Escape Tales is a series of single-player tabletop puzzle games, modeled slightly after various escape room games. This game requires the player to explore a given location card, collecting clues and cards, and solving the puzzles presented by them. From time to time, the palyer needs to make a choice to determine how the story progresses.
Escape Tales: The Awakening follows the story of Samuel who lost his wife five years ago, and for the past two months has his daughter Lizzy suffer from Chronic Fatigue. After discovering a similar case much earlier, you learn from the previous person about a Ritual of Awakening allowing travel to where lost human souls go, inhabited by the Keepers. With no choice, Samuel uses the book to save Lizzy.
Escape Tales: Low Memory first starts with the story of Elizabeth Weber, a researcher at a lab and husband to a renowned security specialist. While expecting a vacation, Elizabeth wakes up in the living room with a headache, and the room slightly ransacked as if someone broke in. Additionally, she doesn't remember what happened recently.
This series contains examples of:
- Chalk Outline: Low Memory Chapter 1, where the burgler kills Elizabeth. The difference is C057 has the body still visible, and C095 has the body removed.
- Emoticon: Used to mark certain card types in Low Memory. Important ones are ":#", ":*", and ":<".
- Golden Ending: The Awakening appears to have one of the endings as the best. Low Memory
- Insurance Fraud: Low Memory Chapter 2. This is the claim that is used to support the suspect, and the suspect can claim whether or not he's going along with it.
- Memory Gambit: The end of The Awakening requires giving an item, representing a memory - in exchange the keeper will revive Lizzy. Giving a picture of the wife causes you to forget her, etc. Some of the chosen items are dangerous, such as giving a too precious memory means you won't be able to return to the real world.
- Mind Probe: Discovered in Low Memory in File #3. They're probing the victim and suspect of the first two chapters, and in the third chapter you're playing a character who will manipulate the data to determine the outcome of the case.
- Paradiegetic Gameplay: A non-video game example, where the cards reference riddles that need to be solved on a webapp.
- Point of No Return: Entering a new location closes off the old one. In case of The Awakening, these are all one-way portals activated by an exit card. In case of Low Memory, the reason tends to vary but usually involves some locked door, but the player doesn't have the ability to delay exiting the room.
- Portal Door: Awakening has "exit cards" that are a portal to a new location, all one way.
- Permanently Missable Content: Doom and Stress cards may require the player to discard cards that would help get the best ending. In case of The Awakening, the player also has to deal with cross-room puzzles where leaving items behind prevents getting them later.
- Puzzle Game: Some cards show images, which are simple puzzles comparable to escape room games. Some puzzles work by themselves and others require multiple cards. Some multiple card puzzles may require physically moving them to see them composed.
- Red Herring: While some locations have locations that barely provide a hint (e.g. just decoration), Low Memory includes a few riddles that have a negative effect if solved (specifically draining an action token). There's also hints that are only useful for a branch you didn't follow.
- Timed Mission: The player has a limited supply of action tokens to explore locations. If the player runs out, they can draw a doom or stress card for additional actions but drawing to many has undesirable effects (specifically discarding cards that would otherwise help getting the best ending).
- The Trickster: "Don't trust the Keepers". Each keeper is untrustworthy, but the in-game effect is mixed. At the very least, they provide cards that can serve as a buffer against some doom cards.
- Shout-Out: Stress card S22, which refers to Monty Python's "Ni!" shout. It's only encountered if the player somehow messes up the token placements, but allows the player to take as many as needed.
