at the same time. But as each stop only lasts a few minutes, it was easy enough to just wait for people to move on.

I loved meeting the different inhabitants of this fictional neighbourhood and making decisions on who gets to meet and change each other's lives. What a beautiful concept and well realised show!

#theatre #immersiveexperience #outdoortheatre #storytelling #neighborhood #spitalfields

Cruise is currently streaming on @stream_theatre ,

Cruise is currently streaming on @stream_theatre , and it's absolutely worth a watch!

Written and performed by Jack Holden, and based on a true story, @cruisetheplay introduces us to Jack as a young volunteer at Switchboard, the LGBT+ helpline. Going through some personal difficulties and having to deal with intense situations from callers, Jack fields a call from Michael, and things spin off into a very different direction. Michael tells of his life in Soho in the 80s, of excesses, connections, love, endless parties, and of course the AIDs epidemic ripping through the gay scene at the time, of loss and hope, and electronic music.

Jack Holden takes on a myriad of characters while dancing his way through the basement of the Shoreditch Town Hall. Brilliantly adapted to a recorded performance, Cruise is a touching and intense journey through a pivotal time for LGBT+ people in the UK. Delving deep into the scene of the 80s and how it was affected by HIV, this play is an absolute gem.

It made me laugh, it made me cry, it had me glued to the screen for the duration. What a beautiful tribute and view into the lives of LGBT+ people of a devastated generation. Cruise is running until the 24th April, don't miss it!

#theatre #onlinetheatre #lgbt #cruisetheplay #streamtheatre #whattowatch

On Thursday I watched another installment of the I

On Thursday I watched another installment of the In Camera series of the @oldvictheatre , this time a live streamed performance of The Lorax.

It is the 50th anniversary of the first publication of this well known Dr. Seuss story, so the Old Vic put on a fun little staged version for audiences of all ages. Considering the story was written 50 years ago, it's uncomfortably contemporary in its message of preserving resources and not letting greed destroy the world.

With gorgeous puppets and props, this scaled back version is so well done and a delight to watch. Some of the scenes with the Once-ler seem like a strange dream world, almost delirious and vaguely threatening, which fits the character so well. At the same time, the scenes with the Lorax are a lot more grounded and slower. I really enjoyed this dichotomy.

The lighting and stage design worked fantastically for this scaled back production. The whole thing is such a joy to watch. Only on until tonight, you have to hurry if you want to catch it!

#theatre #streamtheatre #incamera #thelorax #oldvictheatre

In my quest to finish all Unlock boxes, I came aro

In my quest to finish all Unlock boxes, I came around to an earlier box. Secret Adventures comes with three games with vastly different themes.

Noside Story brings us back to Professor Noside, who is apparently our arch nemesis and has brought a thick smoke over the region. We are tasked with finding out what is going on and foiling his plan. This scenario relies mostly on the cards and doesn't have a lot of techy help from the app at all. Some of the riddles are deliberately obtuse and make it quite hard to follow along, or maybe I was just being slow in the uptake, I don't know. I thought the story was quite fun, but the mix of super obvious puzzles that were too easy. and very weird ones that didn't make sense, made this scenario a little frustrating to play.

Next up, Tombstone Express, a Wild West adventure complete with weird Native American stereotypes that feel a bit out of place nowadays. In this game, you're on a train transporting a gemstone that is crucial for peace with the Apaches. Unfortunately the gem gets stolen almost immediately, and in your role as the Sheriff, you have to race against time to find the culprit. This game is definitely more narrative driven than most Unlock, but this experiment doesn't pay off too well. There are too many cards to rifle through to find what the puzzle is supposed to be, with at times more than 20 cards active at the same time, and too many breaks with needless tasks to fight of bandits or quickly distract you from the tasks at hand. I did not enjoy Tombstone Express very much, though the solutions did seem to work quite well. The narrative driven side just didn't work out great with what the game had to offer.

Lastly, there is The Adventures Of Oz, where you take on the roles of Dorothy, the Lion, Scarecrow, and Tinman to follow the well known story of the Wizard of Oz. Now this one was a completely different beast to the other two in the box. With a lot of new ideas and beautifully constructed riddles, it was really fun to follow the narrative and figure out the plethora of riddles. There was only one part, right at the end, that seemed a bit far fetched, but overall definitely my favourite of the three!

Load More… Follow on Instagram