For the purposes of this review, we should say that Charlie Wheeler, the games creator and owner of Ultimate Quest, provided me with the game session free of charge.
On Sunday April 4th, when most people are enjoying their easter eggs, myself and two friends left earth behind to enter a strange and mysterious world known as The Last Pyramid.
Arriving into the Zoom Meeting, we are met with the games title card and the 3 minute sandtimer ticks down warming us up into the game and our host, Seraphinia, welcomes us to the Pyramid and it's rules and objectives.
Bearing similarities to our beloved Crystal Maze, the objective is to amass time to open the sequence of Vault Doors to collect the mineral Seraphinia desires. By completing each puzzle, task or riddle, we stop the timer and bank the time remaining.
We're met with wonderful visuals in an 1980's neon vibe, after an explosive introduction sequence to the Pyramid's internal world. The map is shown a bit like a cross between Jungle Run and The Crystal Maze overview maps. From there, we select our games and players.
We kick off with Missile Command in Laborotory Sector 1, of which there are 2 - the other 2 sectors being the catacombs. We play most games in there, and then it's time to move on, and just like Crystal Maze, an animated video plays with the game's 80's stylised signature tune, bringing us through the maze into the next sector.
You can see where this goes, just like Crystal Maze there's lots of calling out instructions and so on, with riddle solving and mathematics puzzles. However, you might think, "What about gaining entry to the Maze?" - well, that element is covered. To move to the other sectors, you're given a puzzle on the bulkhead sealing off the new sector, and must solve the puzzle to unlock said sector! So, that is covered as well.
Our host, just like at Crystal Maze Live Experience,is paying attention to what you guys are good at, and what's not so good - they also act as a referee to the game. They handle the technical difficulties, adjusting the time won, and hinting where you need to be looking and anything you may have missed.
You might want to enter the pyramid with an open mindset to interpretation and having a bit of fun with out of the box thinking and be prepared to just let go, have fun, leave the inhibitions at the door... or entry way... or whatever the entrance to a pyramid is called.
The final round, in the vaults of the Pyramid is where the host is keen for you to succeed. This is where that precious mineral she was after is being held! I won't explain the details as it would spoil game play, but I strongly recommend you listen to your hosts instructions before the vault starts game play.
This is a very clever interpretation to the frantic nature of the final round of Jungle Run, Crystal Maze and Incredible Games.
In the end, banking 100 seconds of time, we enter the vaults to secure 3 crystals - of which earns us a 10% discount code at UltimateQuest.co.uk, a certificate and digital editions of "The Paper Labyrinth" also from Ultimate Quest.
You may think the style is familiar - well, you'd be right - We've seen Charlie's work before here at the Maze Blog, and he's the author of "Make Puzzles Great Again" as well as "The Paper Labyrinth" - his YouTube Channel also bears remakes of Crystal Maze animations and other shows like BlockBusters! He also opened the link between the real world, and the Maze Mistress herself - MUMSEY!
So, I can highly recommend the game, but I feel it's fair to warn you should be ready to get up and out of your seat. This is where I've have had to make one piece of feedback to Mr Wheeler, and we'll share this with you in a manner that won't spoil the game. This also explains part of some of the Gameplay Mechanic in the Pyramid.
Games in the last pyramid fall into solo player, dual player and team play. The game we picked involved having to "hide" from webcam view and dodge the laser beam on the animated video. One of my team (unbenknown to me at the time) had a bad back from labour in the garden. We had no prior warning that we had to physically hide and move out of shot of our webcam's view, and this was not amazingly achievable by Player 2.
Charlie was more than welcoming of the feedback, and changes have already been made in response following this.
For those of you who adore the adventure game shows like Fort Boyard, Knightmare, Incredible Games, Crystal Maze & Jungle Run, The Last Pyramid takes elements of these all.
The Last Pyramid : The Sands of Time is priced fairly at £15 per head for 60 to 90 minutes of entertainment over Zoom, a free no-nonsense app / browser plug in, and allows for a social get together in this strange world of Lock Down during a global pandemic situation. It's the dose of escapsim from the world many of us are currently yearning for, and with prizes to be won in addition to the experience of the game, the puzzle solving carries on well.
You can enter The Last Pyramid until April 22nd, booking online at
https://www.ultimatequest.co.uk/live
A final word from Jon
I can see my 10% coupon code being used on the book of The Last Pyramid, also available at Ultimate Quest! The world Charlie has created is fantastical and mystical - I strongly suggest exploring it via the book or the game whilst you can!
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