A unique horror escape room...

Table of Contents

Location: Home

Date Played: May 2024

Team size: 4; recommended 1 - 4 players

Duration: 2 - 3 hours

Price: ~S$50 on their website

Premise

The Butterfly Curse is an original horror escape game that mixes physical and digital puzzles with dark narrative to immerse you in a such terrifying experience that it may be impossible for you to distinguish reality from fiction.

A mysterious envelope will reach your hands. Inside, you will find the material that serves as a bridge to connect the physical and digital world. By interacting with it, you must solve the enigmas and puzzles to survive to this evil curse. Your ingenuity and courage will be your only ally.

The envelope is the heart of the project and the online support material its soul. With this combination, you and your friends can face the multiple challenges with at least 2 hours of fun and puzzle-solving. It will be necessary to have a device with a good internet connection.

Plot

The legend tells that certain people who are blessed with the gift of deciphering and solving the most complex puzzles descend from dark pacts of blood. But now, an evil curse hangs over their shoulders, one that is taking the life of more than a hundred people.

Components

https://keyenigma.com/cdn/shop/products/BC-shopify-fg_2_900x.jpg?v=1623058273

These are the components:
  • Common papers
  • Thermochromic carton board
  • String
  • Extra envelope with a mysterious surprise.

Generally, the contents were of decent quality with the exception of the thermochromic carton board.
I would've much preferred if the board worked at room temperatures than cold temperatures (i.e. placing it in the freezer).

I won't go into too much detail to avoid spoilers but the extra envelope was definitely the highlight of the game.

Gameplay

Similar to other Key Enigma games, you'll be guided through the game via their website. There'll be an AI assisting you via their chat system. They'll be telling you what to do, what to solve as well as offering you hints and the solution if you ever get stuck.

Puzzles/Thoughts

The extra envelope contained a really cool prop. One of the items in the extra envelope was really neat and unlike anything I've seen before in other escape room games. It's truly quite ingenious.

Quite scary. The game was quite scary, especially at the beginning, effectively creating a creepy atmosphere.

✖️ Annoying scares. Some of the scares felt more annoying than frightening, as they were triggered while trying to view a page. Having to revisit that page multiple times meant repeatedly encountering the scares, which diminished our enjoyment.

✖️ Tedious and unenjoyable puzzles. It pains me to say it, but most of the puzzles in the game were simply not enjoyable. They felt more like tedious chores to solve, and after a while, we resorted to the hints section multiple times to avoid the monotonous tasks.

Verdict

The Butterfly Curse is a tough game to recommend for me. While the finale was quite spectacular, the puzzles really held this game back with its lackluster designs.

Rating: 2/5

★★✩✩✩

You can buy their game here