Escape Simulator Magic DLC Review

Here is our Escape Simulator Magic DLC Review.

The newly released Magic DLC for Escape Simulator follows the same pattern as previously paid DLCs for the game; it’s $4.99, comes with four new levels and takes about two hours to complete. It keeps true to the spirit of the base game but with a magical twist.

Reviewed on PC

The four levels – Magic Shop, Chronomancy Hall, Potions Garden and Divination Towers – all have a 45-minute timer for the trophy, the standard eight hidden tokens to find, and all are technically two rooms.

The level design is colourful and detailed, with lots of magical elements ranging from bubbling potions to flying books. It captures the theme beautifully, both on a pack level as well on individual levels. The soundtrack is peaceful, but unfortunately doesn’t feel all that magical in my opinion, at least not in a “Harry Potter”-way.

The levels can be done in any order, but I decided to do them from left to right, top to bottom.

Magic Shop

The Magic Shop level is a whimsical, fantasy-style shop with a Harry Potter’s Honeydukes meets Moonlighter vibe. The puzzles are mainly padlocks of different varieties, and some solutions were more straightforward than others. I, for one, was not a fan of the conversion rate where I had to bring out my calculator to keep the numbers straight in my head. Other than that, I much enjoyed breaking into display cases to “borrow” some gear. There was plenty of time to finish the level to get a trophy, and yet this was the one level that took me the longest. Perhaps I was just rusty.

Chronomancy Hall

The theme of Chronomancy Hall is time. Stuck in what appears to be the top of a wizard’s tower, the player wields two “Time staffs” to alter the world around them. One makes time move forwards, and the other backwards. It is very obvious what can and cannot be affected by the time magic in this level, which saved me from what could have been a lot of frustration. I thought the last puzzle to get the key was the least straightforward one, and I admit to having used a clue (or two) and still not quite understanding why that was the correct solution. I also would have loved it if the tick-tock in the soundtrack had been slightly more prominent.

Potions Garden

Potions Garden is the most on-theme level in my opinion, with a massive cauldron for brewing potions and plenty of pots to grow magical potions ingredients in all around. The focus here is on identifying potion ingredients from vague and complicated descriptions and then using them in various potion recipes. The potions are then used to affect other items in the level, and again it is very clear what can and cannot be altered by magic. This is the level I found to be the easiest, and was by coincidence also the level where I stumbled upon the most amount of tokens without going out of my way to find them.

Divination Towers

As the name suggests, the Divination Towers level is themed around the different branches of divination. There are puzzles involving palmistry, crystal balls and tarot cards and the setting reminds me of the spires of the Violet Citadel in World of Warcraft. This level took me the longest to get started on the first puzzle; I easily found plenty of pieces for different puzzles, but it took a moment for me to realise I already had all the pieces needed to solve not one, but four of them straight off the bat. It made me feel a bit scattered, but it all converged nicely in the end.