Review: An Enola Holmes Adventure | Escape Hunt UK

An Enola Holmes Adventure

from

Escape Hunt (Based In The United Kingdom)

◣ GAME'S SPECS

🕹️ Stay At Home Games » On Hand Items Required » Print & Play (PDF File Based) Puzzle Game

💪 Recommended for ages 8 and up by company.

⏲️ 1 hour duration as suggested by company.

🔢 For 1 to 6 players as suggested by company.

💬 Hints provided via one printed hint page; look in mirror when needed! Solutions also available online.

📝 Game requires printed media, scissors, mirror, internet connection, or more. Check for details.

🛒 If you ACCESS GAME due to this blog, please give EscapeMattster.com a shout out! ;)

◣ MATTSTER'S TAKE

💪 Difficulty: For Mattster's team of 1, the hardest puzzle receives a 4/10. Some simpler ones are easily 1/10, though.

🔢 Ideal Team Size: For games that require hands-on manipulation, such as cutting or folding paper, I prefer team of 1.

🤷‍♂️ Best Fit For: It doesn't cost any money to download this Enola Holmes promo game, so if you like *free* stuff, or if you like detective genre entertainment, or just a fan of Millie Bobby Brown, why not give this a go?

🙂 Overall Takeaway: The great quality you expect from Escape Hunt's print & play games, combined with the appeal of the latest Netflix blockbuster film, and throw in a pinch of "come on, now, this is gratis!", just download this already! The PDF file, once downloaded, is yours to keep. So play it when you're ready, before OR after watching the flick. You decide!

◣ PREMISE

The game is afoot! Players have the opportunity to join Enola Holmes' new detective agency - if they can prove their skill as detectives of course. Individuals displaying intelligence, bravery, and a degree of cunning are highly desired for the post. Armed with only a map of London, a newspaper, and your wits, chase Enola investigating iconic locations including Covent Garden, Bond Street and 221b Baker Street.

◣ ANALYSIS

ENOLA ON THE SCREEN

With the relatively recent but rapid rise of popularity for all things escape games, promotional escape rooms and adjacent products have become frequent choices to advertise movies and tv shows. The latest addition to join this trend is "Enola Holmes", starring on-screen siblings Millie Bobby Brown of "Stranger Things" fame, Superman/pecs Henry Cavill, and District 4's Finnick Odair.

While I do not have any definite plans to watch the full-length streaming feature any time soon, I did make an effort to at least examine the short and sweet movie trailer to get a good enough grasp of what is the sister of the most famous sleuth in the world all about:

The movie sounds like a "coming of age, finding your true self, and never let others define your destined path" type of film. Enola may not like it, but she's gonna venture into a territory she's never thought she would--to become a lady--and only to embrace who she *truly* is again later (presumably). Typical teenage girly stuff, ya know?

And why of course, she also has to find her missing mum. That's where all the puzzles and mysteries come in. Got it.

An Enola Holmes Adventure | Escape Hunt UK

ENOLA ON THE PRINT-AND-PLAY PAPERS

The film follows a more-or-less standard formula of embarking on a quest to find a missing loved one, and undoubtedly, (or so the trailer has led me to believe,) Enola will also find love (awww!) and her true calling (girl power!) on the way. Three birds in one stone, talk about efficiency.

Meanwhile, this puzzle game, "An Enola Holmes Adventure", turns the table, and puts YOU in the shoes of the young lady and have YOU find HER--will you have what it takes to join the ranks of the revered Holmes family?

This print-and-play adventure appropriately includes a justifiable amount of text to read along with each puzzle, granting the player just enough context to visualize an ongoing tale without bogging down the momentum of a cat-and-mouse chase. (After all, it would be entirely absurd for a movie promotion to be completely void of a narrative, since a captivating story is the soul of a great film.)

With that said, the overall in-game plot isn't super fascinating, but serves its purpose capably. It is worth noting that it sends a very positive and empowering message for girls everywhere with its admittedly cliché ending, but hey, good values and morals are always in fashion, whether it be on Bond Street, London or anywhere else on the globe.

An Enola Holmes Adventure | Escape Hunt UK

ONE DETECTIVE CHASES ANOTHER

As an escape puzzle game, "Enola" is intelligently constructed, and rewards generously to those who have watched the motion picture with its seemingly endless tie-ins. Even I, only having watched the trailer prior, am able to easily pick out and appreciate the many details included in the paper adventure.

To start, the very first riddle to be solved, an anagram hidden plainly on the London Gazette newspaper, can be easily overcome for players who are familiar with Enola's name origin, a subject prominently featured in the trailer. (Enola spelled backwards is alone. The Holmes matriarch is a Pokémon fan, I see!) And thus, this begins a puzzle experience that feels snugly interconnected with its movie counterpart, sending participants to their first of many locations for investigation. And yes, these locations could very well be the exact same ones appearing the the movie!

The quest continues with challenges of a *great* variety, ranging from simple jigsaw puzzles, to origami (What?! Awesome!), math deductions, cipher decoding, to even the dreaded logic puzzle (Blah!). There's something for everybody.

Add a touch of class to any outfit to an instant bowtie; some assembly required | Escape Hunt UK

Solution of one puzzle yields the next destination to inspect, thereby generating another puzzle to tackle. This creates a linear path paralleling to Enola's journey from the film, a grand and lovely tread all over the map of London. This tactic, having to follow leads from one location after another, is perhaps the most obvious, but also the most suitable and realistic "detective chase" approach to structure the game. And though I've seen this done before for other games of the same genre, it still feels assuredly pleasant. Hey, when it works, it works!

Strangely enough, the first half of the puzzle roster is unevenly difficult compared to the latter half. Without exaggeration, I have half-struggled for the first thirty minutes, but finished the last four brainteasers (a term loosely applied here) effortlessly without much thinking. Not exactly a complaint; I gladly take all the wins I can get.

An Enola Holmes Adventure | Escape Hunt UK

FINAL THOUGHTS

This beautifully produced at-home game title is a great complement to the beautifully shot movie, utilizing the same gorgeous graphics that are also employed both in the actual film and its various marketing materials. The partnership between Netflix and Escape Hunt did a great job of integrating this nifty little puzzle package into the "Enola Holmes" cinematic universe; and good news, it is currently available for download at no cost for a limit time.

So, free, huh. It doesn't take a Sherlock to figure out what you should do next.

P.S. You should obtain a copy now. That's what I am getting at. Toodle loo.

◣ TIPS

★ Before starting any puzzle, peruse the London Gazette in its entirely. Every article helps solve a mystery.

★ Do you dislike the one logic puzzle? Skipping it may be an option if you catch a certain fine detail in the newspaper!

★ Scrabble fan? Keep track of all the tiles you encounter in order for a meta-finale as any good detective would.

Signing off,

ESCAPE MATTSTER

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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. EHEnola.