Miami Bay

Wolf Escape Games charter a nostalgic trip to 1980s sunny Miami, Florida in ‘Miami Bay’. Players take on the role of police officers investigating high stakes criminal activity over four riveting chapters. With glimmering visuals and an intuitive interface that captures the charming interface of point-and-click games gone by, ‘Miami Bay’ oozes saturated ‘80s nostalgia. The storyline is pinned together with hilarious tongue-in-cheek dialogue that pokes fun at the media and bravado of that time. While some of the puzzles felt less connected to the storyline, or not as clearly clued, the overall experience is ambitious and it does pay off. With a new Wolf Escape game on the way, we’re looking forward to the bright future of virtual escape rooms. For now, it’s time to go back and play some Nancy Drew point-and-click mysteries 🔍

Note: we played the “extended edition” of the game; there was also a shorter version, but I don’t know how it differs — whether there are fewer scenes, fewer puzzles, or easier puzzles. Overall I feel about the same about this game as I did about Wolf Escape’s previous offering “Hallows Hill,” which is that the software, graphics, and voice acting are excellent while the puzzles are mostly not very good. I will say that “Miami Bay” offers a much longer play time than its predecessor, at about 2.5-3 hours vs. 60-90 minutes. The setup is a “Europeans try to satirize / pay homage to U.S. pop culture of the 1980s as seen through the lens of Miami Vice” kind of thing. That isn’t a complaint: I got what they were going for, it definitely isn’t trying to take itself seriously, and it was amusing. (That said, a couple of tips: that is *not* how criss-cross puzzle clues are numbered, the way our larger-denomination bills look has changed since the 1980s so using modern currency feels anachronistic in the same way that using images of Euros for a game set in the 1980s in Europe would be, and Americans generally don’t use a 24-hour clock or write our dates as dd/mm/yyyy.) Overall the story is serviceable, even downright funny at times; it’s just let down by the puzzles, which as I said are mostly not very good, but I do give the designers credit for ambition and variety. The hint system does what you need it to do, so don’t be shy about taking hints as there are several “guess what I’m thinking” puzzles. We didn’t encounter any bugs and it was a fun evening so I still give the game a thumbs up, but if “meh” was an option I’d give it a solid meh. With better puzzle design the Wolf Escape Games folks could have a real winner on their hands, as the production values are great and the software seems very solid.

Amazing graphics and great direction this company is at making virtual escape room experiences. Although this newer experience has more elements as a video game it was still enjoyable. Hard mode at some weird logic leaps that weren’t so easy for the costumer however still a great experience with story puzzles and comedic elements. Would recommend for groups or as a date night experience.

A major improvement from Hallows Hill! More difficult puzzles which we liked as hallows hill was too easy for us. Graphics were good. But very pleased there is a second more difficult play through included.

Loved this game. I enjoyed Hallows Hill, but I adored Miami Bay. The graphics, the humour, the atmosphere, and of course... the puzzles! We played the harder version of the game, and the puzzles perfectly towed that line between being challenging and gratifying. Would recommend this game!

Miami Bay is a fantastic escape room video game. This is a self-guided experience but don’t let that stop you from playing. My friend and I were delighted by the humor, great graphics, and extended duration of the game. We truly got our money’s worth! There are two game modes that you can choose between: regular and extended. We played the extended version and found it challenging, but doable for experienced escape room players. Each puzzle was incredibly satisfying when we finally solved it. I truly cannot wait to see what Wolf Escape Games builds next. They’re cemented in my mind as the premiere video game escape game developer.

This one was a lot tougher than the other one that we played from the same company. These online ones don’t compare to an in-person experience, but it was a pleasant way to spend an evening. There’s too much reading and sifting through papers for me, but I understand why it has to be this way. This game had some really tough puzzles, and you definitely felt good for solving them.

Another great game from Wolf Escape Games, these are of course more just video games, but that doesn’t detract much, still had some cool puzzles, fun environments and a really fun story.

Another fun virtual escape game from Wolf Escape Games! This game came out with perfect timing because we wanted a great virtual escape room to play with friends for the holidays, and we loved their previous game Hallows Hill! This one has more of a 1980s Miami vice city crimes vibe, combined with murder mysteries and also video games! It’s point and click just like the previous game. It’s also very linear so you’re only ever working on a few puzzles at a time. On the plus side, you get a good voice-acted story! And the settings change multiple times as you progress so you get to explore different locales throughout. There were a few issues of flickering glitches, but it could have been on our side. The game for us was longer than the 2 hours we expected, which is not a bad thing, but perhaps something to think about based on the group you’re playing with. There are built in breaks if needed! Our group had a lot of fun with Miami Bay! I’m so happy Wolf Escape continues to put out these hits!