Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsNoside is decent, Tombstone is absolutely horrible, and Oz is in between.
Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2022
After playing Mystery Adventures and Star Wars Adventures, my wife and I were hooked on--perhaps even addicted to--the Unlock! series. We couldn't wait to play the games in the Secret Adventures set, but it ended up being a disappointing time.
A Noside Story (Level 1):
This game wasn't too bad, though there were some really awkward combinations that didn't make sense... at least not until you saw the big picture three or four steps later. So "in the big picture" the game all makes sense and has a logical progression; but when you're stuck on something and haven't had a chance to see the big picture yet, it's a little frustrating having to resort to trial and error in order to progress, especially when the game is so eager to penalize you for it. It could have easily been improved. I'm guessing the creators had a deadline to meet; either that, or they just didn't care. That said, my wife and I enjoyed playing A Noside Story. This is the best game in the box, and I give it a 4-star rating.
Tombstone Express (Level 2):
This is the worst game in the box, and in fact is the worst of the nine Unlock! games we've played to date. There were huge disconnects throughout, and many of the puzzles were horribly bad and illogical. I also felt that we never had full control of our destiny in the game. It was the app that was in control of everything, including events that would pop up at random times. The last code of the game was ridiculous; the alleged "evidence" that led to the correct code doesn't hold up under even the slightest bit of scrutiny. To call it a "huge leap in logic" is an understatement. My wife and I hated this game... with a passion. One star at best.
The Adventures of Oz (Level 3):
After Tombstone Express left such a horrible taste in our mouths, we were looking forward to getting back on track with a decent game. Unfortunately, The Adventures of Oz turned out not to be that game. It's not a bad game, just not as good as others we've played. Everything started out well, and in fact it wasn't until we neared the end of the adventure when things started to turn south. The first problem occurred because of a red herring... which was a more logical choice than what the solution sheet said we were supposed to do. The biggest problem, however, was when we reached an impasse and were stuck, even though we knew we were combining the correct cards. After reading the solution sheet, we were in fact combining the correct two cards, but there was a "trick" that we were supposed to do THAT DEVIATES FROM THE RULES! The third (and last) problem was... well, I can't say without a spoiler, but I'll keep it as generic as possible.
*** Spoiler Alert ***
Some numbers have the property where if you rotate them upside down, they'll form a new number; for example, 66 rotated upside down becomes 99 (and vice versa). There are a heck of a lot of numbers with that property, more when you add letter components (e.g. an 'E' rotated upside down becomes a digital '3'). Why are we expected to rotate one thing to obtain a card number, but not everything? Anyway, long story short, we were expected to randomly (i.e. under no direct order or given any clue) rotate something and take the corresponding card. Again, a deviation from the rules.
*** End Spoiler ***
Bottom line, The Adventures of Oz was enjoyable for the first 85% of the game, but it turned sour for the home stretch, all due to deviations from the rules and a red herring that makes more sense than the actual path you're supposed to take. I give this game 3 stars.
Here's hoping the next box we play is better.
