Room escape designers work at their own pace, don't they? For some, like Neutral, you're lucky if you get one game a year. Others, like Tesshi-e, seem to design a game or two each month. Minoto seems to come out with one every week. However, sometimes the wait can be a good thing. Especially if the designer uses that time to ramp up everything about the game: backgrounds, puzzles, controls, and everything in-between. It's been a good seven months since we last heard from 58 Works. Now they've come roaring back with Kalaquli, their latest escape-the-room game. Was it worth the wait? Oh, heck yeah!
You begin Kalaquli with a simple directive. "This is a simple point-and-click game. Let's escape from the Ninja house." Wait, what? A simple game? A Ninja house? That should be the first clue right there that (a) this isn't going to be that simple, and (b) you might end up wounded or dead. But perhaps we're overreacting. After all, Ninjas are people too. It's not like they'll pepper their house with secret passages, hidden rooms, and try to assassinate you just for being there, is it? Uh, well...
Search this lovely Japanese style house and you will encounter lots of fun puzzles, sliding screens, and maybe the above-mentioned Ninjas. Navigate around using arrows (and bars) at the edges of the screen, click on things for close ups, solve the mysteries and see if you can escape with your life. Finding your way around is made tons easier by the fact that 58 Works has incorporated the holy grail of room escape games, the changing cursor. No more pixel hunting! Now if they'd just incorporate a save button.
Analysis: It's been a while, but it's definitely been worth the wait. 58 Works has gone all out on Kalaquli, incorporating fantastic background visuals, strong puzzles, amusing situations, and some lovely animations to boot. Once you escape you can even enjoy the fun animation of your character hot-footing it away with a Ninja hard on his/her heels. This is what good game designing is all about.
And although the game is quite beautiful, especially with the incorporation of the animations, this is not a case of style over substance. There are a variety of logical puzzles to solve, as well as items that can be taken, items that can be moved, raised, or slid around. There are also items in your inventory that can be examined, manipulated, combined, deconstructed, or otherwise be used (sometimes more than once). It is the sheer variety of things you can do that make Kalaquli entertaining casual gameplay.
Are there flaws? Well, yes, a few. Some background music would be nice, and the ability to save and come back later is one that 58 Works should definitely be adding to their escapes. The puzzles, while not terribly easy, are not terribly difficult either, so you shouldn't take too long to find your way out before the Ninjas get you.
Is Kalaquli fantastic mid-week escaping fun? Most definitely! A lively combination of scenery, puzzle design, manipulative ability make Kalaquli an entertaining break for the middle of the week. Not too easy, not too difficult, easy on the eyes, and the added bonus of charming animations make Kalaquli a must-play for any escape the room fanatic. Or anyone who just likes point-and-click adventures. Or anyone who just likes Ninjas. Okay, so it's fun for everyone!
Walkthrough Guide
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Kalaquli walkthrough
For our walkthrough for the mobile game Kalaquli R, go here.
Starting out - Main Floor
1.
Facing the first wall panels, slide open middle panels to get a clue. Keep that clue in mind for later....
It tells you that a knife will open up an item for you.
Open the left side panel to get a smiley face circle
On the far right is a set of gears. There is a hole for a key of some sort perhaps. Nothing you can do right now, though. Open the panel next to the gears to see another clue.
Check later when the gears are moving.
2.
Turn right twice. Notice that the closet doors are locked and a set of tiny holes are on the left side anchor of the locking mechanism. Leave that area for now.
Back up and turn left again. Lift up the plant to get Jagged Mouth Circle .
Click far right panel to open it half-way. Get the Wooden Ore .
Click the panel again to reveal a clue. Hmmm.... Maybe it has something to do with a nearby puzzle. That can wait a bit.
3.
Turn back to the locked doors. Notice you can click on the rug?
Use the wooden ore on the rug to reveal a panel with a green scroll . Open it to get a clue.
4.
Turn left. Use the wooden ore to reach that object up on the rafters. It's another circle -- A Strait-Mouthed Face
Focus on drawer and open it. Make note of the four shapes (they might be another clue or perhaps a puzzle? Who knows with those durn ninjas!). Get the Ninja Throwing Star . A weapon--cool!
