A great starting game for the Unlock! series
Table of Contents
Location: Home
Date Played: May 2024
Team size: 1; recommended 1-4 players
Duration: 1 hour/case; total 3 hours
Price: ~S$53 on Amazon
Premise
Star Wars: Unlock! uses the Unlock! game system to send you on three new adventures full of ships, droids, and action!
(1) An unforeseen delay
You are smugglers in the Outer Rim, facing danger and the unexpected every day. Today, while transporting expensive cargo belonging to Jabba the Hutt, you are intercepted by an Imperial Star Destroyer!
Imperial operatives impound your ship and confiscate everything in your cargo bay. You know it is only a matter of time before they take a close look and discover Jabba‘s hidden illegal goods. There‘s no time to waste. You need to break out of your cell, rescue your astromech and get hold off the cargo. Then all you need to do is recover your ship and escape!
Your objective: Escape with your astromech (co- pilot droid) and the cargo.
(2) Escape from Hoth
Echo Base, an important Rebel stronghold, has managed to remain hidden on the ice planet Hoth for some time. The hostile climate provides excellent cover and protection from the Empire- but you must always remain vigilant!
You head out on a routine patrol with your trusty tauntaun mount, a hearty creature native to Hoth. After an uneventful morning, you take a brief break to rest your tauntaun while you contact Echo Base with an update. However, due to heavy atmospheric disturbance, you can‘t reach them.
Your mission: Continue your patrol, explore the ice planet, and contact Echo Base!
(3) Secret mission on Jedha
You are an Imperial spy sent to infiltrate the Holy City of Jedha. An Imperial pilot transporting a crate of priceless kyber crystals crashed their Zeta- class cargo shuttle on the surface. You must retrieve the crate without alerting the Rebel scum Saw Gerrera or any of his lawless mercenaries on Jedha. There is an Imperial informant waiting for you on the surface with more details. Meanwhile, Imperial Command orbits Jedha in a Star Destroyer. They are within communications range and expect regular updates.
Your mission: Gather intel, maintain your cover story, and recover the kyber crystals!
Components
The game comes with the following:
- 3 deck of cards & tutorial deck
- Rulebook
- Solution book
- A map used solely for case 3
Like many other Unlock games, the quality of the components are good enough for the gameplay that it offers.
Gameplay
The gameplay is very similar to other Unlock games so in this review I will only be going through the differences between this game and other Unlocks.
One of the major differences is the introduction of advantage cards. Each case has 6 of them and your team will pick 3 of the 6 cards. They're used to provide hints, clues or other benefits to make the game easier for players. If you're a seasoned escape room gamer, I would recommend avoiding them entirely and diving straight into the game.
Another difference is that the game does not use the main Unlock! app but another app named "Star Wars Unlock!". Why they created a new app just for this game is beyond me...
Puzzles/Thoughts
➕ Decent puzzles. They weren't groundbreaking but stick true to Unlock's roots.
➖More suited to beginners. This might be a pro to some but the puzzles in the game were generally easy. I managed to finish all 3 games if at least 20 minutes to spare.
➖Star Wars themed. While I'm not a Star Wars fan, I can see how this would entice other to play the game and enhance their immersion.
Verdict
This game is the perfect game to introduce newcomers to the Unlock series and escape room games in general. While it's not one of my favourites in the Unlock series due to its difficulty level, it still manages to provide an enjoyable experience with its fun puzzles.
Rating: 4/5
★★★★✩
You can buy their game here
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