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Children of Wyrmwoods combines in-depth storytelling with escape room puzzles. Follow the protagonist on his journey through the Wyrmwoods as he discovers the truth about his world.
The Story
Gilbert is a poor, young man which was orphaned at an early age. By the deadly, mysterious Wyrmwines that grow in, and sometimes attack out of, the nearby forest.
The game’s story opens with Gilbert sneaking out of his girlfriend’s (the mayor’s daughter) room. However, he finds himself in the middle of a conspiracy that forces him to flee into the forest in the search of answers. Where did the Wyrmwines come from? What do they do to the people who touch them? And how can Gilbert avoid it happening to himself and those he cares about?
Throughout the chapters, the story takes several twists and turns. Naturally, I do not want to spoil any of them. Suffice it to say that at the beginning, the setting seems like your typical medievalist setting with a magical mystery. However, as you explore the locations, paragraphs, and puzzles, your knowledge and perception of the world expand alongside Gilbert’s.
The Gameplay And Mechanics
Children of Wyrmwoods is played with a combination of storybooks, cards, tokens, and an app. You play alone or as a group, you all share the one character, Gilbert, who is represented by a character card with stats on it. Each prologue is two chapters, the epilogue has an opening paragraph that tells you which location and story cards to layout or draw, as well as your starting number of action tokens.
Similarly, to the Adventure Games series, you play by looking at the location cards available, choosing a section to place an action token on, and reading the associated entry in the storybook. Entries may give you choices, have different outcomes depending on your stats, or simply tell you which story cards to draw. Story cards contain stat modifiers, items, or clues for puzzles.
Some puzzles are necessary to progress the game’s core narrative, others are “just” for further exploration, perks, or plot information. All puzzles are solved using an app (PC, mobile, or tablet). Similarly, to games in the Unlock series. Every puzzle has a symbol and if you click it the app tells you how many cards are needed to solve it. What form the solution takes, for example how many letters. The app also offers hints and, eventually, the solution if you are stuck. And it lets you combine items and ask Gilbert what he thinks of individual cards.
If you run out of action tokens before you are done with a location, you can draw Rest or Focus cards. These give you more action tokens but usually add negative modifiers to Gilbert’s stats.
The game ends after you have read the conclusion paragraph following the last puzzle and choice of the epilogue. There are several possible endings, the one you get depends on the choices you make. The stats and equipment you gather throughout the chapters.
Storytelling
For the most part, the puzzles suit the scenes they are in and help build suspense. The rewards for solving them (new rooms, pieces of information found etc.) are satisfying.
I also liked how in-depth the game is. The game box estimates playtime to be around 450 minutes, which was about accurate when I played it. It is pretty easy to save the game, even in the middle of a chapter, but still, it is a bit of a time commitment. Especially if you want to play it without forgetting information between sessions.
I love immersing myself in a game’s story for long periods. If you played and loved Legacy of Dragonholt with its branching narratives, unfolding secrets and multiple endings. Even if the characters of Children of Wyrmwoods are a lot less developed.
Easy Start
Like Dragonholt, Children of Wyrmwoods opens with a Prologue chapter that takes you through the rules and mechanics step by step as you need them, which makes starting the game very easy.
The Puzzles
As for the puzzles, there is a good variety of types. Some are maths based, some logic, some more rooted in colours, shapes, and space. Very few require lore from within the game to reach the solution.
Replayability
I do not think personally that I will replay the game in its entirety any time soon to explore the other endings, but it is fully possible to do so. As the story branches, you cannot see every location or meet every character in one playthrough, and the game never asks you to alter or destroy any components during play. At the very least, even if you know all the solutions to the puzzles, the game will be in perfect condition to lend out to a friend.
Final Thoughts
Children of Wyrmwoods successfully merges the genres of escape room in a box and story game. If you enjoy solving puzzles as well as a story with twists and turns, as well as potential genre-hopping, this is a game for you.