Back up. Slide open the center panels to review beautiful view of a moonlit starry sky. Click on short room screen to lift it and reveal an object. Get it: a Frowning Face Circle
Now you've fully explored this room and should have four circles. Turn back to the wall with the plant.
5.
Solving the pullies puzzle:
Zoom in on the four rope pullies. Use the clue from the right panel...
4th - 3rd - 1st - 2nd - 4th - 3rd
When you've pulled the ropes in the correct order, it reveals...
A place to set the four circles.
Use the clue from the green scroll...
jagged face - smiling face - frowning face - strait face
...and set them in the correct order.
A set off stairs leading out to the ground floor are revealed.
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Part Two - The Ground Floor Courtyard and More
6.
Go downstairs. There is a ninja in the rafters. Better get him before he gets you!
Use the throwing star on him.
Well, you know how ninjas are. This one won't go away either...
Click on him again and he'll fire an arrow.
Get the arrow and also get the comb on the stairs.
Go back upstairs.
7.
Use the comb to open the locked doors; back up, slide the doors open and a new hallway is revealed.
Turn left. There is a dice puzzle. Think back to a clue you saw earlier...
How about the number of points?
In the drawer where you got the ninja star...
6 - 4 -3 - 4
After entering in the correct code on the dice, slide open panel (from left to right) and get the bow
Put the arrow with the bow in your inventory.
8.
Go back down to the ground floor. Now you're prepared to dispatch that ninja again.
Use the bow and arrow to take him out.
Examine the far right corner by the torch. There you can get two things:
a rake and a ninja sword . (Woot! More weapons!)
Examine your ninja sword while in inventory to also get a red rope .
9.
Go back upstairs. Go back into the new hallway, this time turning right.
Use the rack to clean up those nasty spikes. Before moving forward, click on the vent in the bottom right corner to get a wooden ladel .
Move forward one. Grab the light grey object on the window bars to the left. It's a hexagon rod . Then use the ninja sword on the support pole to release the stairs.
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Part Three - An Attic and Beyond
10.
Go up into the attic. Use the wooden ore to get a ball that is up in the rafters. Now what are you going to do with a ball? How would a ninja treat a ball?
Use your ninja sword on the ball. Get the light grey thin rod . Seems that matches something else in your inventory, right?
Put the square rod and the hexagon rod together to make a turn-key
Notice that you can examine the fire and that there is a slider puzzle on the wall. You need to gather more clues before coming back to those.
Go back downstairs.
11.
If you've gotten this far, you have what you need to turn on the gears. Go to the wall where the gears are, insert the turn key, and the gears begin to move.
Hmm...remember that clue from back at the start?
Open the panel next to the gears. Now there's a knife . Good. Knives are always handy in escape games.
What purpose do those gears serve? Let's look downstairs.
12.
Down, then Up and UP, and right back down again...
Go back to the ground floor. Now the water wheel is turning. Focus on the far right corner again. Using your ladle, fill it with water.
Then run back up to the attic. Put out the fire. Move the charred logs out of the way to get a case. The case has an interesting design.
It might be a clue...
Come to think of it, there was a clue about something opening with a knife, right?
Use the knife on the case to reveal another key.
Well, time to run down to the basement... again.
13.
Back on the ground floor, use the key on panel under the water wheel. A red scroll is revealed. What the what? It's blank.
In other escape games, blank paper usually reacts to some substance...
How about water? Well, if not water, what about...
Fire!
Turns out it's a clue for how to solve the slider puzzle. Time to go back up.
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Last Steps -- Getting Out
14.
Go up to the attic and focus on the square designs on the far wall.
Using the clue from the red scroll, solve the slider puzzle, sliding the panels to make the necessary shapes. A click indicates you've matched the shapes correctly.
Back up and look down. Get the grappling hook and attach the red rope to it in your inventory.
Now let's find where to get out of here.
15.
My first thought was that view from the moonlit balcony. But I was wrong... down to the ground floor....
Use the grappling hook on the large tree in the background (on the right side), and you can climb to your safety.
-THE END-
Run Ninja Run :)
Posted by: elle
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October 20, 2010 2:28 AM