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When it comes to point and click room escape games, Japanese developer Neutral is top of the line. The team releases just a few escape games each year, but when one does come around, it looks great, plays great, and offers a fair amount of tough challenges. This time around, Christmas Mini Escape (a natural follow-up to Christmas Escape 3) is a banner game released to celebrate the holidays. Even though the screen size may be small, the game is quite lengthy and serves up plenty of holiday-related puzzles to get you ready for presents!
As with any room escape game, one premise is a given: you’re trapped somewhere, and you want to get out. In this case, you’re in a decorated room filled with Christmas cheer. Looking around, you’ll notice a Christmas tree, a stocking, a bed, some drawers, and a conspicuously locked door. In fact, there are quite a few conspicuously locked items, but only one key in sight. And that key is in a bottle behind iron bars inside the fireplace! You’ve got no choice but to rummage around, turning over every door and lifting every potted plant to find things you can use to get out.
As with all Neutral games, puzzles are almost never straightforward. You must pick up several items before you can even use one of them, and in order to use most of them, you’ll have to decipher a few clues. The best way to win? Click everywhere. Every corner, every item, just below every item, everywhere. If you ever get stuck there’s probably something you’re missing, so you’ll just have to go back and search the room again! But since everything looks so pristine, it’s all the more entertaining to do so.
Really, the only detractor to Christmas Mini Escape is the small screen size. It’s a banner game, after all. Even though it’s little, the gameplay is big, and this little point and click adventure will test your puzzle solving abilities as well as any other escape game out there!
Play Christmas Mini Escape (click the banner at the top to begin)!
The physics-based gameplay in this game is very similar to Angry Birds. Instead of irate pigeons users are tossing spiteful monsters. The controls and interface are relatively easy to navigate. Players simply drag their finger along the meter projectile adjusting the force or direction of the throw and then tap on their desired Mini to launch. Each level is set up like a puzzle with scattered creatures placed in hard to reach areas. Players have to rely on strategy and accuracy to effectively knock or explode their unwanted guests into oblivion. There are a set number of minis available to toss in each stage. Obstacles in the form of purple stones, blue blocks, and large rotating grey rocks add a challenge requiring a combination of different minis to get through the blockade. Minis like the Sticky adhere to any object they land on, weighing it down. They can also be used to attach another mini, such as the Bomber, for an explosive reaction.
As players progress monsters are hidden in stranger places from cave taverns to smack in the middle of levitating boulders. Every missed shot results in the monsters jiggling their bellies, sticking their tongues out, and random evil chuckles at your expense. It’s quite annoying. When players clear the level their monster does an adorable victory dance. Coins earned in the game can be used to purchase new monsters, skips, solutions, and unlock worlds without completing the previous zones. If you have enough coins there’s a nice assortment of cool looking monsters to choose from in the shop area. There’s no real need to spend extra money buying credits which is a welcomed plus in any app game. Overall the game is loads of fun. Gamers who enjoy Angry Birds will find this light-hearted action puzzler cute and equally addicting.