Courage is your strength – a review of the interactive book game “Diary. Book of Rituals”

In this game, we play the role of alchemists who will try to recreate the ingredients needed for the final ritual. The authors – Bartosz Idzikowski, Jakub Caban – planned 30 hours of fun to solve puzzles that form a coherent story with several possible endings.

 

The power of the elements

The task is simple: you are discovering the power of the elements, but to do so, you must first learn the alchemical ingredients that enable powerful rituals to be performed. However, every slightest carelessness can lead to a catastrophe – the book will consume your soul. So be very careful. Remember, if you properly control the power enchanted in the book, the risk will turn out to be worth every moment spent on the journal.

The Book of Rituals is a game filled with puzzles that are hidden between the pages of the book. By reading the instructions, you will quickly realize that a series of logical puzzles of increasing difficulty await you. You will also be pleased to know that you can solve them in any order, revealing bit by bit the history of the Book.

Paper collection of puzzles

What is an interactive book game? The reviewed Book of Rituals looks inconspicuous, although undoubtedly intriguing. The book is bound in a hardcover, which imitates old prints (there are even “abrasions” on the spine, probably from repeated flicking). Caban and Idzikowski’s proposal was divided into three parts: Elements, Alchemical Ingredients and Rituals. As I mentioned, in order to successfully complete the game, we have to complete certain stages, but in any order. You need a device with internet access to play. The application allows you to check the correctness of answers and gives you access to hints. When solving puzzles, we do not need to use the Internet, we only need a book and an installed – mentioned – application.

Through the eye of the reviewer

Interactivity of the Book of Rituals is a relative matter. Even though the creators decided to propose an interesting story, I can’t help but get the impression that interactivity is just a catchphrase to attract attention. Getting hints and answers through the app is also an average idea; why the authors did not choose to put an answer and clue sheet at the end of the Book (such as in Egmont’s collections)? I would like to point out that puzzles can be difficult and I’m not sure if we are able to solve all of them without internet access … (although the authors say that this is the case). The reviewed adult puzzle is a good idea for cold, rainy days or a horror story evening, however, will definitely not appeal to players who avoid the topics of horror and alchemy.

Escape Room World Champions

You can associate the authors of the game with the LockMe website or remember their successes – they organize the official World Escape Room Championships. In 2017, in the first edition 1767 participants (537 teams) took part in the first edition of Er Champ , an open Escape Room championship organized by the international marketplace Lock.me, three years later the numbers increased – 250 participants and 723 teams.

An interactive book game is not a novelty, previously on the Polish market we could see, among others with the Diary 29 series or paragraph comics, such as Sherlock Holmes. Around the world , This is a Heist! , Kidnapping or Technomagi . These propositions based on the player’s imagination are intended for one person in total, but if you feel the need to do so, you can try to play them with any companion.