Review: Chapter 1, Game 2: Cabaret In Lapin Blanc | Scarlet Envelope

Game Website | Company Website | Based In: Canada

OFFICIAL SPEC

🕹️ Stay At Home Games » On Hand Items Required » Puzzle Mail Subscription Service

💪 Difficulty: Available in 2 difficulties, starter and experienced.

⏲️ Time duration: Not specified.

🔢 Capacity: Not specified.

🛒 If you PURCHASE/SUBSCRIBE due to this blog, please give EscapeMattster.com a shout-out! ;)

TL;DR...

➲ Premise: Colette the cabaret dancer has missed her big performance night and gone missing all together. Where is she?

➲ "Cabaret in Lapin Blanc", unlike Game 1, is a true storyline-based mystery case.

➲ This enigma takes players to the city of Paris, France in the year 1899, through supernatural means.

➲ Game play has a couple of starting points, semi-nonlinear, and roughly broken into 2 parts.

➲ Puzzles feature good variety, do not use common tricks, offer some good moments and secrets.

➲ Production value maintains a consistent level as prior, with high point being a tarot card!

➲ The story with Colette is gratifying to piece together, may surprise players with its final direction.

➲ 𝙀𝙎𝘾𝘼𝙋𝙀 𝙈𝘼𝙏𝙏𝙎𝙏𝙀𝙍 😃 subjective rating: 💪 5/10 difficulty (team of 1, experienced), 🔢 ideal team size of 1 to 2.

OFFICIAL PREMISE

Paris, 1899. Colette, a gorgeous cabaret dancer, disappears. Her dressing room is full of confusing leads: among the jewelry and love notes, you find a threatening letter and some truly unexpected things from the past. Who is she..? Find Colette and reveal her dark secret!

UNABRIDGED EDITION

"Cabaret in Lapin Blanc" is officially Game 2 in Chapter 1 of the Scarlet Envelope series, though one may argue this is technically their first true game, complete with a traditional storyline. There is exposition, complications, climax, and resolution, and of course, puzzles! Fans who crave a more conventional mystery-solving session and a bunch of fun challenges along the way will have quite a handful to anticipate for.

But first, one must clearly define the setting for both spatial and temporal dimensions, since players can now travel through space and time to resolve conflicts at any given point in history. (Yes, for those joining us midway, this superpower is established as the signature move and consequentially the norm of the Scarlet Envelope series.) For Game 2, we see ourselves landing in Paris, France, in 1899. And specifically, at the night cabaret nightclub Lapin Blanc.

Bienvenue, mesdames et messieurs.

Objective of case on hand: find Colette, gorgeous cabaret dancer, alluring as the night, and gone missing on the very evening of her big gala performance. Did she get cold feet? Was she kidnapped? Murdered? Or did she just baguette about her big night? (Haha, I am hilarious, I know.) Less joking, more doing; investigation starts in her empty dressing room!

Chapter 1, Game 2: Cabaret in Lapin Blanc ▪ Scarlet Envelope

Part of what I find the series appealing, and this may apply to other by-mail escape game as well, is the initial confusion I get when I unpack my package contents. Game 2 provides minimal explicit instruction to start, even less so than Game 1, (at least for the "experienced" version), and I actually appreciate this more than I realize. This early disorientation and the eventual first mental breakthrough is often one of my routinely cherished gaming moments.

Therefore, much like an authentic inspection, I have to carefully explore and determine an appropriate starting point. However, as it turns out, "Cabaret" leans on the more forgiving side, as there are multiple possible entry points, with a semi-nonlinear game play that would eventually guide the player to a natural convergence spot. Structurally, the episode is roughly divided into two halves: Part 1 focuses on tangible on-hand objects, while Part 2 heavily incorporates online elements. (The latter does make sense, since the company can't really send everyone a working music box.)

Whether the playing field be on my table at home or in the web browser, the quality of puzzles embedded is consistent throughout. While the difficulty level maintains to be fairly friendly to players of all experience level (ie not too hard) just like Game 1, the puzzle variety thankfully expands, and I no longer see many common tricks frequently used in the industry. Ciphers and codebreaking remain to be stable choices, but now dressed in more layers and coupled with less obvious solutions, a definite and pleasing improvement for the advanced demographics. (The final puzzle is intricate!)

Two puzzles stand out, however, for utilization of outside knowledge. (One being a phrase, while another being a symbol.) With this company's being based in Canada, I am not certain if the phrase is something routinely taught or used in the US or other countries. A quick Google search will remedy any problem, really, so it isn't a huge issue. The symbol, however, is technically more difficult to input into a search engine, so I imagine it may present more of hurdle.

Chapter 1, Game 2: Cabaret in Lapin Blanc ▪ Scarlet Envelope

Production is still hugely remarkable especially given the relatively cheap price tag. For instance, an encyclopedia book page displays fantastic stylistic details. Even more impressive, an elegant, custom-designed tarot card steals the show in this envelope, for reasons well beyond just aesthetics, wink wink!

Lastly, it would be amiss not to discuss the central plot line that drives the entire investigation, Colette's whereabout. The creators actually did a really fine job in distributing bits and pieces of the truth among various clues, rendering the reconstruction of the full picture not too easy or difficult. Finding this ideal balance made my successful detective work feel even more so rewarding, though a detailed (albeit even a bit too drawn-out) explanation video is available post-game for those who miss a detail or two. The narrative has gone in a direction I didn't entirely expect, so overall, fun time!

"Cabaret in Lapin Blanc" is an enjoyable installment of a fresh new at-home adventure series, and it is reasonably strong on all fronts. The inclusion of a curious storyline arguably makes "Cabaret" a more powerful entry than its predecessor. Since each of Scarlet Envelope's cases is mostly a self-contained episode, every future delivery has an opportunity to enhance and shine in its own unique design, and the coming adventure(s) could be drastically different from the last. The intriguing uncertainty and eager anticipation are all the more reasons to look forward for the next cardinal mailing.

Chapter 1, Game 2: Cabaret in Lapin Blanc ▪ Scarlet Envelope

EXTRA TIPS

★ There may be puzzles or clues that won't directly help you complete the game; but they do round out the narrative.

★ Does the number 26 seem important or familiar to you?

★ Here is a little treat for ya if you are a fan of anime OR if you need a little help in later parts of the game. OR both!

READY FOR FUN?

"Chapter 1, Game 2 (Cabaret in Lapin Blanc)" is available for purchase/subscription HERE.

If you PURCHASE/SUBSCRIBE due to this blog, please give EscapeMattster.com a shout-out! ;)

Signing off,

ESCAPE MATTSTER

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Full disclosure: complimentary game access was generously provided for review or testing purposes. All media are sourced from and credited to rightful owners. No copyright infringement intended. In certain cases, media materials are made available under fair use doctrine of copyright law. SECabaret.