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EXIT: The Book - The Hidden City: A Puzzle Novel
192 pages, Paperback
Published November 19, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
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March 8, 2026Buddy Read/Puzzle with my cousins + sister
I've done over a dozen of Exit: The Game's regular escape rooms and a few of their advent calendars, so I can safely say their puzzle novels (at least this one) are a bit disappointing. Unlike the other games, I think the novels are probably best done solo, as it's easy to grow bored when reading 170 pages in a group.
Then 10 puzzles weren't too bad. The first 6 were much more difficult than the last 4 (or maybe that was because we were completing them at 1 in the morning). Some of the symbols on the decoder were a bit misleading, as the asterisk and five-pointed star are supposed to represent the same thing, and I do think some of the puzzle solutions could've been better explained.
What we struggled with the most was the pacing of the novel sections. Yes, this is a book, but the language was overly descriptive, and the storyline wasn't intriguing enough to warrant the length of some of the middle sections. (Also, the prologue was such a red herring? It was never relevant?) I wasn't expecting much from the plot since the marketing point is the puzzles, and I don't think it was ultimately that bad, but the dialogue was incredibly cheesy, the twists were predictable, and there was a rather unnecessary romantic subplot thrown in for no reason. I liked the idea, but it took too long to be interesting, and the characters were a bit bland.
Moral of the story, if you want to check out any Exit: The Game material, I'd recommend the regular "escape room in a box" puzzles over the novel formats, unless you're planning to solve it solo.
Also, maybe don't try to do one of these at 1am unless you're prepared to get distracted singing Wait For It and forget the puzzles exist
I've done over a dozen of Exit: The Game's regular escape rooms and a few of their advent calendars, so I can safely say their puzzle novels (at least this one) are a bit disappointing. Unlike the other games, I think the novels are probably best done solo, as it's easy to grow bored when reading 170 pages in a group.
Then 10 puzzles weren't too bad. The first 6 were much more difficult than the last 4 (or maybe that was because we were completing them at 1 in the morning). Some of the symbols on the decoder were a bit misleading, as the asterisk and five-pointed star are supposed to represent the same thing, and I do think some of the puzzle solutions could've been better explained.
What we struggled with the most was the pacing of the novel sections. Yes, this is a book, but the language was overly descriptive, and the storyline wasn't intriguing enough to warrant the length of some of the middle sections. (Also, the prologue was such a red herring? It was never relevant?) I wasn't expecting much from the plot since the marketing point is the puzzles, and I don't think it was ultimately that bad, but the dialogue was incredibly cheesy, the twists were predictable, and there was a rather unnecessary romantic subplot thrown in for no reason. I liked the idea, but it took too long to be interesting, and the characters were a bit bland.
Moral of the story, if you want to check out any Exit: The Game material, I'd recommend the regular "escape room in a box" puzzles over the novel formats, unless you're planning to solve it solo.
Also, maybe don't try to do one of these at 1am unless you're prepared to get distracted singing Wait For It and forget the puzzles exist
April 4, 2026
I liked it! I like the regular Exit puzzles and I thought the story enhanced the puzzle experience and extended it a little so that it was longer to work through and the puzzles had some more context. The puzzles seemed to be easier than the standard puzzles, but that’s probably because it’s a solo experience where I think the games aim for more of a group experience. I only had trouble with the tarp puzzle and I didn’t like that if you make a wrong fold or interpreted the folding differently then you could never get to the correct answer. It seems like other reviewers were expecting a better story. I thought it would be simple and just get you from one puzzle to the next, which it did. Overall, I was really satisfied with the experience and the solo format suited how I can play right now. I think these Exit books are a good option for people looking for puzzles!
February 1, 2025
Did this with my mom. It was fun to read out loud and solve the puzzles together! Story was a little cheesy, but it’s targeted to 14 year olds so we were alright with giggling at it
January 18, 2026
stupid, cheesy but fun
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews