Android Central: Are you clever enough to solve the pen and paper puzzles of Escape Team?

Friday, October 27, 2017

Are you clever enough to solve the pen and paper puzzles of Escape Team?

What are the latest games worth checking out in the Google Play Store?

Update October 27, 2017: It's a race against the clock in Escape Team — can you and your team solve the pen and paper puzzles in time? Then, fight off hordes of zombies as you fight your way north in the much anticipated Death Road to Canada!

Escape Team

What do you get when you mix an escape room, pen and paper games, and your smartphone? You get Escape Team, a fun new gaming experience that's just been released for Android.

Escape Team is basically like a condensed escape room you can play in your home with a few friends. You download and print off your missions from the Escape Team website and then load up the matching mission in the Android app. The app gives you your countdown clock and offers up the context for the missions via audio clips. You can also use the app to request hints if your group gets stuck on a puzzle.

I gathered my gaming group to test it out and it was a real hit. The game is recommended for groups of 2 to 4 people, and requires some outside-the-box thinking and teamwork if you're to be successful.

You get the introduction and first mission for free then you can get the remaining four missions for just $1 — and that's the only in-app purchase or ad you'll see. The paid missions are each around a half hour to complete, so for $4 you can get a full afternoon's worth of good clean fun saving the world. If you've ever tried an escape room or just love solving puzzles, you're going to fall in love with this game.

Download: Escape Team (Free w/IAPs)

Death Road to Canada

Death Road to Canada has finally found its way onto Android, and it's a real gem. Published by the fine folks at Noodlecake Studios, this roguelike finds you facing a zombie apocalypse where you must lead a scrappy squad of interesting characters on a deadly mission to the relative safety of Canada. Along the way, you'll need to explore and loot places for supplies, while also managing your team's health and morale.

Everything in Death Road to Canada is randomly generated, making every playthrough a unique experience in this road trip action-RPG. You can randomly generate your character and buddy or custom design your starting characters with different attributes to help them stay alive. But it ain't going to be easy! You'll need to survive massive swarms of zombies — up to 500 sometimes!

The controls take some getting used to, and there's a pretty steep learning curve as you learn which weapons are most effective and when it's better to fight or run. The graphics and gameplay are outstanding and there's a ridiculous amount of depth in this game, including 10 different game modes to unlock. The price might seem a little steep, but if you're a fan of rogue-like zombie games, it's well worth the investment. You're also able to download and play the game on Android TV with a controller, which is extra rad!

Download: Death Road to Canada ($9.99)